Hazelnut, Almond & Chocolate Pastry Recipe
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Nussecken (translating to "nut corners" from German) are a very popular German pastry that I have never made myself until I moved to the United States and simply couldn't find them at any bakeries anymore versus in Germany where they are sold everywhere. Nussecken tend to be more popular around Christmas and Winter time since they are very nut-ritious (see what I did there?) and not as light and fluffy as some other pastries. They have always been one of my favorites and since it's my last encounter with Nussecken was several years ago, I wasn't able to ignore my craving any longer and had to give into making them!
A Nussecke Just Like From A German Bakery
I vividly remember getting off from school and stopping at a bakery in the city to pick up a Nussecke as a snack on my way home. This recipe tastes exactly like the ones from the German bakeries, and maybe just a touch better since I can control the ingredients and I mainly use high-quality, organic ingredients to bake and cook with. I also added in a bit of ground peanuts into the nut mix for an additional flavor component, but you can stick with the hazelnut and almond mix if you wish. Also, I know a thing or two about nut allergies (I am severely allergic to cashews and pistachios and have a slight allergy to pecans and walnuts - all pretty recent developments over the last two years!). If you're allergic to any of the nuts in this bar, feel free to substitute with other nuts. It will alter the flavor to leave the hazelnuts out, but I don't think you could possibly do anything to ruin these little guys!
Time to Enter My Advent Calendar Giveaways!
I know you have long awaited the recipe since I posted pictures of these on social media a couple of weeks ago. If you're not following me on Instagram yet, make sure you do and you'll understand the reason why they're late! I have been busy posting every day in December with new giveaways aka many, many chances for all of you to win some of my very favorite things (I counted them and there are 34 chances to win!). If you're not entering, you can't win. So far I have been giving away a giant pretzel, pretzel earrings, a raclette set, vouchers to Kansas City's Kristkindl Markt, a box of German sparkling water, raw organic honey, Christmas teas AND German Lebkuchen and cookies. You can enter until tonight at 9 p.m. CST to win a German sourdough bread baking kit, and another great giveaway is going live today for KC Bier Co - a local brewery in Kansas City! Click here to get to my Instagram page and enter all my giveaways!
And A Hot Chocolate...
Tis the season for hot chocolates... with dark chocolate cream liqueur. Simply add to your hot chocolate and drizzle on top the whipped cream for a delicious twist. The Austrian company Mozart recently added this fast favorite to their collection of delicious chocolate liqueurs and it may be my favorite kind yet! Fill out this simple online form labeled "Find a Product Near You" to see where Mozart Dark Chocolate Liqueur is available in your area. Cheers!
Rhubarb Streusel Cake Up Next!
Had enough Maultaschen talk? If you try out this recipe, make sure to leave some feedback and ideas in the comment section below, and subscribe to receive weekly emails with new recipes! 
Next week I will share one of my mom's favorite cakes: Rhubarb Streusel Cake - perfect in the afternoon with a latte macchiato!
Recipe for about 18 Nussecken:
Nussecken Dough:
- 2.5 c (300 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅔ c (130 g) sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 9 tablespoon (130 g) room temperature butter
In Between:
- 6 tablespoon apricot jam
Nussecken Nut Filling:
- 14 tablespoon (200 g) butter
- 5 tablespoon rum (I love using STROH rum for this - you can also substitute with water)
- 1 c (200 g) brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 14 oz (400 g) ground nuts (I used 200 g ground hazelnuts, 100 g ground almonds and 100 g ground peanuts - feel free to use whichever nuts you prefer!)
Dark Chocolate Glaze:
- 7 oz (200 g) dark chocolate (I used 70 % cocoa)
- 2 tablespoon neutral-tasting oil (I used sunflower seed oil)
- Preheat oven to 175 (non convection setting). Combine all ingredients for the dough with a kneading hook until smooth. The dough should be pretty soft. Work with your hands on distributing it evenly onto a 9" by 13" sheet pan with rim (prep the pan first by rubbing on butter and dusting with flour, so the dough won't stick to the bottom and sides).
- If the jam is too hard, heat in microwave for 30 seconds, then brush onto the dough.
- Melt butter, rum (or water), sugar and vanilla in a large pot until the sugar dissolves completely. Be careful not to let it boil. Add in the nuts/almonds and combine with a spatula. Again, you can use whatever kind of nut mixture you prefer. If you want the taste to be authentic, I recommend using at least half ground hazelnuts. Distribute the nut mixture evenly over the jam.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes on the middle rack. If time allows, cool overnight and cut into triangles the next day (see picture).
- To make the glaze, simply melt together chocolate and oil in a bowl sitting in a pot with some simmering water. Either dip the tips of each corner into the chocolate glaze or cover all sides (you may need more chocolate if dipping the sides instead of the corners).
Time To Get Your Weihnachtsbäckerei Going!
- Vanillekipferl: German crescent moon shaped vanilla bean cookies
- Lebkuchen: German gingerbread cookies
- Spitzbuben: German jam filled sandwich cookies
- Dampfnudeln: German steamed yeast dumplings with vanilla sauce and poppyseed topping
Sophie's Nussecken Tools
I received compensation from Niche Import Co. in exchange for writing this post. Although this post is sponsored, all opinions, thoughts and recipes are my own. This post contains affiliate links, which means that I may be compensated if you click certain links.
MIke
I told you on IG how incredible these are! Will they ever arrive at my porch?? Oh Sophie, just a heads up.,,.I had to get all bundled up (sans any big beanie) to type this as it’s snowing on your blog! 🙂
dirndlkitchen
Ha! I posted the recipe here, so I wouldn't have to bake day and night with a babe in my arm! You should try it out sometime and blame me if it goes horribly wrong! 🙂
Neil
Is the 175 oven temperature Celsius or Fahrenheit?
dirndlkitchen
I am so sorry I just now saw your comment! That would have been Celsius.. 350 F.