Zwickerbusserl (Pinch Kisses)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large mixing bowl
• •Rolling pin
• •5cm fluted round cutter
• •Piping bag with medium star tip
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Two baking trays with parchment
• •Small saucepan

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the Mürbteig

   Tip the flour onto a clean work surface and scatter the cold butter cubes over it. Using your fingertips or a pastry scraper, work the butter into the flour until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Make a well in the center. Add the sifted powdered sugar, egg yolks, Vanillezucker, salt, and lemon zest. Bring everything together quickly with your hands, pressing and folding until you have a smooth dough. Do not knead it. The moment it comes together, stop. Mürbteig gets its name from the word mürbe, meaning tender and crumbly. If you overwork it, the butter melts from the heat of your hands and the whole thing turns tough.

   If your kitchen is warm, grate the frozen butter on a box grater directly into the flour. This keeps everything cold and makes the rubbing-in stage take seconds instead of minutes.
2. 2

   Chill the dough

   Flatten the dough into a thick disc, wrap it in cling film, and refrigerate for at least one hour. The dough needs this rest. The butter has to firm up again or it will stick to everything when you roll it, and the gluten needs time to relax so the biscuits hold their shape in the oven instead of shrinking.

3. 3

   Roll and cut the rounds

   Preheat your oven to 170°C (340°F), conventional, not fan. Line two baking trays with parchment. Roll the chilled dough out on a lightly floured surface to about four millimeters thick. Cut rounds with a 5cm fluted cutter. You want 40 rounds, enough for 20 pairs. Gather the scraps gently, press them together, chill again briefly if needed, and cut more. Lay the rounds on the prepared trays with a little space between them. They won't spread much, but they need room for the meringue.

4. 4

   Whip the meringue

   In a spotlessly clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Add the caster sugar one tablespoon at a time, whisking well after each addition. Keep going until the meringue is thick, glossy, and holds stiff peaks that don't droop when you lift the whisk. If you rush the sugar, the meringue will weep in the oven and pool around the base of the cookies. Patience here pays you back in clean, crisp little hats.

   Wipe the inside of your bowl with a lemon half before you start. The acid removes any trace of fat, and even a fingerprint's worth of grease will stop egg whites from whipping properly.
5. 5

   Pipe the meringue hats

   Fit a piping bag with a medium star tip and fill it with the meringue. Pipe a generous rosette or swirl onto each shortcrust round, starting from the center and spiraling outward. Leave a narrow border of bare dough at the edge, about two millimeters. The meringue will expand slightly as it bakes and you want it sitting neatly on top of the biscuit, not dripping over the side. Each little hat should be about two centimeters tall. Don't be stingy. The meringue is half the point.

6. 6

   Bake the Busserln

   Bake one tray at a time in the center of the oven for 12 to 15 minutes. You're watching for two things: the shortcrust should be pale gold at the edges, and the meringue should be dry to the touch and just barely turning the faintest ivory at the tips. If the meringue browns too much, your oven is too hot. Drop the temperature by ten degrees and give the next tray a minute less. Let the cookies cool completely on the tray. The meringue is fragile when warm and firms up as it cools.

7. 7

   Sieve and warm the jam

   Press the Marillenmarmelade through a fine sieve to remove any fruit pieces. You want a smooth, glossy spread. Warm it gently in a small saucepan over low heat until it loosens and flows easily from a spoon. Apricot jam is what Austrian bakers reach for when they need a filling that cuts through sweetness. The tartness of the Marillen balances the sugar in the meringue and the butter in the pastry. Nothing else works quite the same way.

8. 8

   Pinch the kisses together

   Turn half the cookies upside down so the meringue points downward. Spread a thin, even layer of the warm apricot jam on the exposed flat base. Take a second cookie, meringue pointing up, and press the flat base gently against the jam-covered base. You're sandwiching two meringue-topped rounds together, flat side to flat side, with apricot jam as the glue. Press just firmly enough that the jam grabs hold. This is the pinch that gives them their name, the Zwicker. Each finished Busserl should have a meringue peak on top and a meringue peak on the bottom, with a thin golden seam of jam and shortcrust running through the middle.

   Work quickly while the jam is still warm and tacky. Once it cools and sets, it holds the two halves together beautifully, but if it's already cold when you try to sandwich them, the bond won't be as strong.
9. 9

   Rest and serve

   Let the assembled Zwickerbusserl sit for at least an hour before packing or serving. The jam needs time to set fully and the flavors need to come together. After resting, the bite is perfect: crisp meringue giving way to tender, buttery shortcrust, then that bright shock of apricot in the middle. Mahlzeit!

Chef Tips

• •Use real Vanillezucker, not vanilla extract. Austrian baking depends on it. Buy the small packets at a European grocer or make your own: bury two split vanilla pods in a kilogram jar of caster sugar for a week. The flavor is rounder and more fragrant than any extract.
• •Sieve your powdered sugar before adding it to the dough. Any lumps in the Staubzucker will show up as white specks in your baked cookies, and they'll make the dough gritty instead of smooth.
• •Apricot jam is not interchangeable here. The tartness of Marillen is what balances the sweet meringue and rich pastry. Strawberry or raspberry jam would throw the whole thing off. If you can find a good Austrian Marillenmarmelade, use it. Staud's from Vienna is what I keep in my pantry.
• •Store the finished Zwickerbusserl in a tin with a sheet of parchment between each layer. They keep for two weeks in a cool place, and the texture actually improves after a day or two as the jam softens the pastry just slightly at the seam.
• •If piping meringue makes you nervous, use two teaspoons to dollop small peaks instead. They won't look as uniform, but they'll taste exactly the same and nobody at your Christmas table will complain.

Advance Preparation

• •The Mürbteig can be made two days ahead and kept wrapped in cling film in the fridge. Let it sit at room temperature for ten minutes before rolling, or it will crack.
• •Baked but unassembled rounds (with their meringue hats) can be stored in an airtight tin for up to three days before sandwiching with jam.
• •Fully assembled Zwickerbusserl keep in a tin for two weeks. The flavors deepen as they sit, making them ideal for baking early in the Christmas season.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 44g)