Springerle
 
 
Author:
Ingredients
  • (Adapted from the recipe found in my mother's favorite cookie book, "The Christmas Cookie Book." Out of print, but well worth stalking Amazon for a copy.
  • 4 Large Eggs at room temperature.
  • 2 Cups of sugar
  • 3 to 3½ Cups of All Purpose Flour
  • 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
  • ¼ sea salt
  • 2 Tablespoons of melted unsalted butter
  • 1 Teaspoon of pure Anise Oil. You can substitute extract, but flavor will not be as intense.
  • Anise seed
Instructions
  1. In the bowl of your mixer start beating the eggs that you have brought up to room temperature. Cold eggs are cranky. Add the sugar slowly, this will take some patience, but just don't dump two cups of sugar on top of your eggs.
  2. I have in the past tried all sorts of sugar to achieve the perfect cookie, superfine, confectioners, and have settled on just regular sugar, I always have it on hand and with proper mixing it dissolves just fine.
  3. You will want to beat the eggs and sugar until it is light and fluffy, could take as long as 10 minutes, under beating will give you a flat and hard cookie. Scrape the bowl down frequently, making sure to get down to the bottom of your bowl.
  4. Measure one cup of flour, fluff and spoon flour into the measuring cup, please no scooping, you want your flour light and airy when measured. One can always add flour, once it is incorporated there is no getting it back out. To that one cup of flour, blend in your baking powder and salt.
  5. You want to have your two tablespoons of unsalted butter melted and cooled, into the melted butter measure your one teaspoon of anise oil.
  6. With your mixer on the lowest setting, blend in the one cup of flour that has the baking powder and salt into your wonderful fluffy egg and sugar mixture. Gently blend in a second cup of flour. Next add in your melted unsalted butter that also has your anise oil, take a second to just breathe in that wonderful scent. Continue to gently add the last cup of flour, keeping your mixer on low. Add the additional ½ flour if needed. Stop your mixer once everything is barely incorporated, scrape down your beaters and hand mix everything until it is nicely blended. Place that lovely dough into an airtight container and throw it in the fridge to rest overnight. Refrigerating the dough allows everything to firm up and come together.
  7. Your dough has chilled overnight, the cats are napping, take a few moments to prepare everything you will need beforehand. Baking sheets, parchment paper, chilled dough, pizza wheel cutter, unsalted butter stick, anise seed, ruler, Springerle rolling pin or board, pastry brush, sifted confectioner's sugar, cutting board, and some nice calm music.
  8. Prepare your first baking sheet with three strips of butter and sprinkle anise seed down each strip.
  9. I prefer using a Springerle board, the designs of the rolling pin are the ones of my childhood, but I never mastered the pin, I prefer the board. For the size of my design board, I use 9 ounces of dough. I use confectioner's sugar to liberally coat the cutting board and the the design board. I have used flour, I much prefer confectioner's sugar for dusting. Pat or roll your dough to about ½" thick, too thick and your cookies will be gargantuan, too thin you end up with hockey pucks.
  10. Liberally brush your mold or springerle pin with confectioner's sugar before each use. Dust your board, dust everything. And even with dusting everything with confectioner's sugar, sometimes the dough will stick, it happens to everyone. Clean your cookie mold or pin, dust everything, dust your dough you have patted out, and try again.
  11. Press your cookie mold down firmly on your prepared dough. Apply even pressure. Gently peel the mold off your dough. Use a pizza wheel to cut the designs apart.
  12. Place each cookie on your prepared cookie tray.
  13. Refer to the pictures as a guide, a picture really is worth a thousand words.
  14. I throw my scraps right on the scale and add fresh dough on top to reach the desired weight. I also keep the dough that I am not working with in the refrigerator, cold dough behaves better.
  15. I usually get around 36 cookies from each batch, it all depends on the size of your cookie. Springerle need to sit for at least 12 hours before baking, can go as long as 24 hours. I usually let mine dry for 18 hours. The resting allows the design to set. We keep our house cold and I have the perfect room where the trays can be undisturbed. If you skip this step, you will lose your design. I do double batches and it ties up all of my baking sheets, so work this resting time into your cookie schedule.
  16. Your cookies have rested and you are ready to bake. Preheat your oven to 350. Bake at 350 for 5 minutes, then lower the temperature to 300 for 9 to 10 more minutes of baking. I don't fret about them getting a little brown, or puffy. I don't take mine out halfway and bang them on the counter so the cookie falls and the design pops, I don't take a clean cloth and press down the cookie after baking so the design is more forward. I just bake them until they are right. We like our Springerle soft on the inside, fragrant with anise, crisp on the outside, just lightly brown on the bottom. You will find your own way how you like them best.
Recipe by AT THE BACK OF THE NORTH WIND at https://www.backofthenorthwind.com/springerle-the-keeper-of-christmas-memories-a-recipe/