The dough for Käsknöpfle is similar to pasta but slightly softer and pressed through a board with holes rather than rolled out. The little dough buttons fall straight into boiling water and cook in just a minute or two. The key is layering them immediately with generous amounts of grated cheese while everything is still steaming hot.
The cheese traditionally used is a local alpine variety - slightly tangy and salty, made from the milk of cows that graze on mountain meadows in summer. The flavour of alpine cheese is said to carry hints of the herbs and flowers the cows eat, which is why mountain cheese often tastes quite different from supermarket cheese.
The crispy onion topping is not optional - it is the finishing touch that makes Käsknöpfle special. The onions are sliced thin and fried slowly until golden and crunchy. You can find Käsknöpfle in almost every restaurant in Liechtenstein, and it is the dish that visitors are always told they must try.