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Cinnamon Stars
The cinnamon star is found in Switzerland, Austria and Germany. It is another typical Christmas biscuit. Cinnamon stars are sweet almond biscuits with a distinct cinnamon flavour. They are usually coated with a white egg-white sugar icing. Cinnamon stars are said to have existed as early as the 16th century, but as cinnamon was precious, the biscuits were found among the aristocracy. Recipes were not published until the 18th century.
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Basler Brunsli
The Basler Brunsli is a brown Christmas biscuit with a strong connection to Basel. Hence the name, as the word “Brunsli” comes from the Alemannic “bruun” for brown. The biscuit is mentioned earlier in Winterthur, but the recipe was first published in 1750 by Eugen A. Meyer in Basel. Since then it has been considered one of the most important biscuits in the Basel area, along with Leckerli and Anisbrötchen. There it is not only eaten at Christmas time, but also at other festivities such as weddings, for example. The dough, based on almonds and chocolate, is coarse, dry on the outside and moist on the inside.