Basler Brunsli

Brunsli are Basel’s contribution to the Swiss Christmas cookie tradition, and they might be the most intensely chocolate cookie you’ll ever bake. No flour in the dough at all. Ground almonds and finely processed semisweet chocolate form the base, bound together with egg whites and a splash of kirsch.

The food processor does the heavy lifting. Almonds and sugar get pulsed to a fine meal, then the chocolate goes in and gets ground into the mix. The key warning: don’t let the processor run too long or the friction heats up the almonds and chocolate into a greasy paste. Short pulses, check often.

After pressing the dough out on a sugar-strewn surface (not flour, which would ruin the texture), you cut them into traditional shapes: hearts, stars, clovers. A grooved rolling pin pressed across the top leaves a decorative pattern that’s signature to Brunsli.

The drying step before baking is critical. Several hours uncovered at room temperature forms a thin crust on the surface. That crust is what gives Brunsli their characteristic texture: crackly and slightly firm on the outside, dense and chewy within. Skip the drying and they’ll spread and lose that contrast.

Bake them just 10 minutes. Overbaking turns these from chewy to rock-hard.

Pro Tips

• Use unblanched (skin-on) almonds for richer flavor and a slightly speckled appearance
• Press the dough to an even 3/8 inch. Thinner cookies dry out; thicker ones stay underdone in the center
• If you don’t have kirsch, leave it out rather than substituting. Other spirits change the flavor profile too much
• Store in an airtight tin. Brunsli actually improve after a day or two as the flavors meld

Variations

• Replace semisweet chocolate with dark (70%) for a more bitter, adult cookie
• Add a pinch of cayenne to the spice mix for a subtle warmth behind the chocolate
• Use hazelnuts instead of almonds for a Piedmont-inspired take