December 5th

A Sweet Greeting from Our Region

All Kautex plastic packaging is manufactured in Germany. That’s why today we’re sending you a festive seasonal greeting along with a recipe for a traditional German Christmas treat.

Mutzenmandeln are small almond-shaped pastries made from shortcrust dough. They are deep-fried and often coated with a sweet layer of sugar.

In the Rhineland—the region where our Bonn production site is located—Mutzenmandeln are especially popular and an essential part of the Christmas season. They are also enjoyed during Carnival, making them a true regional specialty that brings joy throughout autumn and winter.

Ingredients

For the dough

• 125 g butter
• 125 g powdered sugar
• 2 eggs (size M)
• 1 egg yolk (size M)
• 300 g wheat flour (type 405)
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 75 g ground almonds
• 5 drops bitter almond extract

Additionally

• 1000 g vegetable fat for frying
• 400 g sugar
• 4 tsp cinnamon

Preparation

Melt the butter and set it aside. Sift the powdered sugar into a mixing bowl and beat together with the eggs and egg yolk until frothy. Sift the flour and baking powder over the egg mixture and stir to combine. Then add the ground almonds and melted butter, and flavor with the bitter almond extract.

Flatten the dough to about 1–2 cm thick, wrap it in cling film, and let it chill for 2 hours.

Cut the vegetable fat into chunks, melt it in a medium-sized pot, and heat it to 165°C. Meanwhile, mix the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and keep it ready next to the frying pot.

Place the chilled dough on a floured surface and cut out about 50 Mutzenmandeln using a suitable cutter, or shape them by hand.

Once the fat is hot, fry the dough pieces in four separate batches until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and roll them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture while still warm.

Rhineland Mutzenmandeln taste best when freshly made. Enjoy!

Quiz Question

In which region is our Bonn production site located?

I: Rhineland
R: Westerwald
O: Hunsrück