Springerle Cookies

Saturday, April 11, 2009



The weather is beautiful here and I should be working in the garden. But I've wanted to make springerle cookies for weeks. And today is the day!
I have several cookie molds purchased from House on the Hill. Well, really more than several ....but we won't talk about that right now. These cake like cookies date back to the 1600's and are still made in the Alsace area of France. They are dense with wonderful anise and orange flavors. I purchased molds, anise oil and the baker's ammonia from House on the Hill. The recipe comes with the molds and is really tasty.
Thought you might like to see how they are done. Mine are baking right now and the aroma in the kitchen is delicious. If you decide to purchase one mold....I would go for the largest you can afford. One large cookie fits into a cellophane bag and when the bag is tied closed with a bit of ribbon you have a fabulous gift. They are drama queens!
Flour is added to the recipe until the dough is stiff. You want a good print without the dough sticking to the mold. I did have a bit of a problem with this until I added more flour.

I purchased the 6" ring so I could cut out the large circular cookie. I made a mistake and cut out the circle and then pressed the mold into the dough. It works better if you press the mold into the dough and then cut it out with the cutter. This is my large circular cookie after the mold was pressed into the dough. I needed to use a bit more flour on my bread board. It took a couple of spatulas to get the cookie to the baking sheet.
This roller makes a long ribbon cookie. The cookie can be cut into pieces or left long. I've made this one at Christmas also and used gingerbread. Really a sweet look.

These small, bite-sized cookies are cute....
The baking sheet is loaded and ready to go. I let them dry out on the cookie sheet for several hours. It helps them retain their imprint. I bake them at about 275 degrees for 20 minutes. If they begin to puff up lower the temperature. These cookies are great with coffee or hot tea. They can be kept for several months and actually improve with age.
Now.....I have to go and plant about 15 raspberry bushes.
Happy Easter and Passover. Blessings to you all!

Alma

Share This Story

Tags:

24 comments

  1. AnonymousApril 11, 2009 at 3:57 PM

    Alma, you are truly a gem! About two weeks ago my sister, Tammy and I (who see you at the SB Retreat) were talking about what a classy and gracious lady you are-and now we get to read your awesome blog! We love your posts.
    Wishing you and yours Easter Blessings.
    Lancy

    ReplyDelete
  2. MargaretApril 11, 2009 at 4:05 PM

    How cool is this! I've been tempted by those cookie molds so this doesn't help! lol! Of course, I'm not the baker in the family, my husband is. And I'm not sure he would go for baking these. Hmmmmmmm......

    ReplyDelete
  3. NIKYApril 11, 2009 at 4:18 PM

    Thank you for sharing also this , you're so clever in cooking too.
    Take care and Happy Easter

    ReplyDelete
  4. AmyApril 11, 2009 at 4:26 PM

    Oh how cool! They are beautiful........Enjoy! You are doing a great job blogging.....I get excited when I see a new post from you......You've created a monster,lol!
    May you have a blessed Easter and a warm Spring......The garden will wait........Amy

    ReplyDelete
  5. AprilApril 11, 2009 at 9:44 PM

    Oh, my lord! These cookies are simply divine. I had no idea they existed. Thank you so much for sharing these wonderful photos with us. I actually have one of these molds (one of the hornbook molds); I bought it on ebay some months back and had NO IDEA what it was for... I just knew that I loved it. It hangs on the wall in my sewing studio. Now I know that it's a cookie mold. I will have to try my hand at making these darling cookies. Thank you so much for sharing this with us!... April

    ReplyDelete
  6. CariApril 11, 2009 at 9:47 PM

    Oh my goodness Alma ... do you every sleep? Love every minute of your blog. Have a wonderful SPRING!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousApril 11, 2009 at 10:39 PM

    My mouth is watering! These look delightful!!

    Have a blessed Easter. ....Dana

    ReplyDelete
  8. MilaApril 12, 2009 at 1:53 AM

    Oh my Alma...the cult of beauty!
    Happy Easter,
    Mila :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Mary @ Neat and TidyApril 12, 2009 at 5:59 AM

    Someone in my quilt group hands out a bag of these cookies to us every Christmas. I could look at them forever; they are almost too pretty to eat. Thanks for sharing your baking tips.

    ReplyDelete
  10. antique quilterApril 12, 2009 at 9:11 AM

    If I send you my address will you send me a few cookies????
    oh my goodness I just love these cookies so pretty to look at and I can only imagine how good they must taste!
    Just posted a picture of my latest trick or treat baskets, my version !

