The almond dream pieces cookies (Traumstücke) are delightful melt-in-your-mouth pastries of German origin. Extremely easy and quick to make, they are crafted with a delicate butter shortcrust pastry that I have modified by adding a small amount of almond flour. I have been creating them for two years in various versions (almond and orange dream pieces, with speculoos spices, and with cocoa and almonds) and they have been very successful among you. I still keep the photos you sent me last year.
After making the shortcrust pastry, you just need to form cylinders and cut them with a knife into many 1-inch sticks. After baking, the cookies are wrapped in a generous layer of powdered sugar, making them extremely Christmas-like, almost magical!
Like ricciarelli or cantucci, they are perfect to include in your Christmas baskets in special decorated bags; the dream pieces can be stored for a long time while maintaining their fragrance.
Looking for other treats to gift for Christmas? Here are some ideas:
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Affordable
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 36 Pieces
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: German
- Seasonality: Christmas, Fall, Winter, and Spring
- Energy 253.35 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 29.28 (g) of which sugars 14.03 (g)
- Proteins 3.63 (g)
- Fat 13.77 (g) of which saturated 7.25 (g)of which unsaturated 4.30 (g)
- Fibers 0.94 (g)
- Sodium 4.80 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 50 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 7 tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 drops almond aroma (or other desired aroma)
- as needed vanilla powdered sugar (for coating)
Tools
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Scale
- 1 Pastry Board
- 1 Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper
Procedure
Cut the butter into small cubes, place it in the bowl and let it sit out of the fridge for 10 minutes.
Add the flour, almond flour, powdered sugar, egg yolks, vanilla extract, and almond aroma, and mix quickly until you get a smooth and homogeneous dough.
Divide it into three parts, form three cylinders with a 3/4-inch diameter, place them on a tray, and chill them in the fridge for 40 minutes.
Using a knife, cut cookies of 1 to 1 1/2 inches and place them on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper; you can place them quite close as they do not contain yeast.Put the baking sheet in the fridge until the oven reaches the right temperature.
Bake the cookies in a preheated static oven at 340°F for 10 minutes. Let them cool slightly and dip them in a bowl filled with vanilla powdered sugar; due to the heat, it will adhere to the pastries. If necessary, when they are cold, make a second pass in the powdered sugar.
The almond dream pieces cookies are ready to enjoy or to gift.
Suggestions
Storage
The almond dream pieces cookies can be stored in a tin box for up to three weeks.
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Send me your photos, I will gladly share them on my social networks
Send me your photos, I will gladly share them on my social networks
