Springerle

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve written about those cookies several times but I’ve never been completely satisfied with the way they turned out.  But this year, this year I finally was able to end up with the cookie I remember!  And do it consistently over a couple batches.  Yay!  I’m so happy to have finally mastered this recipe.  And it wasn’t about tweaking the ingredients but about really understanding the technique.   

 

This is another of those recipes that I really wonder how my grandmother made them with out a big ol’ mixer.  I’m sure it could be done but I’ve got to say that she was made of much hardier stock than I am. 

 

As I’ve mentioned before you can buy the molds from places like Amazon.  Or you can try to find original molds on Ebay but they are collector items and come at quite a cost.  The ones I use now I purchased at Sur la Table.   

 

I’m posting both the original recipe, which was the common one used in years past and was actually found on the back of many of the molds, and then below it I have my notes on how to make the recipe actually work. 

 

Springerle

(Grandma W)

 

Sift 4½ cups flour with 1 tsp. baking powder.

 

Grease two large cookie sheets.  Sprinkle them generously with anise seeds.

 

In large bowl beat 4 eggs at medium speed until light.  Gradually add 1# (3¾ cups) powdered sugar, sifted, while beating well. 

 

With wooden spoon blend in 1 Tbsp. grated lemon rind and flour mixture. 

 

Wrap in plastic and refrigerate one hour.

 

Roll dough ½” thick on lightly floured board.  With floured springerle form print pictures on surface.  With sharp knife cut out cookies on lines between pictures. 

 

Let stand on cookie sheets at least 12 hours. 

 

Bake at 325° 25 to 30 minutes. 

 

Cool, then store in airtight containers.  Makes 40.

 

 

(Brenda’s Notes)

 

In large bowl beat 4 eggs (with whisk attachment) at medium speed until light (at least 10 minutes). Eggs should be pale yellow, thick and about doubled in bulk.  Do not beat until stiff. 

 

Gradually add 1# (3¾ cups) powdered sugar, sifted, while beating well.  I’ve found that sifting about 1 cup at a time, adding it to the eggs, then sifting the next cup, forces you to add it slowly enough to get it well incorporated. 

 

Sift 4½ cups flour with 1 tsp. baking powder.

 

With wooden spoon (paddle attachment) blend in 1 Tbsp. grated lemon rind and flour mixture. Same thing with the flour – sift a bit, then add it, then sift a bit more.  Blend until the flour is completely incorporated and the dough is smooth.  My big mixer has to work hard at low speeds so be prepared to increase speed as needed. 

 

Wrap in plastic and refrigerate one hour. Don’t refrigerate longer than one hour.

 

Grease two large cookie sheets.  Sprinkle them generously with anise seeds.

 

Roll dough ½” thick on lightly floured board.  With floured springerle form print pictures on surface.  With sharp knife cut out cookies on lines between pictures.  With the molds I have, I roll the dough out to about ½” and to the dimension of the mold. Lightly flour the dough. Then I put the mold on the dough, then turn the whole thing over – it helps if you have plastic wrap under the dough or one of those flexible cutting boards.  Then I press the dough into the mold with my hands- start at the center and then work your way out to the edges as the dough will spread a bit. Then turn the whole thing back over and remove the mold.  If you find some did not get pressed very well you can carefully put them back over their little area – generally it will kind of line itself up – and then press a bit more.  

 

Let stand on cookie sheets at least 12 hours. 

 

Bake at 325° 25 to 30 minutes.  Even with my big molds (where I only get about 25 cookies) they only need about 15 minutes.  Until bottoms are golden and tops are just starting to color.)

 

Cool, then store in airtight containers. Add a slice of apple to the container to keep the springerle soft.  Change it out every 3 days or so. This is something my grandmother did and I find it is important to keep the cookies from drying out quickly.  Makes 40.