Grandma’s Springerles

Do you know what springerles are?

I had never heard about them, even just in passing, until I started to date Trevor. He grew up with Springerles and has always loved them dearly.

They are an extremely simple, anise flavoured cookie. They only have 4 ingredients, but have a few tricks to them that make them something special.

I’m about to share with you, Trevor’s grandmother’s recipe.

The first three ingredients themselves aren’t even that interesting. Flour, sugar and eggs… ingredients found in almost every traditional cookie.

The fourth ingredient, anise oil, is a little more intriguing, simply due to how uncommonly is is used.

For those who don’t know, anise tastes a whole lot like black licorice. Opening a bottle of anise oil is a little like shoving tubes of black licorice up your nose.

By the way, I hate black licorice. Did I mention that?

But these cookies are Trevor’s ultimate Christmas cookie. 5 minutes after putting them in the oven, Trevor never fails to wander into to the kitchen, dopey look on his face, exclaiming “NOW it’s Christmas.” with a big sniff of the air.

And like so many things over time, Trevor has worn me down to kind of enjoying these cookies. I don’t entirely understand it, I still HATE black licorice, but these cookies are actually pretty tasty. Somehow.

I think it might be because I’ve started to strongly associate springerles with Christmas myself. With that smile that Trevor only gets in December with a springerle in his mouth.

It’s a pretty good smile.

Mom – if I wasn’t supposed to share this recipe, it is all Trevor’s fault. I asked him and he said I could! And I am not above giving him all the blame!

Happy New Year everyone, hope you all had a lovely holiday!

Recipe from Trevor’s lovely Grandmother

In my experience, you must use anise oil. I have tried anise extract multiple times, trying amounts from a teaspoon, all the way up to 3 tablespoons, and the flavour would never have the right hit.

Ingredients

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 eggs
• 4 cups flour, sifted
• 5-7 drops anise oil (This stuff is strong, so don’t go too crazy. Trevor likes around 7-8 but normal would be more around 5)

Directions

1. Beat whole eggs until thick (about 10 min).
2. Add sugar gradually, beating well between each addition, then beat for about 10 minutes.  This makes the finished cookies fine-grained and light. Add anise oil and blend. Fold flour in lightly.
3. Roll out the dough about 1/2 inch thick. Flour springerle mold and press into the dough. (or flour springerle rolling pin and roll once across dough)
4. Cut the cookies along the lines of the imprint. Place on a lightly buttered cookie sheets (or ungreased cookie sheets lined with a silicone mat). Let cookies stand overnight in a cool place to dry. Do NOT cover.
5. In the morning, place cookies in a pre-heated oven at 400 degrees F and immediately reduce heat to 325 degrees F (this sets the shape and prevents over cooking)
6. Bake at 325 degrees for about 12-16 minutes, until cookies are very light in color.  If the bottoms start to brown they will be harder. (note, grandma’s original recipe has the cookies in the oven for 25 minutes because she likes hard springerles that she can really soak up tea with. Trevor likes springerles that have hard shells and chewy soft inners, so I make them that way, despite grandma’s recipe! Make it how you would like.)
7. Cool completely on wire racks and store in an airtight container.

Makes approx. 3-4 dozen cookies.

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