What you don’t know is that Nini was the most loving and caring grandmother to me. To appreciate her care, you must understand that she was my step-grandmother; in explanation she was married briefly to my grandfather and became the primary parent of my father and his brother. She continued her care of the two brothers after her divorce from my grandfather and was my father’s major mother figure always. And so she chose us, my father, then his wife, my mother, and then me and my two brothers. I had no concept of this as a child, but only thought of her as my grandmother. Not until many years later did I ponder and wonder at the gift of being chosen. There was no legal obligation, no moral imperative, nor social accountability requiring her to continue to nurture and cherish us.  And yet she did. She loved us and we loved her in return. 

My passion for Springerle was born out of the affection I have for Nini. How could I not love a cookie shared by a doting and favorite grandmother? Her heart was so much bigger than her 4 foot 10 inch body and I received so much more from her than a cookie legacy.  

How fortunate and wondrous it is to be the beneficiary of unconditional love. 

Rest in Peace, Nini. 

With grateful love,

Connie

In the meantime I am going to offer up two  tried and true flavor substitutions for anise oil.  They are lemon and orange , perfect for spring and summer, but  classic flavors that transcend season and are universally loved by most people.  In my recipe, which calls for 3/4 teaspoon of anise oil, use 3 teaspoons of lemon or orange oil and 1 teaspoon of finely grated lemon or orange peel. If you do not wish to use the grated peel, use 4 teaspoons of either oil. Fruit oils are not nearly as strong as the seed oils, so do not be alarmed by the big difference in quantity. I also find that these flavors are good for immediate eating, whereas anise flavor develops in aging.

Try  and enjoy!

I have long used anise oil to flavor my springerle cookies and have used the technique of placing cookies on anise seed; a combination of both oil and seed placement is also a good option. I tend to prefer the stronger flavor from using anise oil and the anise seed only route requires a long aging period. I thought I was not willing to try to mess with another way, but when this idea was presented to me, I knew I had to try it. Please forgive me for forgetting your name, but you suggested I try adding ground anise seed to the dough. Thank you, thank you! The suggestion was to use anise oil and add 1/2 teaspoon of fresh ground anise . The addition adds a freshness to the flavor and, of course, reinforces the anise oil. To maintain the whiteness of springerle, do not use only ground anise or your cookies will be more yellow.  The use of both flavorings adds complexity without changing the traditional flavor.  I am so glad I tried this!!

If you are the person who told me to add ground anise , please let me know so that I can give you credit!!!

I was able to find ground anise at Penzy’s Spices.

Modern alterations to the basic cookies have primarily been to the flavor, as anise is not as popular in the US as in Europe, and certainly is one of those “love it or hate it” tastes. Although anise is still my favorite( I grew up with these cookies, only in anise), I personally like the lemon and orange flavors very much, but why not try any flavor you like? The flavor is important, since the cookie is not very rich or sweet, so use good flavoring oils and be aware that they are much stronger than extracts or alcohol based flavorings.

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!!

Thank you lots!!!  Connie

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

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.

So how do you choose?

Here are some considerations: size, use, design and of course available time. Single cookie molds are design specific and are available in a range of sizes. Generally, multiple presses are smaller cookies, but there are various sizes. You need not give up beauty for efficiency, as there are many beautiful multiple presses. You just need to press hard enough to get a really clean casting and keep the pressing even so the the cookies are the same thickness throughout. So, if you need many cookies to serve with other dessert choices, a smaller cookie make work best. And if you make thousands of cookies, a multiple press may save your sanity.  I make many, many cookies for samples and sharing and often go this route. You may also want to consider the containers you wish to use for storage. Some cookie sizes are too large to fit in certain tins or containers. A beautifully packaged single cookie for a special event may call for a larger cookie with a specific theme. This week I made cookies for a wine tasting and the obvious design choice was a grape motif, a decision based solely on theme.  I was willing to take the time to press each cookie to have this specific design.  There is an advantage to springerle in that you can (and should) make them in advance….a very helpful quality. Yes, you CAN have beauty and speed.