kinglorious: cookie of the week

"Austrian Winterwonderland Cookie"

The American Style Cookie, newly invented and 100% MADE IN AUSTRIA!
Austrian Apple Walnut White Chocolate Chip Cookie spiced up with Cinnamon.

If you want a big, fat, chewy cookie, the Austrian way, then THIS is the cookie for you!

It's made solely from ingredients that you can find all over Austria.

There are hundreds of different kinds of apples that grow everywhere a tree can grow. So do walnuts! They are used in many of the typical sweet Austrian dishes.

AND the white chocolate chunks represent the snow-white mountain tops that are enchanting you in wintertime, making it even more "winterwonderland-like".

So you should definitely try this recipe!

First, because it's created by kinglorious especially for YOU! Second, because it's too easy to be true and almost too delicious to bear.

THAT'S THE WAY, AHA AHA YOU'LL LIKE IT...

INGREDIENTS

THE BASICS:

* 400g fine spelt flour (feines Dinkelmehl)

* 20g/2 teaspoons baking soda (Backpulver)

* 250g unsalted butter

* 200g brown sugar

* 1/2 teaspoon salt

* 2 eggs

THE SPECIALS:

* 20g vanilla sugar

* 2 teaspoons cinnamon (Zimt)

* 200g white chocolate

* 150g walnuts toasted (optional)

* 150g dried apple wedges (getrocknete Apfelringe)

* 3 teaspoons lemon zest (abgeriebene Schale einer Zitrone)

HOW TO PREPARE:

First of all, go to your favourite supermarket and buy all the ingredients ;)

The lemons MUST be by all means organic and all natural. If you got the chance to get organic eggs and/or free-range eggs, BUY them - they are so much better when it comes to baking for the egg yolks are more intense and of better quality.

Once you got all the ingredients - it's time "to party" ...

Heat oven to 200°C. Line 2 large baking sheets with pergament paper.

Chop the white chocolate, dried apples and walnuts (not too small) and set aside.

Whisk flour and baking soda and salt together in medium bowl; set aside.

Whisk "warm" butter with sugar and vanilla sugar until well blended. Beat in the lemon zests and eggs until light and creamy (make sure the bowl you use for this step is large enough to avoid causing a total mess in your kitchen - as it happened to me...)

Stir in the flour-baking-powder-salt-mixture until just combined for about a minute.

And last but not least, stir in white chocolate chips, nuts and dried apple pieces, and ensure no flour pockets remain.

Divide the dough in half. Form each half to a roll, wrap the roll in plastic foil/sheet and put in the freezer for about 30 minutes.

Take the rolls out of the freezer, get a big sharp knife and cut into pieces that are 2-3 cm thick.

Put the raw cookie pieces on the baking sheet and place them about 5-8 cm apart.

Put into the oven, adjust heat to 150-180°C.

If you DON'T have an oven with air circulation, make sure to bake ONE tray at a time for 10-14 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking!!

Keep checking on the cookies while in the oven and bake until they are golden and still puffy.