Nussecken

Nussecken belong to the Advent tin and the bakery tray, the place between Plätzchen, Christmas cookies, and cake. You see them across Germany, strong in Rhineland bakeries and home kitchens, but nobody leaves them alone. One house wants only hazelnuts, another mixes almonds in, some spread apricot jam thin, others swear by red currant. Im Norden anders, im Süden anders. Good. The corner still has to cut clean.

I make them on Mürbeteig, short pastry, because the plain base is what lets the nuts and chocolate do their work. The pastry stays cold before it bakes because warm butter melts into the flour and gives you a hard sheet instead of a tender bite. The nut layer goes on warm but not boiling, so it spreads without melting the base underneath. That is the whole hinge of the recipe.

Do not use a jar of nut filling. Nicht aus dem Glas. Butter, sugar, cream, hazelnuts, almonds, and a little apricot jam are enough. Weggeworfen wird nichts: the cut edges go into the baker's bowl, and the good triangles go into the tin. Let the chocolate set before you stack them, or you'll decorate the whole batch by accident. Schön ist, was schmeckt.