Brunsli (Swiss chocolate orange spice cookies) {gluten-free}

Google doesn't have a ready answer for the number of cookie varieties in the world, but it has to be pretty substantial. Sure, there are eight major cookie base types (rolled, drop, molded, no-bake, fried, ice-box, sandwich, and bar), but from there cookie recipes quickly spiral away from each other. My EatYourBooks.com account returns a total of 49,446 recipes tagged as cookies. If I search for chocolate chip cookies, there are 5,007 cookie-type results (In case you're curious: non-cookie-types including things like chocolate chip cookie cheesecake, chocolate chip cookie-stuff pretzels, chocolate chip cookie ice cream, etc). A quick glance indicates these 5,007 recipes include at least 8 major subcategories: chewy chocolate chip cookies, crispy chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chip shortbread, vegan chocolate chip cookies, browned butter chocolate chip cookies, "not your average" chocolate chip cookies, and chocolate chocolate chip cookies. If I clicked on the next page, I'd probably see even more variation.

So I guess it shouldn't be surprising that I'd never heard of brunsli until I was perusing Ottolenghi Simple. Basler brunsli are a traditional celebratory Swiss cookie, originating from Basel; bruns meaning brown and li is a diminutive, so brunsli are by definition "little brown" cookies. Billed as a "spiced brownie cookie" in the recipe header, brunsli date back to the 1800s, at which time Basel was an important trade hub and merchant families in Basel were building wealth off importing exotic foodstuffs like chocolate and spices, which found their way into special occasion foods. Now associated primarily with Christmas, brunsli were historically served at weddings and festivals, which explains why the traditional shape of these cookies is a flower (not a star!). The recipe header in Ottolenghi Simple mentions a desire to bring brunsli out of the Christmas holiday cookie category and make it more mainstream, because it is "delicious any time of the year", and they've swapped in Chinese five-spice powder for traditional cinnamon and cloves and orange zest for traditional kirsch to help make their point.

Brunsli are "naturally" gluten and dairy-free. At first glance, the base ingredient list is very similar to one for a macaron, relying on a dry mix of almond flour, granulated sugar, confectioner's sugar and cocoa powder for the base and adding two egg whites to moisten the dough. However, the ratio of dry to wet is quite different - macarons have a substantially wetter batter - and in the method is so much simpler - instead of making a meringue and gently folding it into the dry mix, you simply whisk all the dry ingredients together using a dough hook and then, still using the dough hook, fold in the egg whites (no pre-whipping required!) until the dough is fully moistened and everything is combined. While this step took me much longer than specified in Ottolenghi Simple, I was making a double batch, and it still took me under 20 minutes to make the cookie dough, which is pretty awesome.

These brunsli get their flavor from the cocoa powder you use (so it should be quality!), a little orange zest (which peeks through to add a light citrus note), a surprising amount of Chinese 5-spice powder (it's really subtle in the final cookie, I promise), a touch of salt, and a little vanilla extract. If you wanted to change around the flavors, you absolutely could transform these cute cookies into another flavor combination of your choice.

You'll shape the dough into a flat disc of about 1¼ inches in thickness, wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and let it rest a minimum of 60 minutes in the refrigerator. You can also store it in the freezer, protected by a freezer-proof Ziploc, for up to one month.

When you're ready to roll out the cookies, cut two pieces of parchment paper into 16-inch squares. Unwrap the chilled dough, place it in the middle of one of the parchment paper squares, top with the other piece, and roll the dough out into a rough circle that is ½-inch thick (the diameter should be about 9 inches). Using a medium (2-2 ¾ inches) cookie cutter (star shape, flower shape, or your favorite shape - squares also work for these), cut out cookies and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Press any scraps of dough together, roll the scraps out again to ½-inch thickness, cut out your cookie shapes, and repeat as necessary until all the dough has been used. Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with a little granulated sugar.

Now, we come to one glaring difference between Ottolenghi's brunsli and all traditional brunsli recipes I've found: traditionally, the rolled-then-cut cookies are left to dry out for 3-12 hours before baking. Ottolenghi's recipe skips this step completely. I experimented a little with my cookie bakes and found that I preferred my brunsli after they'd been allowed to dry out for an hour before baking (I did not try leaving them longer than that). I thought the hour rest gave the cookies a more delicate macaron-like texture the straight-to-bake cookies were missing.

My cookies took about 10 minutes to bake, but you may need slightly more or less time depending on the cookie cutter you choose. Given their color and the sprinkle of granulated sugar on the top of these cookies, it's not easy to tell when they are done. The edges and sides of the cookies give you a clue, they should look matte instead of glossy. The bottoms will be slightly crisped but the middle should still be soft and gooey. You don't want to overcook these otherwise they'll be dry, so bake a test cookie to check your timing if you're concerned.

You can serve brunsli fresh from the oven or once they've cooled to room temperature. As a star-shaped cookie, the star points are crispy, the interior of the cookie is soft and chewy and just a little "sticky" in the middle, akin (once more) to a macaron. These adorable cookies taste like a cross between a brownie and a macaron, with the hint of citrus and spice adding complexity to the creamy chocolate almond base.

Slightly adapted from Ottolenghi Simple

Brunsli (Swiss chocolate spice cookies)

A delicious chocolate orange brownie cookie derived from traditional Swiss brunsli cookies. Gluten-free and dairy-free, this cookie is similar to a macaron but easier to make. You can skip the 60 minute rest after cutting out the cookies if you're pressed for time.

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Swiss

Prep Time: 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Chilling and resting Time: 2 hours hours

Total Time: 1 hour hour 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 18 cookies

Ingredients

• 2 ¾ cups (270g) almond meal
• 1 ¼ cups (250g) granulated sugar plus 1 tablespoon to sprinkle on top
• ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon (40 g) confectioners’ sugar sifted
• ½ cup (40g) Dutch-processed cocoa powder sifted
• 1 orange finely zest to get 1 tsp
• ½ teaspoon Chinese 5-spice powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

• In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, add all the dry ingredients (everything through salt). Turn the mixer on low and use the dough hook to mix together. With the mixer still running on low, slowly pour in the egg whites and vanilla, then continue mixing on low speed until the dough is fully moistened and everything is cohesive, about 2-5 minutes.
  
• Shape the dough into a flat disc of about 1¼ inches in thickness, wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and let it rest a minimum of 60 minutes in the refrigerator.*
  
• After the dough chills, cut two pieces of parchment paper into 16-inch squares. Unwrap the chilled dough, place it in the middle of one of the parchment paper squares, top with the other piece, and roll the dough out into a rough circle that is ½-inch thick (the diameter should be about 9 inches).
  
• Using a medium (2-2 ¾ inches) cookie cutter (star shape, flower shape, or your favorite shape - squares also work for these), cut out cookies and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Press any scraps of dough together, roll the scraps out again to ½-inch thickness, cut out your cookie shapes, and repeat as necessary until all the dough has been used.
  
• Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with a little granulated sugar. If you have the patience, leave the unbaked cookies on the baking tray for 60 minutes.
• When ready to bake, pre-heat the oven to 375 F and let your oven temperature stabilize for about 10 minutes after "reaching" 375 F.
• Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes, until matte on the sides and slightly crisp on the bottom but still glossy in the middle. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool slightly before serving. 

Notes

*You can also store it in the freezer, protected by a freezer-proof Ziploc, for up to one month.