Springerle Cookies » Tips & Techniques

Which cookie sheets to use for Springerle

connie — Fri, 03 May 2013 18:57:28 +0000

Oh those Springerle are persnickety! They even demand their own cookie sheets!

Yep…the cookie sheets you use for baking Springerle will have an impact on the success of you cookies. I have the best results with shiny aluminum pans. Dark colored pans will overbrown and overbake Springerle. Insulated cookie sheets, while an excellent choice for soft gooey or chewy cookies, also tend to overbrown the bottoms of Springerle cookies.

Now about the size of your cookie sheets…….Make sure you have cookie sheets that have at least 2 inches of space around the sides of the pan in your oven. When I moved and started using a new oven that was wider, but less deep, I did not have much space on the front and back edges of the cookie sheet and experienced some less than good results with cookie sizes that I had never had problems with before. As soon as I replaced the cookie sheets with narrower width cookie sheets, the problems were solved. It is important to remember that much of the success of baking these Springerle cookies is that it is all about controlled leavening. Thus, it makes sense that even circulation in your oven will yeild better results!

Metric Thickness of Dough

connie — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 00:39:08 +0000

In making springerle, rolling the dough thickly enough before imprinting with the cookie mold will make a big difference in the beauty of the print. A couple of people have asked the thickness in millimeters. For most cookie molds I suggest that the dough be rolled to about 0.50 inches which is 12.7 mm. If a cookie mold is very shallow, roll the dough slightly thinner and if it is a very deep mold, roll the dough slightly thicker. You will be applying additional pressure when you press the mold onto the dough and if it is not thick enough, you will not get the impression of the deeper parts of the carving.

Try it! Using a medium depth mold, roll a small amount of dough about 8mm thick and press your mold into the rolled dough, and then roll a small amount of dough about 13mm thick and compare the prints! Or just try it with play dough and see the difference

Connie

More Summer Springerle Tips

connie — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 20:33:51 +0000

I discovered a few more tricks that are helping me cope with the challenges of summer Springerle baking, so I’ll share them here with all of you:

Make the dough, place it in a tightly sealed plastic bag and then refrigerate it overnight and up to 2 days before forming the cookies.
When you place the cookies on a surface to dry, give them plenty of spacing, at least 2 inches of air space around each cookie.
Let the cookies dry longer than 24 hours. Try 36 or 48 hours for larger cookies.
Dry the cookies on a cookie sheet lined with flour sack tea towels, which will absorb more moisture than parchment paper and then move the dried cookies to a cookie sheet for baking.

I hope these tips will help you!

Connie

One more damp weather tip!

connie — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 20:19:42 +0000

Yes, I need some springerle and this is the only day I can make them this week….and guess what, IT”S RAINING! Which reminded me of one other tip that I did not put in my notes about weather conditions.

When it is damp or raining, space your cookies further apart to give additional air circulation. Don’t put them on the tray to dry with only 1/2 inch spacing between the cookies, but give them 1 1/2 to 2 inches between cookies. You will use more trays, but they will dry better.

Happy Baking!

Connie

Summertime Springerle Blues

connie — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 01:34:24 +0000

If you are struggling with springerle in the heat and humidity, but you don’t have a dehydrator, here are a few tips that might aid you!

1) Turn the air conditioner way down to mid 60’s to dry the cookies.

2) Break your eggs into a bowl and make sure they weigh in total no more than 9 ounces. (i.e. a large egg usually weighs about 1.5 ounces) This is using my recipe which calls for 6 eggs.

3) Dry the cookies for 36 hours, especially if they are large cookies.

4) Remember not to make the cookies when it is raining or you are really going to have to abuse your air conditioning system!

Connie

Don’t Use Silcone Mats to Bake Springerle

connie — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 20:54:09 +0000

Do NOT use silicone mats for baking springerle cookies! They are wonderful for baking many things, especially soft gooey cookies, like chocolate chip cookies or fudgy drop cookies. But the problem is that with springerle you want the steam to escape from the bottom of the cookie while it is baking and silocone mats do not allow this to happen. If the steam does not escape from the bottom, it has to go somewhere and it will puff out the sides, or worse, the steam will break through the top of the cookie and thus impact the beautiful print on the top surface of the springerle.

Baking Pans

connie — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 01:12:13 +0000

I don’t like insulated cookie pans for baking springerle! At first I thought it was just my timer, and then maybe my oven was too hot, and then perhaps I was not paying attention. But, no, really, I have now kept copious notes and springerle cookies really do overbake on insulated sheets. I have tested on heavy duty commercial sheet pans against insulated cookie sheets using the same time and temperature and they always overbrown on the bottoms and are too dry when I use the insulated cookie sheets. So , while I am a fan of insulated cookie sheets for soft gooey cookies, such as classic chocolate chip cookies, I recommend that you do NOT use them for springerle baking. Stick to regular heavy duty cookie sheets for best results.

