Cougnou

 Cougnou.

At the beginning of December one of the breads that sells the most is the cougnou because it´s usually eaten during Christmas dinner and the next day for breakfast. In Belgium, bakers create a Christmas bread that references the shape of baby Jesus. Cougnou is a sweet bread that is usually made with eggs, flour, hot milk, softened butter, raisins, fruit pieces, granulated sugar, salt, cinnamon and dry yeast. Sometimes the cougnou is usually decorated with raisins, chocolate chips, sugar crystals and even colored sugar.

Most often, it´s made of one large, long dumpling in the center, with two smaller dumplings at either end, giving the impression of a swaddled baby. Sometimes it´s a long piece of soft dough with a baby made of sugar in middle, as if the dough is a cradle and may be decorated with colored sugar, chcolate chips, sugar crystals, raisins. The decoration is an extra to make the cougnou look more beautiful in order to draw the attention of the children and keep them enjoying that delicious bread.

Since cougnou is the typical Belgian bread, cougnou can be eaten as a dessert after Christmas dinner and also for breakfast the next morning when adults and children have opened their Christmas presents, the cougnou is usually accompanied by a cup of hot chocolate because during the morning it´s cold. After having breakfast cougnou with a delicious cup of hot chocolate, one of the most relevant customs for Belgians is to go skating as a family and enjoy Christmas together.