Brigita’s Sweet Pumpernikel

For me, there is one thing about Christmas that is reallyspecial, and it is the memories of family and friends, those who are with us, and those no longer here…

As I was deciding on the recipes for the biscuits (cookies) to be baked for this year’s Christmas gifts, I recalled a beautiful, kind lady whom I felt privileged to call a friend, Brigita, a lecturer and colleague whom I worked with at Deakin University almost 30 years ago! (She was an academic, I was in admin). The department we worked for was a very social group, and we celebrated Christmas twice a year! Brigita, originally from Latvia, always prepared the mulled wine, but what I remember more is her very special sweet treat, a biscuit that she called pumpernikel. It was not the dark, dense, savoury pumpernikel that I was familiar with, but rather a crisp, light, sweet, fruity biscuit that she had baked and given to me as a gift for Christmas. I was so privileged to have received this recipe from her, and it is through this recipe that Brigita will be forever remembered by our family.

Brigita's Sweet Pumpernikel

The fruit and peel make this little treat delicious!

Category: Baking, Biscuits, Cookies

Style: Latvian

Keyword: Biscuits, Christmas Biscuits, Christmas Cookies, Cookies, Fruit Biscuit, Fruit Cookies, Gluten Free Option, Pumpernikel, Sweet Pumpernikel

Quantity: 120 biscuits

Author: sbaskitchen

Ingredients

200 g butter
400 g sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
3 drops of almond extract
500 g plain flour
300 g ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
125 g candied citrus peel
100 g glace fruit diced
75 g currants
60 g glace ginger diced

Instructions

Preheat oven to 175˚C (fan).
Line 3 baking trays with baking paper.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Add fruit and dry ingredients and mix well to combine.
Roll into 2 cm thick sticks and lay across the lined baking tray, leaving space for spreading.
Bake for 20 minutes, until golden.
Cut on the diagonal while still warm.
Lay out on baking trays and dry in a tepid oven. (See notes.)

Notes

To dry out the sweet pumpernikel, I heat the oven to 150˚C (fan), return the biscuits to the oven, turn the oven off and then leave them in the residual heat overnight .

For gluten free sweet pumpernikel replace flour with Gluten Free Flour Blend, add an additional tsp of GF baking powder and 1 tsp xanthan gum.

First published: 24 December 2019
Last updated: 10 July 2026

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With many thanks and kindness,
Julie.

Julie your quilt. A gift from Family

October 19, 2019 / sbaskitchen / Leave a comment

Recently we took a little break and travelled home to be with my gorgeous sisters and to visit our beautiful mum. I say home, because that is still what we call it, it is the home that we all grew up in, and love so very much.

After a five plus hour road trip, we arrived at home to find Sonnie and Jan working hard in the garden, they had arrived earlier in the day and had done some amazing work tidying things up.

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Fairy Tales & Love

September 26, 2019 / sbaskitchen / Leave a comment

Following on from my previous post, I had been asked to help our son, Christopher, to keep them here until a specified time on the Sunday. This was easy, so I sent a quick message to he and Olivia, as follows:

Ok guys, I hope that you don’t need to leave early on Sunday… We have a farmer’s market here in Maffra on Sunday morning… But I desperately want to take you to the Port of Sale – yes, there is a port in Sale. There is so much to see and do, but I REALLY want to take you to the gallery. There is a piece there that is absolutely amazing, and there may even be something that the boys may be interested in. Then maybe an early afternoon sausage sizzle at home before you leave

It worked, but we didn’t make it to the farmer’s market, instead, after a leisurely breakfast we traveled to nearby Sale and went to the Gippsland Art Gallery (we are so very lucky to have a gallery of this caliber on our doorstep).

The piece that I wanted the family to see was by local artist Klara Jones, entitled “Allerleirauh” and based on a story Allerleirauh, by the Brothers Grimm (1819), and Klara has cited the following: Continue reading →

Bringing the colt back to the stables…

August 29, 2019September 26, 2019 / sbaskitchen / Leave a comment

My husband Gary has been working on a little project with fellow volunteers, led by local artist, Gavin Roberts. Gavin discovered that the local counsel had flagged a historical building for destruction as it was seen to be derelict. Dating back to the 1870’s, the building in question was once the local police stables and cells.

Gavin had in mind to resurrect the decaying building and turn it into a working space for local artists, so with the support of the local Shakespeare Committee, Gavin sought and received funding to begin the work.

And so the work began… With a lot of hard work, the team of volunteers had the building standing upright (rather than on an undesirable angle), new floors in place, walls lined, new window frames and windows, frames by Gary with the glass etched by local artist Peter Cummings. A mezzanine level was constructed providing space for research and meetings, and it is up there that you will find a wonderful stained glass window created by another of the volunteers and artists, Bill Payne. Of course there are also bathroom facilities, with a touch of quirkiness in the design added by Gavin. Finally with a gallery space set up to display finished works for sale, it was time for Opening Night!

Before

The bathroom

Pete & Gary at work on the windows.

Windows installed.

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Gifts from a Neglected Garden

June 13, 2019June 22, 2019 / sbaskitchen / 1 Comment

The last twelve months have been nothing short of chaotic, resulting in so many things being neglected, one of which is our garden. The vegie patch was overrun with weeds and I felt that I wasn’t getting the produce that I should from it, given that I didn’t have time to care for the soil, plant out all the seeds and seedlings that I had planned to, etc.

I had planted some sweet potato slips in late spring/early summer and they took over, neglecting to climb the wire that I had set up in preference to rambling all over the footpaths and garden beds. I eventually got so frustrated with the mess that, about a month ago, I decided it was time to pull them out, telling myself that I would never to grow them again. I had planted one little row, about one meter, or a tad over 3 feet long. What a surprise when I started digging down. My neglected garden had provided us with a lovely basket full (almost 4 kilograms / 8 lbs) of beautiful tubers destined for our kitchen.

The tomatoes did not do as well as they should, but it appears that it was not the season for tomatoes for most that I spoke to (it was a very harsh summer), however we had enough for everyday use and for making the annual batch of tomato sauce, a much sought after family favourite. The pumpkin vines that I had growing up archways provided a few fruit and the beans were plentiful resulting in a well stocked freezer.