Intro

Mailänderli are among Switzerland’s best-loved Christmas biscuits. They became popular about 600 years ago when a delegation from the Swiss Confederation travelled to Lombardy and gave the Duke of Milan some of the sweet biscuits as a gift. Years later, in Florence, Catherine de’ Medici also discovered the delicacy before she became queen of France. Ever since, the Swiss have known and enjoyed the biscuits as Mailänderli, Milanais or Milanesini – “Little Milanese”.

 

Shape: remove dough from fridge and allow to stand for approx. 15 min. Divide dough into batches. Roll out dough on a little flour or between sheets cut from a freezer bag until approx. 8 mm thick. Cut into various shapes and place on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Chill biscuits for approx. 15 min. Brush with egg yolk. Optional: to decorate, drag a fork diagonally across the glaze.


Bake: approx. 10 min. in centre of oven preheated to 200 degrees. Remove and cool on a wire rack.

Keeping time: approx. 4 weeks in an airtight tin.

Prepare in advance: bake Mailänderli 1–2 weeks in advance and store in an airtight tin.

Per 100g: 21 g fat, 53 g carbohydrate, 7 g protein, 427 kcal

Variations: Mailänderli with granulated sugar: prepare 1 portion of Mailänderli dough and cut into shapes as above. Instead of egg yolk, glaze with a whole beaten egg and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake: as above.

Mailänderli with lemon glaze: prepare 1 portion of Mailänderli dough and cut into shapes as above, but do not glaze with egg. Bake as above, remove from oven and glaze while still warm with the following mixture. Glaze: mix 150 g icing sugar with 2 table spoons of lemon juice and if required ½ table spoon of water to make a thick glaze. Optional decoration: scatter silver balls or toasted flaked almonds on the wet glaze and allow to dry.

Partner

Ingredients

Key Value List
250g
butter, soften in a bowl
225g
sugar
1 pinch
salt
3
fresh eggs
1
untreated lemon, only the grated zest
500g
flour: add and mix to a dough, flatten, cover and chill for at least 2 hours
1
fresh egg yolk, thinned with
1 teaspoon
water, for decoration

21 g fat, 53 g carbohydrate, 7 g protein

Preparation Time

45 min

Servings

4

Calories

427 kcal