Germanswabian Springerle Cookies Food

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 SPRINGERLE COOKIES

Steps:

• Beat eggs until very light.
• Gradually add sugar and beat 15 minutes at high speed until mixture resembles a soft meringue, this is very important; don't skimp on time.
• Add anise oil and blend gently.
• SIft together flour and baking soda and add to egg mixture at low speed Cover bowl tightly for 15 minutes.
• Divide dough into thirds and roll each piece into an 8 inch square a little more than 1/4 inch thick.
• While working with one keep others covered.
• Let stand 1 minute.
• Dust springerle mold with flour and press into dough.
• Cut cookies apart.
• Place on lightly floured surface and let stand overnight.
• Grease baking sheet and sprinkle with anise seeds.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
• Brush excess flour from cookies, moisten lightly with water and place on baking sheets.
• Bake about 20 minutes and store tightly covered.

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

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.