If you like cookies with nuts, you will probably love these Swiss Nut Bars (aka. Schweizer Nuss-Stängeli). In Switzerland, you can get these cookies in many supermarkets – I always brought some back from Migros when I was visiting my hometown. I am pretty sure if you start selling these in Germany (or any other country) they would have much more fans compared to now. Well… luckily you can bake them at home as well ;P
I am a huge fan of these small nut bars. I lived in Switzerland for a while when studying and even after moving to Berlin, I did not forget these cookies ;) Luckily, I had people who were willing to send me packages with those cookies from time to time. Good people. Real friends ;P
Several years ago I thought I could leave all the hassle of getting those cookies delivered to me behind and bake them myself. Unfortunately, my Nuss-Stägeli 1.0 version was not really successful. Don’t get me wrong – the cookies were delicious, but had little in common with the original cookies. I had all the necessary ingredients but used the wrong quantities. The result was too soft and not the right shape. I think you can see that in the pictures from the old recipe. There was a lot of room for improvement ;P
These cookies here are much closer to the original. The perfect shape, the perfect texture, the perfect taste… just the color is a bit off. The original cookies are slightly lighter in color on the sides. The reason for that could be the baking time (I could have removed them from the oven a minute or two earlier), but most likely it’s the brown muscovado sugar I used. It enhances the flavor of the cookies but also makes the dough darker right from the start. I guess next time I will try regular white sugar ;)
Anyway. If you know and like Nuss-Stängeli and want to bake them yourself (or if you just want to try them and can’t get them in a store), this recipe is definitely the one to try. The result here is very close to the original. I promise!
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(about 80 cookies)
1/3 cup (75g) butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup (150g) Muscovado sugar*
1 organic orange, zest
2 medium eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
a few drops of rum flavoring (optional)
8.8 oz. (250g) ground hazelnuts
8.8 oz. (250g) spelt flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
1 pinch of ground cloves
1 pinch of salt
1 small egg, whisked
(etwa 80 Cookies)
75g weiche Butter
150g Mascobado Vollrohrzucker*
1 Bio Orange, Abrieb
2 Eier (M)
1/2 TL Vanille Extrakt
einige Tropfen Rum Aroma (optional)
250g Haselnüsse, gemahlen
250g Dinkelmehl (Type 630)
1 TL Zimt
1/4 TL Kardamom, gemahlen
1 Prise Nelken, gemahlen
1 Prise Salz
1 Ei (S), verquirlt
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Add the butter, sugar, and orange zest to a large bowl and mix until well combined. Add the eggs and vanilla extract (the rum as well, if you want to use it) and mix on high until very light and fluffy. Combine ground hazelnuts, spelt flour, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and salt. Add to the large bowl and mix/knead to get a smooth dough. Wrap into plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight.
2. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment and set aside. Roll out the dough between two sheets of baking parchment to a thickness of about 0.4 inches (1cm). Cut into 2 inches (5cm) wide strips and those strips into 0.4 inches (1cm) wide sticks – you should end up with sticks/bars of 0.4×2 inches. Place on the prepared baking sheets with some space in between and place once more in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Take the first baking sheet out of the fridge, brush the sticks/bars with some whisked egg, and bake for about 16-18 minutes. The Nuss-Stängeli should be nicely browned. Remove from the oven and bake the next batch. Let the sticks cool down on a wire rack. Store in a tin box in a cool place.
1. Butter, Vollrohrzucker und Orangenabrieb in einer großen Schüssel verrühren, bis sich alles gut verbunden hat. Die Eier und den Vanille Extrakt (und ggf. Rum Aroma) dazugeben und alles hell und luftig aufschlagen. Gemahlene Haselnüsse, Dinkelmehl, Zimt, Kardamom, Nelken und Salz vermischen und zur großen Schüssel dazugeben – alles zu einem glatten Teig verkneten. Den Teig in Klarsichtfolie einschlagen und über Nacht in den Kühlschrank legen.
2. Zwei Backbleche mit Backpapier auslegen und zur Seite stellen. Den Teig zwischen zwei Stücken Backpapier zuerst etwa 1cm dick ausrollen, dann in etwa 5cm breite Streifen schneiden und diese Streifen dann in 1cm breite Stücke schneiden – am Ende sollen also Stangen mit etwa 1x5cm herauskommen. Mit Abstand zueinander auf die vorbereiteten Bleche setzen und noch einmal für etwa 30 Minuten in den Kühlschrank stellen.
3. Den Ofen auf 180°C (350°F) Ober-/Unterhitze vorheizen. Das erste Blech aus dem Kühlschrank holen, die Teigstücke mit verquirltem Ei bestreichen und dann für etwa 16-18 Minuten backen. Die Nuss-Stängli sollten gut Farbe bekommen haben. Aus dem Ofen holen und das nächste Blech backen. Die Stangen auf einem Kuchengitter abkühlen lassen und dann in einer Keksdose lagern.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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Swiss Nut Bars (Schweizer Nuss-Stängeli)
- Prep Time: 00:30
- Cook Time: 00:18
- Total Time: 25:00
- Yield: 80 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Cuisine: Switzerland
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
These popular cookies from Switzerland are packed with nuts: Swiss Nut Bars aka. Schweizer Nuss-Stängeli. They are quite hard but perfect with a cup of tea :)
Ingredients
1/3 cup (75g) butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup (150g) Muscovado sugar*
1 organic orange, zest
2 medium eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
a few drops of rum flavoring (optional)
8.8 oz. (250g) ground hazelnuts
8.8 oz. (250g) spelt flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
1 pinch of ground cloves
1 pinch of salt
1 small egg, whisked
Instructions
1. Add the butter, sugar, and orange zest to a large bowl and mix until well combined. Add the eggs and vanilla extract (the rum as well, if you want to use it) and mix on high until very light and fluffy. Combine ground hazelnuts, spelt flour, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and salt. Add to the large bowl and mix/knead to get a smooth dough. Wrap into plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight.
2. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment and set aside. Roll out the dough between two sheets of baking parchment to a thickness of about 0.4 inches (1cm). Cut into 2 inches (5cm) wide strips and those strips into 0.4 inches (1cm) wide sticks – you should end up with sticks/bars of 0.4×2 inches. Place on the prepared baking sheets with some space in between and place once more in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Take the first baking sheet out of the fridge, brush the sticks/bars with some whisked egg, and bake for about 16-18 minutes. The Nuss-Stängeli should be nicely browned. Remove from the oven and bake the next batch. Let the sticks cool down on a wire rack. Store in a tin box in a cool place.
Notes
Let’s get baking!
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I love my job, but in between I love to bake and try new things in the kitchen. A lot of my friends and colleagues encourage me to bake - for a very simple reason: they get the leftovers - and it seems they like it most of the time ;) 
