Springerle Cookies Anise Cookies Recipes

ANISE COOKIES (SPRINGERLE)

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until very light and fluffy. Stir in the anise oil and lemon zest. Add the flour and baking powder; mix until well blended. Cover and chill dough for 3 to 4 hours.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4 to 1/8 inch thickness. Use a springerle rolling pin or board to make the designs. Cut into 1 1/2 inch rectangles, place onto a cookie sheet, and let them sit out overnight, uncovered, in a cool dry place.
• The next morning, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake the cookies for 15 to 20 minutes. Do not let the cookies brown. Allow cookies to cool, and store in an airtight tin for 1 week to blend the flavors.

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 ANISE CHRISTMAS COOKIES (SPRINGERLE)

Steps:

• Sift together the flour and baking powder, set aside. In a large bowl, whip the eggs and sugar until thick and light. Stir in the lemon zest and ground anise. Add the flour mixture, mix well. Cover and chill dough for about an hour.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/2 inch thickness. Traditionally, you would roll over the dough with a springerle rolling pin, but the dough can be cut into small shapes of any kind. Place cookies 1/2 inch apart on baking sheets, sprinkle with anise seed and leave out uncovered, overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake cookies for 25 to 30 minutes.

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.

SPRINGERLE COOKIES (ANISE COOKIES) RECIPE

Steps:

• Beat eggs till light, gradually add sugar and continue beating at a high speed until batter is thick and lemon colored. Add anise. Sift flour and baking powder and blend with egg mixture at a low speed. Cover bowl with wax paper or foil and let stand 15 minutes so dough is easier to work with. Divide into thirds. On lightly floured surface roll dough to 8 inch square, a quarter inch thick. Let rest 1 minute. Flour mold and press design, cut around design and place cookie on greased cookie sheet. Cover with a towel all night (or make sure that cookies sit at least 12 hours before baking). Brush off excess flour from the cookies. Bake 15 minutes at 300 degrees. Cookies will brown on bottom, but on top as they bake. Cookies will rise, but not spread during baking. Store cookies in a tight container, place a cut apple in the jar if cookies become too hard. Lemon or almond flavoring could be substituted for anise. After cookies have cooled the design can be painted with food coloring and a fine brush, by punching a hole at the top of each cookie before they are baked, one can insert colorful ribbon and hang on Christmas tree as traditionally done.