Belvedere cookies

My mom and I perpetrated Belvedere cookies, an action representing the first baking session of the 2007 Christmas season.  One of the chef-instructors I had in cooking school gave me this odd recipe, which I translated from German.  The recipe is missing quite a few steps, which we filled in as best we could.  This is a bar cookie, but I had no idea how thick the batter should be spread, nor what oven temperature to use.  We wound up with something like small cakes with a thick layer of rum-laced glaze, and all who tried them said they were excellent.  I was not able to find anything about these cookies on the Web, so if you come across this entry and have information about these Austrian goodies, please let me know.  I suggest making them if you want something different.  They are not too sweet, but be sure to use a good quality chocolate that’s on the bitter side.  Do not store them with other cookies because then all your cookies will taste and smell like rum.

Belvedere Cookies

200 g  butter
100 g  powdered sugar
6 egg yolks
200 g  baker’s chocolate, softened
6 egg whites
100 g  granulated sugar
1 pinch salt
1 tbsp vanilla sugar
140 g  ground walnuts
160 g  strong or AP flour

Icing:

 Whip 300 g  powdered sugar & 1 dl rum

Soften the butter and mix with powdered sugar.  Add the egg yolks and chocolate.  Beat the egg whites, granulated sugar, salt and vanilla sugar until stiff.  Fold egg white mixture into dough.  Mix nuts and flour and carefully fold into dough.  Spread dough in a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake in preheated oven until done.  When still hot, apply the icing.  As soon as the icing begins to turn cloudy, cut into small squares.