This entry was prompted by the comment from Terri. Thanks, Terri, for bringing up this important question. Historically, Springerle cookies would not have been made until after the first hard freeze. Why? Simply because a hard freeze zaps the humidity out of the air and the cookies will keep better when the air temperature is cooler. [click to continue...]
From the category archives:
Tips & Techniques
Beauty, Speed or Both?
The absolutely most beautiful springerles will be created using single presses, but of course, creating each cookie individually will take more time. The other option is to use a multiple press or a rolling pin which will emboss many cookies with one pressing. [click to continue...]
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This Will Save Your Back
Do you ever have a back ache the next day after pressing your springerle cookies? [click to continue...]
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Don’t melt your tools!
This is a piece of infromation that might be useful……anise oil will MELT your plastic measuring spoons, so be sure to use metal measuring spoons! And yes, I speak from experience! I really prefer oils over flavorings for springerle, as they have a much cleaner taste. The oils are also much more intense, so you need far less oil than flavoring.
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Hartshorn??? What’s that???
Yes, it’s the ingredient that stumps you. Hartshorn is also known as baker’s ammonia and ammonium carbonate. It is an old time leavening that literally used to be made from ground deer horn. Hart is the German work for deer and that is how it is so named. It is not commonly found in everyday groceries. Years ago I would purchase hartshorn (and also anise oil) at a pharmacy; that was back when pharmacies did compounding and mixing right in their shops. Not something easily found these days. Thus, many people started substituting baking powder in their springerle. I still really like hartshorn as it produces a fluffier, lighter and softer texture in springerle. Some springerle lovers grew up with the baking powder version and actually prefer the harder cookie that is the result….and that’s just fine.
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