Springerle

Our paternal grandparents lived in Connecticut when we grew up, so we didn't see them often. On occasion we would go east, our grandpa rarely made the trip west, and our grandma came out to see us once in a while.

Every Christmas we looked forward to the tin of springerle cookies that grandma would send us. We all love the lightly anise flavored cookie (and discovered it is an acquired taste -- not everyone likes them like we do! More for us!)

When our grandma died, my sister took on the tradition of making the cookies every Christmas. I've tried once with not much luck (they really take some practice), but she's the expert in the family. Every year she makes hundreds of the cookies to share with family and friends, packing them carefully in mason jars.


The dough is thick and you can use a special rolling pin to imprint the design, or press the dough into individual molds (which is my sister's preferred method).

You let the dough air dry for 24 hours after pressing it into the mold, so when it is baked the image is retained. If you bake it too soon, the image disappears.



Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without springerle. Thank you, Maroo, for your loving hand in baking these wonderful cookies each year.