German Springerle Cookies
There is something about Christmas that brings out my German roots, especially when it comes to baking Christmas cookies!
In the mail today I received a Springerle rolling pin from Germany. This will begin a new tradition in our home of baking these wonderful anise flavored cookies in different designs.
In central Europe, the traditional cookie-shaping devices were carved boards made from a single piece of thick wood. Professional bakers in Germany, the Netherlands, and Austria used them to make fragrant spice cookies that were an important part of every community or religious feast day. The traditional recipe was rich in ginger and cinnamon and sweetened with honey.
The boards, hand-carved and highly detailed, showed Biblical scenes, mounted noblemen, animals, and people in the dress of the period. A few of the treasured cookie boards were brought to the New World in the 1700's by bakers who set up shop in Philadelphia and other cities.
The old rollers and boards are made of fine-grained hardwood deeply cut by hand with designs of birds, castles, animals and flowers. Few springerle rollers and boards were made in the United States, but they were imported from Germany until about 1900.
Recipe for Springerle Cookies:
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
4 eggs
1 pound powdered sugar, sifted (4 3/4 cups)
20 drops oil of anise (about 1/4 teaspoon)
1 Tablespoon aniseed, crushed
Combine flour and baking soda. In a large mixer bowl, beat eggs with electric mixer till light and airy. Gradually add powdered sugar; beat on high speed about 15 minutes or until mixture is like soft meringue. Stir in oil of anise.
Add about three-fourths of the flour mixture and beat on low speed until blended. Stir in remaining flour mixture with a wooden spoon. Cover with foil; let stand about 15 minutes. Divide dough into thirds.
Roll each portion into an 8-inch square on a lightly floured surface. Let stand 1 minute. Lightly dust a springerle rolling pin or mold with flour; roll or press firmly on dough. Using a sharp knife, cut cookies apart. Place on a lightly floured surface; cover with a towel and let stand 6 hours or overnight.
Grease three cookie sheets; sprinkle each with 1 tsp. of the crushed aniseed. Brush excess flour from cookies. With your finger, rub the bottom of each cookie lightly with cold water. Place 1-inch apart on prepared cookie sheets.
Bake in a 300 degree oven for about 18 minutes or until cookies are a light straw color. remove to wire rack; cool. Makes about 72 cookies.
* To soften the baked cookies slightly, store with a quartered apple in an airtight container at room temperature.
