Christmas bakery and a weekend trip to Vienna!

Hohohooo! :)

Christmas is just around the corner and the holiday magic is at its peak! I loovee loveee lovee it, just one thing is missing......someone to hug! L haha just kidding! :D Snooow, I miss snow! For me nothing spoils this Christmas spirit and all that gorgeous decoration more than too warm weather! It’s winter for god’s sake! Let it snow already!! -.-

Ok despite my crazy obsession with snow I still managed to get into the Christmas spirit easily. This past weekend I took a quick trip to Vienna...the land of Viennese waltz, traditional New Year’s concert aaaaand amazing cuisine...by amazing I mean A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.! I can proudly say I spent all my money for food there. Sometimes it really amazes me how I manage not to have 1000kg. Seriously. :)

 

So we took off to Vienna at 6 am. Didn’t get much sleep at night and even less on the bus. But anyway after a long ride we finally arrived to the city. First stop was Schönbrunn Palace. Everyone went to see the palace and gardens in the back...and where was I? You guessed it – wandering around Christmas market looking for food. What an absolute idiot. In the end me and my friend decided to buy some almonds baked in nutella (oh my God, I know!!), he later bought a waffle and I bought some scrambled pancake with vanilla sauce. Delish! But of course that was just the beginning. 

 

Next stop was city centre. We took a quick walk around to see all important sightseeing’s and afterwards we stopped at our final destination – Christmas market in front of the City Hall. Before we took a look around the market we hung-out with other travellers and drank a cup of Christmas punch (you pay a bit more for it and you get to keep the mug...such a sweet heart shaped mug!)

 Then it was time for lunch...what to eat when in Vienna? Wiener schnitzel of course! Their traditional schnitzel has to be made of quality veal, very thin, evenly covered in the best breadcrumbs and it needs to be bigger than your plate. I can assure you the real one is absolutely worth the money! :)

 

After we filled our stomachs it already became dark outside and the real magic of the city appeared. Christmas lights shined and market suddenly became crowded. We made a slow-walking tour around the market which is even more beautiful and romantic in the evening! Of course before we went back I had to buy something sweet for the ride home (before you judge---I didn’t have anything to eat for the journey back which lasts 6 hours so I was practically forced to buy something haha every excuse is good isn’t it? :) ) the decision was made and I went back home with a gigantic chocolate pretzel...I swear it was the size of my both palms if not bigger! ...cut in half and filled with chocolate mousse. Heaveeeen!

After a few hours of all that food I ate I have to admit I did feel a little sick in my stomach (it was probably just travel sickness haha) but  I was pleased to try everything on my to-eat list.

 

I really recommend all of you to visit Christmas Vienna at least once couse it really is one of the most beautiful cities – it kind of reminded me of my sweet London, loved it! :)

 

The trip was quick but sweet and after I got back home it was time to bake some cookies for our family Christmas dinner party. My roommate and I got into the holiday spirit and created a real mini cookie factory...she made simple chocolate chip cookies (sooo good I would eat them all immediately). I usually like to try new and healthy versions of sweet stuff but this time I decided to stick to my all time favourite butter cookies and hazelnut cookies. As I said in my first post I don’t like to cut “unhealthy” food out of my diet because I look at it as a food for my soul and mind...and there is no healthy body without healthy mind. So allowing yourself a treat is a must to remain mentally healthy. ;)

 

Back to my sweet creations:

Recipe for simple butter cookies:

*250g of flour

*1 tsp of baking powder

*75g of sugar

*a bag of vanilla sugar (8-10g)

*a pinch of salt

*One egg

*125g of cold butter

 

 

Mix all ingredients in a bowl so it looks kind of crumbly then knead to combine. Don’t touch it for too long or else it will become sticky because the butter will start to melt. Put into the fridge for about 15-20 minutes to firm a bit. Then take a rolling pin and roll the dough on lightly floured surface to about a 0.5-1 cm thickness (or more – it depends on how thick you want your cookies to be – if you make them thicker you have to bake them a little longer). Then cut out cookies in all shapes and sizes, put them on a baking tray and bake for about 10 min at 175°C (check them regularly!). After taking out of the oven, leave them to cool down and enjoy the little treat! An option for cookie enthusiast is to decorate these cookies with different colours and prints.

 

 

For hazelnut cookies use:

 

*400g of flour

*250g of butter

*10g of finely chopped hazelnuts/walnuts/almonds/really anything you want

*120g of sugar

*2tsp of baking powder

*one egg

*a bit of vanilla extract/vanilla seeds/vanilla sugar

 

 

The whole process of making dough is the same as the one for butter cookies. You can do different shaped cookies – I made little half moons.

 

Be creative with shapes, have fun while baking, enjoy your Christmas dinner/party/get-together as much as you can, spend time with your loved ones and stay forever beautiful & hungry (someone needs to eat all the cookies right? ;) )

 

I wish you all an amazing celebration, loads of presents...and Merry Christmas!!

 

 

Love *D*