Those of you who have been following my blog for a while will remember my excitement when I bought a pile of cookie stamps from Gene Wilson at cookiemold.com.

The stamps have been great.  I have used them all except (until now) the Springerle mould.  Before I visited cookiemold.com, I had never heard of Springerles, but I was on a roll and you know what happens when you are on a roll.  I decided to buy one on the basis that, one day, I may want to make Springerles and, if I did, I would have a mould available.  I had never got around to using it but the other day, when I went to my box of moulds to get out the Christmas ones to impress some shortbread, I saw the Springerle mould.

For those who do not know what Springerles are (according to Wikipedia):

“Springerle is a type of German biscuit with an embossed design made by pressing a mold onto rolled dough and allowing the impression to dry before baking. This preserves the detail of the surface pattern. They are most commonly seen during the Christmas season.

The name springerle means “little jumper” or “little knight”. Their origin can be traced back to at least the 14th century in southeastern Germany and surrounding areas.”

When you buy moulds from cookiemold.com, you get a little recipe book so I checked it out to see how to make Springerles. The recipe called for 6 egg whites.  I was sold.  As you all know, I am always excited to find a recipe that uses egg whites.

Don’t worry if you don’t have special Springerle moulds –  use whatever moulds you like.  I had a bit of dough left over so I pressed my Christmas tree mould into it and they look great, too.

The best thing about this recipe is,  because the dough is air dried before it is baked, it holds the impression really, really well.

When you bake them they swell up and look like little pillows.

Give them a try.  They taste great, are a little different and, with a Christmas themed mould, look really festive.

Ingredients:

• 6 egg whites
• 1 lb (455g) icing sugar
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp oil of anise or 1 tsp anise extract*
• 3½ cups plain flour**

*I was in Bridgetown when I made my springerles and I couldn’t buy any anise extract.  Luckily, Gene advises, in his little book, that you can also make orange flavoured Springerles so I used ½ tsp of my Bakery Bits Fiori di Sicilia which is a citrus oil blend.  I am definitely going to make more when I get some anise extract.

**Gene advises that you need to form a stiff dough, therefore, add more flour if you need it.

Method:

1. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
2. Gradually add the sugar, then add the extract.
3. Sift together the flour and the baking powder then stir into the egg white mixture.  As I mentioned above, you need a stiff dough so, if the dough is not stiff, add a bit more flour. I added an extra ½ cup.
4. Cover the dough and chill for, at least, 3 hours.
5. Dust your moulds with icing sugar or rice flour.  I used rice flour because I thought the biscuits would be sweet enough.  Gene suggests icing sugar.  Plain flour may also work but I like to use rice flour as it is coarser.
6. Pinch off a piece of dough and roll it out onto a well floured surface until it is about ¼ of an inch thick.
7. Imprint with your mould, then cut out the design with a knife or scone cutter and transfer to a baking tray which has been lined with baking paper.
8. Repeat until all the dough has been used.  Ensure your surface is kept well floured and  your mould is dusted after each impression.
9. Allow to air dry for, at least, 8 hours.
10. Preheat your oven to 150°C to 160°C.
11. Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes until firm and dry (they should not brown).
12. Cool on wire racks.