I’ve talked about our tradition of making Springerle Cookies for the Christmas holidays, but we also enjoy making these favorite cookies for other times of the year.  Valentine’s day is one of those times.  With hearts and flowers, a bit of red food coloring, and raspberry flavor we have a beautiful specialty to say romance.

6 whole eggs                
6 c. powdered sugar
1 stick butter, softened
1 tsp. flavoring
½ t. baking powder
1 ½ – 2 lb. Flour
*optional: grated rind of lemon (nice with anise or lemon)

Directions:

Beat eggs in mixing bowl till they thicken a bit and turn lemon colored (about 5 min). Meanwhile measure out 6 cups of sugar into another bowl.  Add gradually to beaten eggs.  Mix well; add stick of softened butter.  Mix well, add flavoring of your choice, including citrus peel if adding.  Mix well.   Measure out about one pound of flour and whisk with the baking powder.  Gradually add flour to batter  until well incorporated., continue to add flour until consistency feels right; not too dry and not too sticky.  The best way to learn this is by repetition!  It should stick to your fingers but not too much.  When you’ve reached the right consistency, you can roll it out, rub a bit of flour into the surface and it feels pretty smooth.  Roll out to about ¼-3/8” thick.  This depends on how thick you want your cookies and how deep your mold.  Flour your mold and press your mold into the dough.  If you are using a springerle rolling pin (you will want your dough on the thicker side if using a rolling pin) flour the whole rolling pin, and using even pressure roll across the already rolled out dough, molding the patterns as you go.  Cut out each cookie after molding it, regardless of which style of molding used.  Place cookies on a greased or lined baking sheet.

Baking Springerle:

Let the cookies set up for at least 24 hours before baking.  Lay wax or parchment paper over the trays and place the loaded baking sheets on an out of the way table or counter.  After the resting period, bake springerle cookies in a 225-300 degree oven for about 15-25 minutes depending on the temperature used.   (225d. for 20 min.; 250d. for 18 min.; 300d. for 15 min.) The cookies should be just starting to show signs of changing color on the edges, and solid underneath.  Let cookies cool slightly, and remove them to cooling racks until completely cooled.  Store in an airtight container and enjoy!  This recipe can yield up to 3 – 12 dozen depending on the size of the cookie.  Until you have practiced, try halving the recipe.

This recipe courtesy of the Springerle House; www.springerlehouse.com

Please take a look at our store (under specials tab) to see the vintage Springerle rolling pins and boards we have available for purchase.