Lottie’s Vanillekipferl
"Christmas time was always filled with her homemade cheesecakes, shortbread, and slices as well as all the food she cooked...
ham, German potato salad, beetroot salad, sauerkraut - the list goes on"
I’ve known Casey for 14 years. The two of us used to be the rebellious students in the back of dance class gossiping and not paying attention to our teacher. Asking if I could showcase her Ma was a no brainer. Because if there is one person whose love for their grandmother rivals the love I have for mine, it’s Casey.
Reading this story blew me away. Seriously. As a privileged Australian who has never had to worry about safety or freedom, I simultaneously teared up and shook my head reading what Lottie had to go through (alone!) to get her son to a safe country. So, I am beyond honoured to feature Lottie and her incredible story. The shortbread is just a delicious bonus.
Words from Casey.
Her full name is Liesel-Lotta Elsa-Maria, but everyone calls her Lottie. The kids ended up just calling her Ma, as the first grandchild couldn’t say the ‘O’ in O’ma - so she is Ma to me.
She was born in Offenbach in Germany, and she lived through the Nazi German war. Her mother died when she was young, her father remarried, and her stepmother was unkind. Lottie was eventually married and had a son. They bought a ticket to Australia and were ready to leave Germany to start a new life together when her husband tragically died during a routine operation leaving her a widow and a single mother. She thought it might be best to stay in Germany, then her stepmother told her that if she wanted to stay, there was no room for her and the child and that she should put him up for adoption as "he was a beautiful kid, someone will take him".
Absolutely offended by this, Lottie said blow this and got on the boat, alone with her son, not knowing a soul and headed to a new country. She was destined for Perth, but while on the boat she made some friends who were headed for Sydney. They said they would say she is their sister so she could come to Sydney with them, and she did. She lived in a refugee camp for a year where she eventually met her new husband, Ludas. They got married and had my dad.
Ma was such a loving and doting grandma. She loved to bake, and Christmas time was always filled with her homemade cheesecakes, shortbread, and slices as well as all the food she cooked; ham, German potato salad, beetroot salad, sauerkraut- the list goes on. She always took the time to listen to my stories and be interested in everything I did. She loved coming to my dance concerts too. I was affectionately named ‘little sweetie pie’ and my fondest memories of her always revolve around food, laughter, drinking and talking at her dining table in her little house.
I miss her so much and seeing her fade away with dementia in a nursing home has been cruel. She is still there, alone. We can’t see her because of covid - she has forgotten us. I was really lucky that she was well enough to watch me get married and meet my firstborn. I will cherish these memories for the rest of my life.
The recipe I gave you, Vanilla Kipful (German shortbread) was something she always made. I managed to get the recipe out of her by her stepping me through it as she has committed it to memory and didn’t have a physical copy of it. I’ve now made it a tradition to bake these cookies every Christmas- just to bring a little bit of her back to life.
Lottie’s Vanillekipferl (Christmas Shortbread)
As I was making this recipe, I was thinking about all the delicious treats Casey’s Ma used to make. With flour dusted all over my kitchen (well, mostly on my apron and face), I carefully shaped the little moons and wondered if Lottie would approve of them. I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but I made 3 batches of shortbread and watched countless videos to make sure I did Lottie’s recipe justice. I knew I had to experiment with different shapes and sizes to make sure they didn’t turn out like fat little blobs that only half resembled moons. The ones you see here are perfect. Dusted in more icing sugar than you could ever imagine. And yes, they are as delicious and light and crumbly as they look. When you’re eating them, if you don’t get icing sugar all over your face and all down your Sunday best, you’re doing it wrong. They are utter perfection.
Ingredients:
250g plain flour (sifted)
125g caster sugar
Pinch of salt
Bicarb soda (about ½ teaspoon)
1 packet of vanilla sugar
200g butter
3 egg yolks
125g almond or hazelnut meal
Method:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees
Melt butter and leave to cool
Mix flour, caster sugar, salt, bicarb and vanilla sugar in a bowl
Separate egg yolks
Add cooled butter and egg yolk to dry ingredients and mix
Add nut meal of choice
Roll out gently (it will be crumbly). Adding flour to the bench helps.
If using a cookie cutter, press dough down and cut out your shape (you can use a Christmas tree shape for Christmas).
If making moons, roll a small ball between your hands to form a log and then shape into moons on your baking paper.
Bake for roughly 10 minutes. Don’t overcook or they come out dry.
Once cooled, roll in icing sugar.
Julia’s notes.
The dough is wet. Don’t add more flour! It’s that amount of ‘wetness’ that gives the shortbread the cracked look you are after (that’s where the most icing sugar sits! – wink wink). I added more flour to one batch, and they didn’t have the same look. Don’t be tempted.
I used almond meal and I am told by an inside source (Casey), that it’s the best one to use.
When forming the moons, don’t make them too big as they grow in the oven. I used approx. 1 heaped teaspoon of mixture to get this shape and size. If you are unsure (like I was), cook them in batches and adjust accordingly.
Trust me when I say, you won’t be able to stop at one (or even two or three!).
I had never heard of this before but you can get a packet of Vanilla Sugar at the supermarket (in the baking section). It’s a yellow and red packet (25g) and is called ‘Vanillin Sugar’. Enjoy.