Happy Baking!

Connie

Dehydrator – a new use!

connie — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:59:30 +0000

It’s summer and you want to bake springerle for your niece’s wedding? You need a little Christmas in July? You live in a tropical climate all year?

Then you will love this great idea for Springerle from Vicky Shoup! Vicky lives in a midwest area that has hot sticky summers, but has solved the drying problem that makes the summer making of Springerle so very tricky. I have advised bakers in the past to turn their air conditioners down to 60 degrees and turn on the dehumidifier. This works, but uses lots of power! Vicky dries the formed springerle in her Excalibur dehydrator for several hours at the lowest setting. (She uses a longer time for larger cookies;she makes time adjustments for both size and thickness.) The cookies should be placed on a solid sheet, not a rack. The front cover of the dehydrator needs to be ajar to allow air circulation and to keep the temperature lower. Check cookies often to make sure they are not too warm. If they get too warm, turn off the dehydrator and open its door. She checks the drying cookies after several hours and insures that a “crust ” has dried on the top and that there is still an area of moist dough in the center of the bottom surface. If the cookies get too dry on the bottom, you can brush a small amount of water on the bottom of the cookies before baking. Thus, the pattern is set and she is able to bake the cookies on the same day, even in the most humid conditions.

This is a great idea and I am anxious to try this technique. This is a bonus for you Florida bakers who have gotten so frustrated that you are unable to successfully make Springerle.

Thank you Vicky!!

Mushroom Springerle

connie — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 19:08:00 +0000

Lorna, I am in southern California celebrating the birth of my second grandson. What an exciting, busy and wonderful event! Things are a little more settled down here than they were a few days ago. So to your question regarding “mushroom springerle.”I do believe that what your husband refers to is what I have always called a “footed springerle”. This springerle is raised on a “foot” or a squatty stem with a larger base. This shape can be created by extra steam on the bottom surface on the cookie. To achieve this, you should let your cookies dry for 24 hours as usual, but before baking them, brush a small amount of water on the bottom of the dried cookie. This will cause a burst of steam on the bottom of the cookie, creating a foot which, yes, will make your cookie look like a mushroom. This will work best on a average size cookie, say a one and a half to two inch cookie. If you try it on a very small cookie, it will just explode the cookie; on a very large cookie, the weight of the cookie will keep this effect from happening. You will also have to bake the cookies at about 325 degrees, even if you normally bake them at a lower temperature, to get that burst of steam necessary for the “mushroom effect.” You may have to practice this a bit and make adjustments for your oven. This effect is probably more easily achieved in ovens that have higher temperatures in the lower part of the oven, or direct heat from the bottom, something more likely in older baking chambers. My family’s cookies did not have this shape, but I have talked with many people over the years who wanted this effect! Again, springerle cookies are so much a family tradition and it somehow becomes important to follow in the same footsteps.

Or maybe you just want to try this for the fun and experimentation….but it is a little tricky!

When do you make your springerle?

connie — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 16:17:47 +0000

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.There is certainly more leeway with this guideline now that most of us have air conditioning. The drier, cooler air facilitates the formation of the a thin crust on the top surface of the cookie which is what “sets” the embossed pattern on the top surface of the cookie. I make springerle cookies all year, but always try to avoid a rainy or very humid day, even with central air conditioning as a constant factor. If you must make them during more humid conditions, you should allow additional drying time, perhaps an 12-18 hours more. Sometimes, in a really humid climate such as Florida in summer, I might suggest that you turn your temperature gauge all the way down to 60 degrees F when you make the cookies.

Now, then about storage…..tightly sealed tins in a cool dry environment will allow you to keep the cookies for months. The cookies must be baked so that no doughiness remains after baking! You must make sure the cookies are completely cool before you pack them in layers with wax paper in between the layers. You want NO steam in the closed tin which may cause the cookies to mold. The cookies will “mellow” in storage and become drier. The “mellowing” is particularly important when you flavor the cookies by using only anise seed on the bottom surface of the cookie, but also a good idea for cookies flavored with anise oil. I think it is less important with the non-traditional flavors such as lemon and orange. Family tradition may dictate the dryness of the cookie that you prefer, which can vary the time that you might wish to mellow your cookies. Most people, by tradition, make their springerle around Thanksgiving time, allowing approximately 4 weeks of mellowing/drying time. For anise flavor, I would allow at least 2 weeks before serving, but I also like them as soon as they have cooled. The flavor will intensify with time, so if you need to serve them sooner, you may want to slightly increase your flavoring oil amount. In high humidity, the springerle may mold and you may consider freezing them in sealed zip bags.

It’s a great advantage to have a cookie that can be made well in advance of other baking demands. So take into account your particular weather, the date you need the springerle, your personal preferences and your available storage.