Germanswabian Springerle Cookies Recipes

SPRINGERLE COOKIES

Steps:

• Dissolve baking powder in milk in a small bowl. Whisk eggs with a mixer on high speed until very thick and pale, about 10 minutes. With machine running, slowly add sugar, beating until smooth and creamy. Add butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in milk mixture, salt, anise extract, and lemon zest until just combined.
• Reduce speed to medium-low. Add 6 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Remove bowl from mixer, and stir in remaining 3 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, until flour is incorporated and dough is stiff.
• Transfer dough to a floured surface, and knead until dough is smooth and not sticky, adding more flour if necessary. Divide dough into 4 pieces, and wrap in plastic wrap.
• Dust surface and springerle mold with confectioners' sugar. Roll out 1 disk of dough at a time to a 1/4- to 3/8-inch thickness (deeper molds will need thicker dough). Cut a piece of dough about the size of the mold. Press mold firmly into dough, flip over, and gently roll over dough with rolling pin. Flip over, and press onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Using a knife, trim excess dough from sides of mold. Gently coax dough out of mold with fingertips and onto baking sheet. Repeat, spacing cookies 1 inch apart, and placing same-size cookies on same sheet. Let stand, uncovered, for 24 hours.
• Preheat oven to 220 degrees. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until completely dry, about 1 hour. (They should not color; reduce oven temperature to 200 degrees if cookies start to color.) Let cookies cool on sheets on wire racks. Cookies will keep, unglazed and covered, for up to 2 to 3 weeks.
• Make the glaze: Mix lemon extract and a pinch of luster or petal dust in a small bowl, adding more dust as needed to get desired color. (You will need only a little dust; the mixture should remain runny). Using a very fine paintbrush, brush the tinted extract onto the flat portion of each cookie around the relief. Using a clean, damp paintbrush, remove smudges. Mix additional extract and luster or petal dust in 1/2 teaspoon increments as needed.

TRADITIONAL SPRINGERLE

Steps:

• Lightly grease 4 cookie sheets. Sprinkle with anise seeds. Set aside until needed.
• Mix the flour and baking powder together in a bowl until well blended. Place the eggs, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl; beat until light and frothy, 5 to 8 minutes. Slowly stir in the flour mixture until a thick dough forms.
• Working with handfuls of dough, roll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface until 1/4 inch thick. Lightly sift confectioners' sugar over the dough. Place springerle molds onto the dough; press down hard and evenly until the mold's design registers in the dough. Remove the mold. Use a small knife to cut around each cookie, and place on prepared cookie sheets. Repeat, until all dough has been used. Cover the cookies with a lightweight cotton cloth, and allow to dry 8 hours, or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).
• Bake cookies in preheated oven until tops are pale brown and set, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on a rack. Store in an airtight container.

GERMAN/SWABIAN SPRINGERLE COOKIES

Steps:

• Using a whisk and a large bowl, beat the eggs until light yellow, thickened and foamy.
• Add the confectioners' sugar a spoonful at a time and beat for 10 minutes.
• Dissolve the ammonium carbonate in the Kirschwasser. Add any clear liquid flavorings of your choice at this time.
• Mix the liquids into the confectioners' sugar mixture and beat another 10 minutes.
• Mix the flour in a spoonful at a time. The dough should be about as soft as sugar cookie dough before it is refrigerated. If it is too stiff, mix in a little more liquid.
• Knead lightly into a smooth ball, wrap in plastic foil, and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.
• Lightly dust a wooden board or work surface with sugar or cornstarch and, using about 1/4 of the dough, roll it to just under 1/2-inch thick. Keep the rest of the dough covered so it does not dry out. Use a springerle rolling pin or various cookie molds to imprint cookies. Place the mold over the area you want to be imprinted, and bear down hard on the dough.
• Cut out the imprinted shapes using a knife, a small roller cutter, a biscuit cutter, or a cutter designed for your cookie mold.
• Lay the cookies on a baking sheet or wooden board that has been lightly dusted with sugar or cornstarch. Let dry right side up for 24 to 48 hours.
• Before baking, wet the bottom of the cookies by laying them on a clean, moist kitchen towel.
• Sprinkle anise on a parchment-lined baking pan and set the cookies on top.
• Bake at 300 F/150 C for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 280 F/140 C and bake for another 10 minutes, until the underside starts to gain color. Try not to let the tops brown.
• Remove and cool. When cool, you can paint them with food coloring. In earlier times, they even used gold leaf to decorate some of these cookies.
• Store the cookies in a covered container with a slice of apple to keep them moist, and enjoy.

OLD COUNTRY SPRINGERLE

Steps:

• Beat confectioners' sugar and eggs together in a large bowl until thick.
• Place anise seed in a bowl. Pour water over anise seed into bowl and let mixture sit to steep, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat anise mixture and lemon zest into egg mixture.
• Sift flour and measure again. Sift flour once more together with baking powder. Add flour mixture to egg mixture and beat until dough forms. Divide dough into flat rounds, wrap each in waxed paper, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Roll dough out on a flat surface lightly dusted with confectioners' sugar to 1/4-inch thickness. Roll dough with a springerle roller to shape cookies. Repeat with remaining dough rounds. Cover cut cookies with a towel and let dry for at least 6 hours or up to overnight. Transfer to baking sheets.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Bake in batches in the preheated oven until edges are lightly golden, 12 to 15 minutes.

SPRINGERLE COOKIES

Steps:

• In large mixer bowl, beat eggs at high speed until thick & lemon colored.
• Continue beating while adding sugar slowly; add flour, baking powder, lemon peel & anise extract- beat together completely.
• On a well-floured board, roll out some of the dough with a plain rolling pin to about 1/2" thickness; lightly flour Springerle rolling pin & roll it firmly across dough to impress patterns (try to keep dough about 1/2" thick).
• Cut cookies apart between patterns.
• Place cookies 1/2" apart on ungreased cookie sheets, and allow them to dry uncovered overnight (12 hours).
• When ready to bake, preheat oven to 250-300° & place cookies 1/2" apart on lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake 25-30 minutes until firm but still white.
• Remove to wire racks to cool.
• Store cookies in a tightly covered container with some anise seeds.
• Flavor develops fully after about 2 weeks.