What a perfect gem of a traditional Swiss cookie recipe! Even though it’s incredibly easy to make basler brunsli, the flavor and texture are unexpectedly complex and delightful. Almond flour, dark chocolate, and rich, warm spices are blended together in minutes and cut out into a festive dessert, perfect for the holidays and celebrations. Bite into the crisp edges with chewy centers and you’ll know why these “little browns” always earn rave reviews!
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Easy Swiss Cookies – Basler Brunsli
This past summer my husband and I travelled through Switzerland. Besides taking in the breathtaking views, we were equally excited about all the gluten-free Swiss foods I could enjoy. Although savory options were a little easier to come by (we ate our fair share of crispy potato rösti and cheesy fondue), we did discover an amazing chocolate, naturally gluten-free cookie – Basler brunsli.
What are these heavenly Swiss cookies like? Imagine a mash up of incredibly fudgy gluten-free brownie cookies with an unexpected crispy, yet chewy softness of homemade almond flour biscotti. Makes sense because brunsli cookies are made with almond flour and finely grated dark chocolate.
Traditionally these Swiss chocolate cookies are made with ground almonds, bittersweet chocolate bars, and egg whites, but you know how I like to keep things easy peasy! Therefore the nuts were swapped out for almond flour, bittersweet chocolate for dark chocolate chips, and an additional dutch cocoa powder add to absorb moisture and boost a rich, dark chocolate flavor.
This is the very best cookie I have ever made! Both my gluten-free friends and non-gluten-free friends love it. I loved working with the dough. It was easy to cut out and made a great addition to my Christmas cookie tray.
—Mary
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Ingredient Tid Bits
- Almond flour – I make Brunsli with almond flour for ease and a smoother texture (instead of ground nuts). Other nut flours work too, like hazelnut or pecan flour.
- Dark chocolate chips – If you want to get your fancy gourmet on use bittersweet chocolate bars or any other high-quality chocolate. Me? I grabbed a bag of dark chocolate chips (not semi-sweet) and had zero complaints!
- Spices – A must for the spiced cookie flavor. You will find many combos of warm spices, but personally I love a rich blend of cinnamon, cloves and cardamon. Some brunsli recipes leave out the spice or add nutmeg and even pepper.
- Cocoa powder – I highly recommend using Dutch cocoa powder for best flavor!
Let’s Make This Together!
(Below shows step-by-step photos and modified instructions. For the complete recipe, along with ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card.)
Easy peasy cookie dough
For ease, it starts with a food processor, which saves you the trouble of grating the chocolate or alternatively melting it down, cooling, and adding to the dough. Just throw in the almond flour, sugar, chocolate, cocoa powder, and spices and process until it’s a fine powder. You’ll still feel little pebbles of chocolate, but that’s okay.
Add egg whites, more sneaky flavor, and chill
Add the egg whites, and the extracts – vanilla for creaminess, almond to boost the sweet, nutty flavor. Blend until a dough forms. It should be the consistency of pie dough, not wet, but when pressed into a ball, it will clump together. If it doesn’t? Add a smidge of water until it does.
Lay a large piece of plastic wrap on the counter, scrape the dough onto it. Shape into a large flat disk, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for about 1 hour. This makes the dough less sticky and easier to roll out.
Roll just the right amount
Place the dough between two large sheets of parchment. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough. These cookies are slightly thicker than cut-out cookies, so make sure they are about ¼ inch thick so you still get that chewiness in the middle.
Use cookie cutters to cut into shapes, then transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets. Re-roll the scraps and continue to cut out more cookies until all of the dough is used.
Let them sit and bake
Once they are are all cut out, sprinkle the tops with sugar. You can use granulated sugar, turbinado “raw” sugar, or coarse sugar for bigger crystals.
Now we let them “dry out” at room temp for 1 hour before baking. (For my riveting thoughts on this see below. ⬇️) Bake in a 325°F oven for 15-17 minutes, or until the tops look slightly puffy and dry.
Do I really have to let them rest? Yes. Really.
When reading through other classic Swiss cookie recipes I questioned this. It seemed like a long extra step and I’m not known to the be the most patient person, especially when a warm chocolate spice cookie is on the other side.
So, I gave it a test and baked some Brunsli right away, and some after 1 hour. You can see the rested cookies win the appearance award, but resting also improved the texture. The rested ones were less chewy, like that unpleasant stick-in-your-teeth chewy, with a smoother, softer crumb.
