Baby Shower Springerle Cookies
Recipe submitted by Cheryl Frey
Ingredients
1 or more Rycraft cookie stamps
1/2 tsp baker’s ammonia (Hartshorn) or baking powder
2 Tbsp milk
6 large eggs, room temperature
6 cups powdered sugar (1.5 lbs)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened but not melted
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp of anise oil (if substituting fruit-flavored oils, use 3-4 tsp)
2 lb box sifted cake flour (Swansdown or Softasilk)
Grated rind of orange or lemon – optional (enhances flavor of the traditional anise or the citrus flavors)
Optional: food coloring*
More cake flour as needed
2″ round scallop-edge cookie cutter
Cellophane bags
Ribbon
Method
Dissolve hartshorn or baking powder in milk and set aside. Beat eggs until thick and lemon-colored (10-20 minutes). Slowly beat in the powdered sugar, then the softened butter. Add the hartshorn and milk, salt, preferred flavoring, and grated rind of lemon or orange, if desired.
Gradually beat in as much flour as you can with the mixer, then stir in the remainder of the 2 lbs. of flour to make stiff dough.
*Optional: divide dough in half and add food coloring to one of the halves.
Turn onto floured surface and knead in enough flour to make a good print without sticking. It is not required, but I find the dough easier to work with when I refrigerate it for 8 hours before printing the cookies. Seal the dough tightly in zippered plastic bags and in a sealed container so the dough does not dry out. The liquid ingredients absorb into the flour making it less sticky. You can refrigerate the dough for up to 3 days.
On a floured surface, roll dough into a flat pancake approximately 1/2 inch thick. Roll thinner or thicker based on the depth of the carving in the cookie stamp you are using. Shallow carvings will need to be thinner while deeper carvings will need to be thicker.
Flour your cookie stamp for each and every pressing. Press the stamp down on the dough with a rocking motion to make sure the dough gets into all the details of the design. Then use a scallop-edge cookie cutter to cut out each design.
Preheat oven to 375 F. When sheet of cookies is put into the oven, immediately reduce heat to 250F. I baked my cookies 25 minutes.
Elizabeth's Comments on This Recipe
Please list any changes you made to the recipe:
Omitted citrus zest. Increased Anise oil to 1 1/2 tsp.
List Rycraft stamp designs you used:
#220 Rocking Horse
#505 Baby Carraige
#321 Noah’s Ark
How do you use your cookies?
Welcome for new baby. Individual celephane bags tied in ribbon to hand out to friends/family in celebration of baby’s birth.
Summarize your evaluation of this recipe and write any comments.
This is a fairly involved baking process. Always bake test cookie. Time/temp vary according to humidity, depth/size of stamp used, and thickness of cookie.
Would you recommend this recipe?
Yes. This is a favorite German cookie from Bavaria. Traditionally this cookie is made at Christmas time, and uses anise oil as flavoring. Other oil flavors can be substituted, but the traditional Springerle is made with Anise Seeds or Anise Oil.
Name and source of recipe:
Perfection Springerle
“These whisked-egg holiday cookies date back to at least the 1600’s and are made in Bavaria, Switzerland and the Alsace area of France. For eating quality, ease and quality of prints, this recipe is just perfection!”