Springerle

The Springerle are aniseed biscuits that are traditionally served in the Swabian-Alemannic region at Christmas time. But it is also baked on other church holidays, such as Easter and Pentecost, or for baptisms and weddings. The Springerle belong to the picture pastries and are usually formed with the help of wooden moulds, which are carved from fruit trees. It probably got its name from the fact that one of the moulds' favorite motifs was a jumping horse rider and the fact that the dough jumps up a little after the drying phase in the oven and forms so-called small feet.
These Springerle are a recipe of my mother and she baked these special biscuits for our family every Christmas.

Method:

  1. Put the eggs in a bowl and beat them until frothy.
  2. Now stir in the icing sugar and vanilla sugar.
  3. Mix the flour with the hartshorn salt and gradually add it to the creamy egg mixture.
  4. Sieve some flour over the wooden moulds or, as my mother did, put the flour in a small gauze bag and gently dust the moulds.
  5. Knead the dough with the rest of the flour on a floured surface.
  6. Roll out the dough 1 cm thick and firmly press the floured moulds into it.
  7. Cut off the edges and separate the pictures with a knife or pastry wheel.
  8. Butter two to three baking trays and sprinkle evenly with the aniseed.
  9. Place the Springerle on it and let them dry for 24 hours in a warm place.
  10. Preheat the oven to 150°C and bake the Springerle, covered with an empty tray or baking paper, on the middle rail for 30 minutes.
  11. The Springerle should remain white on the surface. A light colour on the underside of the biscuits is allowed.
  12. Once cooled, they are stored in a biscuit tin. That way, they will become soft again over time.