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Don’t let the Italian name of this cookie fool you. This lace cookie variety, studded with candied fruit and dipped in chocolate, is as popular in Germany as anywhere else. They can be bought at German bakeries all year round but are also abundant on holiday dessert tables.
These are easy to make. However, once they are in the oven, you must pay attention because they can easily burn. I recommend checking them after 5 minutes. If the edges do come out burned, use a round cookie cutter, slightly smaller than the size of the cookie to fit over the cookie. Push down and wiggle or turn the cutter. This should not only give the cookies a nice round shape but it will cut away any of the burnt edges off of the cookies. Do this while the cookies are still warm to avoid splitting them.
I used glacéed green and red cherries in this recipe but candied orange and lemon would also work well. The green and red are perfect to use at Christmas time to add these to a holiday cookie platter.
To further switch up the flavor you can use a different chocolate variety for dipping. White or milk chocolate would also work well.
For the recipe, hop on over to my German Food Page at about.com