    Kathie

    ReplyDelete
  11. DebApril 12, 2009 at 11:17 AM

    Those cookies look wonderful. I've always wanted to try these but I was afraid my kids would be put off by the anise flavor. Think I'm going to have to try them because you've made them look so good. I'll have to check out your link for the molds.

    ReplyDelete
  12. mainely stitchingApril 12, 2009 at 12:25 PM

    Aaah - the drying out time is a great tip! Thanks so much!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Pat SloanApril 12, 2009 at 8:05 PM

    hey girlie whirlie!! Just saw you have a BLOG!!! this is awesome.. come visit me!

    pat sloan
    http://patsloan.typepad.com/

    ReplyDelete
  14. Carrie P.April 12, 2009 at 9:58 PM

    What pretty cookies. Love those molds. Happy Easter to you too.

    ReplyDelete
  15. LoraineApril 13, 2009 at 9:25 AM

    What gorgeous looking cookies! I might have to try my hand at those. Thanks so much for sharing, they are drama queens, indeed!

    ReplyDelete
  16. SiobhánApril 13, 2009 at 1:57 PM

    I have been eyeing the hornbook mold for awhile now. Great idea about making them for gifts! Thanks for the tips, too.

    ReplyDelete
  17. AnonymousApril 14, 2009 at 5:31 AM

    Those cookies look so yummy! The moulds are simply beautiful, I love the rolling one. I hope you had a Happy Easter.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Ginkgo BilobaApril 17, 2009 at 6:24 AM

    Springerle are made since the Middle Age, perhaps even sooner, in Southern Germany, part of Austria, Switzerland and Hungary.Later in Eastern France. I make them with a roller of 10 different designs which is in the family since the middle of 19th century.

    Just a tip: after baking,put them in a tin box with 1 apple cut into halves, Wait at least 2 weeks and the cookies will be a delight. They aren't no longer hard.

    A german Black Forest Girl and Springerle Lover from France

    Christa :::-)))

    ReplyDelete
  19. Alma AllenApril 17, 2009 at 7:16 AM

    Hi Christa,

    Thank you for the information!!! Your cookie roller is a real treasure....you are one lucky gal. Love the tip too. I will try it.

    Alma

    ReplyDelete
  20. Minick and SimpsonApril 17, 2009 at 7:57 AM

    Alma
    When I still lived in Ann Arbor, we had a yearly ritual with our neighbors - and we spent three nights making tons of these cookies. This brought back fond memories. They owned several antique cookie molds, and I started on my own collection. We loved the entire process. The first night we made up the cookie dough, then we pressed - many sheets full - in MI in December, we would put in garage to set overnight and to retain their shapes, the final night was baking and packing. I do miss our neighbors and our cookie week. Thanks for sharing
    Polly Minick

    ReplyDelete
  21. aceretaApril 17, 2009 at 5:06 PM

    Fantastic cookies. We have similar molds in some russian museums.

    ReplyDelete
  22. AnonymousApril 18, 2009 at 11:01 AM

    My mother is from Alsace and when I was a child, around Christmas, she used to get up earlier and prepare trays and trays of Springerle. With or without the mold print (they taste just as good without). And she would not use anise oil, but the seeds. She would then pack them in tin boxes and ship them to the relatives, give them as Xmas presents to our teachers. I have a few cookie molds which I bought in La Petite France, in Strasbourg. They hang on my kitchen wall. My children don't mind my Springerle not having any printed designs : they wolf them down without looking at them !
    Beautiful pics.

    ReplyDelete
  23. tApril 20, 2009 at 11:24 PM

    Oh Lord!!, I just love those molds. If this doesn't change I'd have to sell my computer to avoid the temptation of visiting blogs and web pages. I mainly cross-stitched but then I discovered blogs and I began to visit them. Well, after some time I felt the need to learn patchwork (I have started taking lessons this month), I discovered cartonnage as well, I love decoupage and scrapbooking and sooner or later I'll try and know I'm discovering cookies' molds. My life was hapy without those molds but now I'm beginning to wonder how I have been able to live without them. Ok, just four months until my birthday, I'll try to be patient.

    ReplyDelete
  24. JudyFebruary 13, 2010 at 10:18 PM

    I know I just finished one more batch, but seeing your delicious springerle photos makes me want to start another batch of them. Since it is 10:14 p.m. I will stitch a while and maybe just eat one. I don't have much self-control with cookies, so it is doubtful any of mine will ever sit for the usual six weeks. :-) Thanks again for the beautiful pictures.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.