Spices of the Season - Springerles

Springerle Cookies are traditional German Anise Cakes which are stamped or rolled with a wooden mold that has been carved into quaint little designs and figures.

Springerle Cookies
4 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp. Anise oil or 4 tablespoons Anise seed
4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
Beat eggs til light, gradually add sugar and continue beating at a high speed for 15 - 20 minutes until batter is thick and lemon colored. Add anise. Sift flour and soda and blend with egg mixture at a low speed. Cover bowl with wax paper and let stand 15 minutes so it is easier to work with. Divide dough into thirds. On lightly floured surface, roll dough to 8" square, 1/4" thick. Let rest 1 minute. Flour mold and press design, cut around design and place cookie on lightly floured surface. Cover with a towel all night. Grease a cookie sheet well. Brush off excess flour from the cookies. Bake about 15 - 20 minutes at 300 degrees. Do not let cookies brown while baking and notice that they do not spread during baking. Store cookies in a tight container, place a cut apple in the jar if cookies become too hard. Substitute 2 tsp. cinnamon and 1 tsp. cloves instead of the anise. Lemon or almond flavoring could be substituted also. The baking soda can be eliminated for a flatter cookie. After cookies have cooled, the design can be painted with food coloring and a fine brush. By punching a hole at the top of each cookie before they are baked, one can insert colorful ribbon and hang them on the Christmas tree as traditionally done in Germany.