Sorry, not sorry, because patience wins out.
Making a Drop Cookie Version – No Rolling!
I’m asking a lot of you with the chilling and resting, so how about a win? Instead of making rolled and cut out cookies, you can also shape the dough into simple balls. Use a small or medium cookie scoop to portion into 1 or 2 tablespoon balls. Roll until smooth and then roll in sugar.
Place them on parchment-lined baking sheets, about 1 inch apart, and flatten slightly with a glass cup bottom. Bake for 13-15 minutes. If you want to go all out, drizzle some melted chocolate over the top after they cool.
What else can be added for flavor and pizzazz? Zest of an orange, orange extract (instead of almond or vanilla), or a dash of cayenne pepper would all be complimentary. You can also add 1 tablespoon liqueur, either Kirsch, Grand Marnier, or Amaretto. However, remove 1 tablespoon of egg white from the recipe so the dough isn’t too wet for rolling. After they cooled, you can also melt some chocolate and drizzle over the tops. Add sprinkles for a festive holiday treat!
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Easy, Perfect Basler Brunsli (Chocolate Swiss Cookies)
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cup (238 g) blanched almond flour
- 1 ½ cup (10 ounces) dark chocolate chips, 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 1¼ cup (250 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (25 g) dutch cocoa powder
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large (75 g) egg whites
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
- Place the almond flour, chocolate chips, sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon, ground cloves, cardamom, and salt in a food processor. Process on high until all ingredients are blended into a fine powder, about 30-60 seconds. You'll still feel little pebbles of chocolate, but that's okay.2 ½ cup blanched almond flour, 1 ½ cup (10 ounces) dark chocolate chips, 1¼ cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup dutch cocoa powder , ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground cloves, ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom, ½ teaspoon salt
- Add the egg whites, vanilla, almond extract and process until a dough forms. It will be the consistency of pie dough, not wet, but should clump together when pressed into a ball.2 large egg whites, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon almond extract
- Lay a large piece of plastic wrap on the counter, scrape half the dough onto it. Shape into a large flat disk, wrap in plastic wrap and repeat with second half of dough. Chill in the refrigerator for 60 minutes.
- Remove the disk of cookie dough from the plastic and place between two large sheets of parchment. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to ¼ inch thick (see image in post for thickness).
- Use cookie cutters to cut into shapes. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets, about 1 inch apart (these cookies don't spread much during baking). Re-roll the scraps and continue to cut out more cookies until all of the dough is used.
- Once all the cookies are on the sheets, sprinkle the tops with additional sugar. Let them dry in a cool room for one hour. This ensures a crispier, smooth top (see image in post for comparison). Toward the end of the drying time, preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Bake the cookies for 15-17 minutes, or until the tops look slightly puffy. Remove from the oven and cool completely on the baking sheets. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days.
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We love these cookies, and they were so easy to make! The chocolate flavor is so nice with the spices. Perfect!
Thank you, Heather! The recipe may not be what people are used to, but I couldn’t agree more. I love the spices with the chocolate and the texture is so good with the almond flour! Happy holidays!
Best,
Melissa
These cookies are delicious! The thickness you roll them out does make a difference, thicker = chewier, thinner = crispier. Both are great just depends on what you want, I like them a bit chewier. Thank you for the great recipe!
You’re welcome, Sue! Thanks for sharing your experience. I appreciate it!
Best,
Melissa
This is the very best gluten-free cookie I have ever made! Both my gluten-free friends and non-gluten-free friends love it. It was easy to make even with the time to rest the dough. I loved working with the dough. It was easy to cut out and made a great addition to my Christmas cookie tray. I will be trying more of your gluten-free cookies very soon. Thank you so much. And they really did freeze very well. As I made them ahead.
Oh this is amazing to hear, Mary! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know. These are a favorite on our cookie tray as well!
Best,
Melissa
This is by far the best gluten-free cookie I have ever made! I was looking for an ethnic recipe from Switzerland to honor my great great grandparents. This cookie did the trick. My gluten-free friends are raving and asking for the recipe which I am gladly sharing. Thank you for an amazing cookie recipe. Plus, it was really fun to make. I loved working with the dough.
Thank you so much! I love that you honored your family with this recipe. It makes me so happy!
Best,
Melissa
These sound amazing! Can’t wait to bake them.
Let me know what you think when you do!
Best,
Melissa