#gipfeli

There’s nothing like the smell of freshly baked Swiss gipfeli-those golden, flaky croissants that taste like a hug from Grandma. My first attempt at these was in a tiny college kitchen, channeling my Swiss roots and Grandma Eleanor’s faded recipe notes. Now, these pastries are a family tradition, perfect for brunch, holiday mornings, or a cozy midnight snack.

Why you’ll love this recipe:

Quick & Easy: Ready in under 2 hours-no three-day croissant marathon here!

Super Flaky: Cold butter slices and a simple fold-and-chill method create irresistible layers.

Versatile: Fill with ham and cheese, shape into festive wreaths, or keep them classic and buttery.

Easy Gipfeli Recipe

Activate Yeast: Mix active dry yeast and sugar into warm milk. Wait for that foamy “coffee time” moment-if it doesn’t bubble, start over!

Mix Dough: Cut cold butter into flour until pea-sized crumbs form. (Pro tip: Freeze butter first!)

Fold & Chill: Roll, fold, and chill the dough, rotating 90° between each fold. This builds those signature flaky layers.

Shape: Cut triangles, roll tightly, and place on a baking sheet.

Egg Wash & Bake: Brush with egg wash (add a bit of honey for shine) and bake until golden brown.

Want the full step-by-step guide, pro tips, and variations? Find it all at my Easy Gipfeli Recipe!

Käse-Schinken-Blätterteig-Hörnchen

Man nehme:

- 1 Packung Fertig-Blätterteig (Ja, Fertig-Blätterteig, darf man aber auch selber machen)

- Italienischen Kochschinken (etwa 200g)

- Käse (z.B. Gouda und Gruyère)

Blätterteig in kleine Dreiecke schneiden, mit Schicken und Käse füllen und zu Hörnchen rollen. Mit Eigelb bestreichen und bei 180°C in den Backofen bis sie knusprig gold-braun sind.

Breakfast is big in our house. It's always a serious affair. We don't have cereal in a box, because my dad says that the cardboard has more nutrition in it than the cereal and mum says if she wanted us to have that much sugar she'd open a bottle of coke. So in Australia breakfast is a variation of the Swiss Bircher muesli. You  soak the muesli overnight in water and then in the morning add fruit and milk and nuts and yoghurt. One of my friends wanted to know if my parents used a cement mixer to make it, which I thought was a bit rude, but then she came with us to Switzerland and got a rash on her mouth from eating a Bürli (that's a hard Swiss bread roll). I said she should stick to the American toast bread, which is what they call white sliced bread. Same sort you get in Australia.

But when we are in other countries we eat whatever food is there, and if I'm honest, which I am most of the time, I'm not quite as enthusiastic as my parents, except in Switzerland. I'm a big fan of meat and cheese and bread and jam and coffee for breakfast. And my all-time favourite is gipfelis (that's croissants). I could eat that breakfast till the cows come home, as Auntie Lizzie would say, except maybe the stinky cheese which can burn your mouth. Burny cheese and scratchy bread! Who'd have thought Switzerland had such dangerous food?

When we're in China there's congee, rice porridge for breakfast, and you can add whatever you like to it. In Korea there's these great mushrooms and noodles and tofu and kimchi which my parents love. My dad likes to think he's Korean.

But then when we went travelling last month in Australia we had a continental breakfast at a motel. My dad wanted to know what continent it was from, because he certainly wasn't going there. After that my parents went to the supermarket and bought stuff so for the rest of the week we had an Intercontinental breakfasts.

Here's a picture of our Intercontinental Breakfast.