Prep. time: 30 minutes
Resting time: Overnight
Baking time: 10 minutes
 

Christmas specialties, "bredele" or "bredle" are delicious little cookies which may be made with butter ("butterbredle"), or flavored with anise ("anisbredle"), orange or cinnamon. Their various shapes evoke the holiday season and range from stars and fir trees to angels, bells and hearts.

1. Beat the whole eggs with the sugar and vanilla sugar for about 20 minutes, until the mixture is thick and foamy and falls from the beater in a ribbon.
2. Blend in the anise and sifted flour and mix gently. 
3. Using a piping bag with a plain 8 mm tip, pipe out small mounds of batter about 2 centimeters in diameter onto buttered floured baking sheets. Let dry overnight in a cool draft-free location.  
4. Bake for 10 minutes in a preheated 180°C / 350°F oven.