Springerle are German in origin. They are hard, dry anise-flavored cookies, ideal for dunking in tea or coffee but perhaps most loved for their visual quality. I got my first springerle rolling pin from my husband’s mom, who had gotten it in Germany on a trip. We were supposed to make a food from our family heritage and bring it in to share with the class when Carolyn was in 2nd grade. We made these cookies from my Rose’s Christmas Cookies book and decorated them with gold dust..wow were they amazing! And I loved dunking them in tea for a little treat. After that I started searching out beautiful cookie molds. I’ve got quite a collection now from The House on the Hill, who sell them on the internet. Now, I consider them a holiday tradition. I make them the week before Thanksgiving, they have to be made at least 2 weeks before you serve them.
Springerle
4 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
4 large eggs (room temperature)
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp anise extract
gold petal dust & a little bit of vodka to mix it with
Grease 4 large baking sheets with crisco or pam spray.
Beat eggs on high speed until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and continue beating on high speed until very thick. About 5 minutes using a KitchenAid, 15 minutes using a hand held mixer. If using a whisk beater, change to the flat spade beater. On low speed, beat in the anise extract. Gradually beat in the flour and soda mixture until well mixed. The dough will be crumbly. Scrape the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and use the wrap, not your fingers, to press the dough together into a thick flat disc. Wrap the dough well and refrigerate for about 1 hour. (Longer chilling may make the dough difficult to roll.) On a well-floured surface, roll the dough into a 3/8″ rectangle. Press a springerle mold into the dough, applying as much pressure as possible to obtain a good impression. If you are using a multiple-pattern mold (like my rolling pin) use a large, sharp knife to cut the dough apart into individual rectangles at the pattern edges. Place the cookies on the greased cookie sheets. Allow the cookies to stand uncovered overnight at room temperature to dry a little. Preheat the oven to 350. Place the cookies in the oven and lower the temperature to 300. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the cookies turn white on the unpainted portion of the tops and slightly golden on the bottoms. Sprinkle a little gold dust into a small cup and add a few drops of vodka or other clear high-proof drinking alcohol to dilute the dust. Use a small clean paintbrush to apply the liquid gold to the raised portion of the design. Store in airtight container at room temperature with the anise from the trays sprinkled in the bottom of the tin.