This morning I woke up to the sound of fire crackers. When I looked at the clock it was 5.30 am. At first I thought what is going on?? And then I remembered: Schulsilvester (link in German). Every year on the last day of school before Christmas, the kids in Canton Zurich get up really early and make a ton of noise. This includes fire crackers, banging pots and pans, blowing whistles and ringing door bells. When we lived in the city we often also found toothpaste stuck to the door handles or on the mail box. I guess country children are better behaved...

So to ring in Christmas as the kids were, I decided to make some cookies. My choice was a batch of hazelnut cookies I had recently found in Leila Lindhom's newest cookbook "A Piece of Cake". I happened to see it at the library last week and though it looked interesting. The whole book now has post-its stuck all over it, reminding me which recipes to copy before it's due.

These cookies are extremely quick and easy to make. And they are easy to eat. I have a feeling I'll be making another batch tomorrow, because even my husband likes them!

Hazelnut Cookies (from A Piece of Cake by Leila Lindholm)

Note: Makes about 16 cookies

50 g butter

200 g ground hazelnuts

80 g sugar

1 egg

hazelnuts for garnish

Preheat the oven to 175°C. Melt the butter. Mix the hazelnuts with the melted butter, sugar and egg. Make little balls and place on the baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Gently press on hazelnut on top of each cookie. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 18 minutes until golden. Cool on the baking sheet.