anise

SPRINGERLE BAKING TIME!

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One of my favorite cookies to make this time of the year, they are a bit of a labor of love, but the more I make them, the more I love their unique flavor and texture.

My default recipe for springerle is published in my food blog (click here). I have shared a detailed post and video about painting springerle cookies, and you can find those here.

In this batch, the new technique was glazing instead of painting. I used this method to make the green-teal cookies shown below.

The method is very simple: mix honey and vodka 1:1 BY WEIGHT, not by volume. If you do by volume there won’t be enough alcohol and the honey will stay sticky. You can even use a little more vodka than honey to make sure it will dry without any issues. Add a tiny amount of the gel color of your choice. Paint that with a brush, preferably not silicone brush, because those tend to add too much liquid. Once that is dry, you can paint the final details with an accent color (I used gold luster).

All other biscuits from this batch were painted as I have shown in the video, with luster powder mixed with vodka. I’ve had these flower molds for many years, and I never get tired of using them.


This is another favorite mold of mine, that can be decorated in many different ways as far as colors go.

Another great mold I use every year is the rectangular one below…

Springerle is perfumed with anise, and lasts for a long time, so they are perfect as cookie gifts. The molds are not cheap, so if you are interested in starting to bake this type of cookie, brace yourself for the initial investment. But if you have a good quality mold, it will last for a lifetime.

ONE YEAR AGO: Marlyn’s Hungarian Tree

SPRINGERLE COOKIES

sallybr4 Comments

For a little tutorial on painting the cookies, visit my youtube channel here.

Baking Springerle turned into an annual tradition for me. I love the slow pace, the patience involved. The dough takes a bit of time to put together, whisking the eggs to achieve maximum volume, slowly incorporating flour, then rolling, pressing the molds, and letting the cut cookies sit and dry for a couple of days before baking them. In gentle heat, so they never get dark. For my default recipe and to learn a little more about these delicate cookies, click here . And now let me share some of the biscuits I made this past holiday season.

My recipe starts with 3 eggs, and that makes a large enough batch for about 30 cookies, although of course it depends on their size. Once they are baked and cold, it is time to paint them…

My favorite method is mixing luster powder with alcohol, either vodka or everclear. Vodka dries a little slower, so it is more forgiving to use. This year I got to play with a new color, called Mermaid (featured in my recent In My Kitchen post).

The same design will look quite different depending on the color scheme you choose.

One of my favorite shapes is the Flower Staff mold because is is so unusual…

You can see it better here, next to another favorite of mine, a special mold I received as a gift years ago…

In every batch I like to mix some modern shapes with the classics, because they can be fun too…

Here they are, sitting in the sun on a winter day…

Springerle is perfect to bake romantic, flowery motifs… Think Valentine’s!

The Flower Staff in a more subtle coloring…

Finally, a very special mold, the center one below, a gift from Phil. It is not easy to find molds made from real wood, those are pretty much antiques. He managed to find one, and it is so so beautiful, the intricate details… I love it!

Painting Springerle is one of the most relaxing activities…

Traditionally these cookies are flavored with anise oil, which for some is not a very pleasant flavor. If you like the overall look but prefer a different flavor, orange oil is a great alternative.