This is the first of two cookies Rose’s Alpha Bakers will turn out in December. Rose tells us that it comes from the “Zauner Bakery in the spa town of Bad Ischl, which was said to be the favorite vacation spot for Emperor Franz Joseph.” I have an interesting gossipy tidbit for you. Bad Ischl is where the Emperor built a villa for Katharina Schratt, an actress, who was the lifelong friend and confidante of the Emperor. Their relationship is said to be plantonic and was “tolerated” by the Empress. Ā There you have it, the TMZ style news of the late 1800s.Ā Now, on to the baking!
The recipe offers two methods of preparation, food processor and stand mixer. In Poland, I have neither. Rest assured; The Ischler can be made successfully with just a hand mixer. I was a little doubtful at first, but my perserverance paid off and the dough came together nicely.
Mise en place
Because our move was looming, and I was trying to clear out the fridge, I used a strained apricot jam rather than making the Lekvar filling. I can only imagine the homemade filling is better, but these were still quickly devoured.
The nutty, shortbread like cookies are sandwiched with anĀ apricot filling and a very thick, dark chocolate ganache. Of course, Rose gives us an exact measurement for each. I went with the verbal description of a thin coating of apricot filling rather than measuring exactly, probably because I have been eyeballing measurements in Poland. I didn’t bring measuring spoons, and I’ve found the IKEA coffee cups that came with the flat are a good substitute for measuring cups. I now know that I should have used a little more apricot filling. The fruity taste was overwhelmed by the ganache. I would like it to be a little more prominent next time. The ganache is made with a 60% chocolate, something I couldn’t find at my supermarket, Piotr i Pawel. So I added a bit of milk chocolate to my 70% chocolate.
It makes a very sophisticated, very European cookie — a nice addition to any holiday cookie tray!
The birthplace of Emperor Franz Joseph, the royal family’s summer home in Vienna
As one of Roseās Alpha Bakers, I donāt share the recipe as I do in most of my blog post, but you can find The Baking Bible in bookstores or on Amazon. It would make a great Ā gift for any bakers on your list.
An accountant by trade and a food blogger since 2009, Lois Britton fell in love with Polish cuisine during the years she lived in PoznaÅ, Poland. As the creator of PolishHousewife.com,Ā she loves connecting readers with traditional Polish recipes. Lois has a graduate certificate in Food Writing and Photography from the University of South Florida. She is the author of The Polish Housewife Cookbook, available on Amazon and on her website.
faithy
Lois, i love your juicy gossip! š But the gossip is pretty tame by today’s standard isn’t it? LOL! Despite not having the proper equipment, your cookies turned out looking great! They look perfect!
polishhousewife
Tame, indeed! Thanks, Faithy! x
Vicki B
TMZ baking gossip, love it! That’s some summer vacation house! So fabulous you were actually there. I actually like preserves better than apricot levkar but I think it’s the strong sulfur flavor I taste from the dried apricots. I should probably try it with unsulfured ones. It’s fun to make. Moving is so annoying….
Glori
Great post and gossip. Just shows what you can do when you have to improvise with other equipment and ingredients.
polishhousewife
Thanks, Glori!
Michele
Hi Lois, your cookies look delicious! Great post, love the scandalous detail about Franz Joseph’s actress friend! I also noticed that the apricot flavor was overwhelmed by the chocolate, but I didn’t make the dried fruit levkar either. Please visit me http://www.artfuloven.com!
polishhousewife
Thanks, Michele! I’m on my way to check yours out now!
Patricia @ ButterYum
TMZ – lol!! I’m with you, wouldn’t want to make the lekvar with a move in the future. Good to know this recipe can be made with a hand mixer!
Patricia @ ButterYum
http://www.butteryum.org/roses-alpha-bakers/2014/11/6/tbb-the-ischler
polishhousewife
Thanks, Patricia!
Catherine
It’s hard to believe the relationship was platonic (he built her a villa) – sounds like they had media spin doctors way back then.
Your biscuits look great. I’m always thankful for any kind of device which makes the work easier – imagine having to do it by hand.
polishhousewife
Oh, Catherine, he built her a villa in this spa town AND an palace in Vienna!
Yep, I was very glad to have my little 220 volt hand mixer in Poland, and passed it on to a friend when I returned to the land of the affordable Kitchen Aid stand mixer (the small KA runs about $700 in Poland.)
Marie Wolf
Thanks for the newsy tidbits about the emperor! (Platonic, my aunt Fanny). I’m glad that you used up the apricot filling that you had, so close to moving day. I firmly believe that most classic recipes were somehow made even better by someone making do with what they had on hand. I have no basis whatsoever for this belief, but I’m sticking to it.
polishhousewife
Thanks, Marie! I agree about using what you have on hand; it’s part of a pioneer spirit! š
Mendy
×”×
Love seeing the Polish ingredients. It is so cool that this baking group spans the globe.
Cool picture of F. J. birthplace.
I had the opposite experience than you. For me the apricot drowned the chocolate.
polishhousewife
The packing in Poland is so differnt, Mendy. My aluminum foil comes shrink wrapped. I didn’t really need a box with a cutting blade every time I bought foil after all. We just arrived back in Tucson, so my exotic ingredients are coming to an end. :-). Thanks for stopping by!
Rosa Maggie
http://maggiggie55.blogspot.ca/2014/12/tbb-ischler-cookies.html?m=1