Sweet thing

Two sisters baked 67 kilos of cookies this Advent

Sweet sibling love: Elfi Seigmann (left) and Petra Brunner baking cookies together.(Bild: Brunner)

Cookie mania in the Mühlviertel: two sisters fell in love with baking 20 years ago. They now produce 67 different varieties every November 16. This year, the material cost 900 euros.

The most difficult are the Sissi and Franz cookies, which consist of layers of jam, nougat, marzipan, cookie on top and bottom and are decorated on the outside and topped with gold leaf," says Petra Brunner (52) from Sonnberg im Mühlkreis. She and her sister Elfi Seigmann (58) from Salzburg have been cultivating a particularly beautiful tradition for 20 years. From November 16, they bake cookies together for a week. What began with ten to 15 varieties has grown into a real "cookie mania" over two decades.

Cookie splendor that makes the eye smile: the two Mühlviertel sisters produced an almost unbelievable 67 varieties this year. They usually find the recipes for new cookies on the Internet.(Bild: Brunner)

In the Christmas bakery
This year, the two Christmas cookie professionals produced a total of 67 varieties, with specialties such as white Ischler, poppy seeds, orange wedges, Black Forest cookies and Berlin bread. "Of course, the classics are also included," says Brunner. "When we get going, it's from 8 in the morning until twelve or one in the morning."

"Hot nights"
However, the "hot nights" at the oven also come at a price. And that's meant quite literally, because the two Mühlviertel women fork out a lot for their shared hobby, which is actually already a ritual. "The materials cost us more than 900 euros. The butter in particular has become more expensive. We spent 127 euros on the 58 packets of butter alone," says Brunner.

But what do the chefs do with their treasure?
 After all, they produce around a hundred of each type. "We don't sell anything, we give it all away. To family, friends and acquaintances who have done us a favor during the year. Most of them are already waiting to receive their filled tins," says Brunner: "And then there's FKK, or stranger cookie cost rounds." Incidentally, she herself is not a sweet tooth: "I hardly ever eat cookies, I only really like gingerbread and generally prefer sour things."