Nut Corners OR Nussecken :
Nut corners or Nussecken (in Germany) make a delicious addition to your cookie platter made with buttery shortbread ,a sweet apricot jam layer ,and a caramelized hazelnuts topping ,these mini nut bars are a favorite of me and a hit all year round .
This pastry is a very simple pastry to make and with this recipe you will bring some German baking tradition into your life .
You need many nuts in this recipe and i found that hazelnuts are quite expensive in the USA ,so a substitute would be walnuts ,almonds,or a mix of hazelnuts and walnuts.
The ingredients used in this German pastry are flour ,eggs ,butter ,chocolate,jam ,etc,which are if great nutritional value. We recommend eating this sweet pastry in the afternoon and evening with tea or coffee.
Here is a very delicious recipe from Germany :
Nusseken recipe :
Ingredients:
- 300 g flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 130 g sugar
- 1 pack of vanilla sugar
- 2 eggs
- 130 g butter ,soft
- 6 tablespoons jam (apricot jam)
- For covering:
- 200 g butter
- 5 tablespoons water
- 200 g sugar ,brown
- 1 pack of vanilla sugar
- 400 g hazelnuts,walnuts ,almonds
For the glaze :
200 g chocolate
Preparation:
Make the dough with the ingredients such as flour ,butter ,eggs ,sugar ,baking powder, and so on . The dough is relatively soft ,so you can distribute it nicely on the sheet . Grease the bottom of a tray with butter and dust with the flour. Alternatively,place a baking frame in the tray . Press the dough evenly (I always do it by hand ,it doesn’t really work with a rolling pin )
Spread the jam thinly on the dough .
Melt butter ,water ,sugar and vanilla sugar in a saucepan (do not boil) so that the sugar dissolves . Add nuts /almonds and mix well . For nuts I take a mixture of the varieties that my pantry produces.
Spread the nut mixture evenly over the jam .
Bake nut corners in the oven that preheated to 175 degrees top /bottom heat for approximately 30 -35 minutes.
Let it cool on the thin best cut corners overnight and the next day . Either just dip the tips or the sides in the chocolate glaze .
Due to the brown sugar in the nut mass ,the nut corners have a slight caramel taste .
Nussecken , About chocolate:
Top the season for hot chocolate… with dark chocolate cream liqueur. Simply add to your hot choclate and drizzle on top the whipped cream for a delicious twist .
Tips for Making Nussecken :
You can roast the hazelnuts lightly in a non-stick pan without any grease which will add a nice nutty taste .
If you cannot get around hazelnuts,chop them roughly ,then grind in a coffee grinder.
Roll the dough on a sheet of parchment paper that is sprinkled with flour.
When dough is rolled place it on the baking tray . Thickness of the dough 1/4 inch -it needs to be quite thin .
