Vienna has some of the most beautifully embellished gingerbread cookies that I have ever seen. I bought a few, intending to use them as decorations, decided to sacrifice one in the name of science, and discovered they are also some of the best gingerbread cookies I’ve ever tasted. These are a few years old now and some of the icing is flaking off but I still enjoy looking at them and I appreciate the talent that went into making them so delicious and beautiful.
This year I bought some more gingerbread cookies—to eat. These are designed by Vienna's Joanna Janas and made in Slovakia. They are so nicely spiced and so pretty to look at. What a delight!
My David likes fish so this is for him:
My favorites are still the ones with white frosting. So pretty!
I also met some women who work for Pirker who said the company started making gingerbread more than 300 years ago! It is still owned and operated by the same family that founded the company. She said their cookies are more than 50% honey. They are different from the others but are also incredibly delicious. We bought a variety that includes orange-peel-topped gingerbread cookies that are wonderful.
Pirker's gingerbread house:
Cafe Central's:
And this, from Weiner Werkstatt:
These are so beautiful! (Especially the last heart one - amazing!)
ReplyDeleteI bought a very similar to the second picture heart shaped gingerbread in Vienna a couple of years ago, and I was amazed by how intricate the designs were. My attempts to reproduce this myself have so far failed.
I never thought to actually put them on the Christmas tree...
Where did you buy these from?
Hi Michelle,
ReplyDeleteThe last one is also my favorite. It was several years ago that I bought those and I think they were from the Spittleberg Christmas Market, although I have seen similar ones at just about all of Vienna's Christmas markets...Rathaus, Karlskirche, etc. even at the Naschmarkt. And, if you can bring yourself to bite into one of these beauties, they are delicious! I'll have to buy more this year...as you can see from the photos, some of the frosting had fallen off by the time I took the photos, which may have been a couple of years after buying them....This year, I'll buy them, decorate with them and then eat them! Good luck with your practice to duplicate them at home...what a skill!