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Springerle Cookies

These recipe detours a bit off the path of the traditional springerle with its lack of baker's ammonia and anise, but it makes lovely and tasty molded cookies that reminds me a bit of French macaroon with its taste and chewy texture. They do have a learning curve and for that reason I would call this an advanced recipe. Patience and persistence are key. Below are some tips for successful cookie imprints. The number of cookies made will depend on the size of your molds. I like to do a variety and usually get about 3 dozen large and small cookies. These freeze well.
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Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb pastry flour (many use all purpose here as well)
  • 1 lb powdered sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 tsps. extract of choice

Instructions
 

  • Using stand mixer with whisk attachment, whip eggs on high speed until yellow, frothy and doubled in volume. This takes about 5 minutes.
  • Slowly add powdered sugar a bit a time, keeping the mixer going and combining well between additions.
  • Add the extract of your choice.
  • Switch out the whisk attachment on your mixer for the paddle and begin adding flour while the speed is on low.
  • When flour is incorporated turn off mixer and gather dough together and put in a bowl. If your dough is sticky dust with extra flour to help handle the dough.
  • Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough sit for a while (1/2 hr to 1 hr).
  • On a heavily floured surface roll out dough about 1/4-1/2 in. thick and begin pressing mold on dough and creating imprints. Below you will find tips for doing this successfully.
  • Lay the freshly cut cookies on parchment lined cookie sheets and let dry overnight uncovered. If your cookies are small or your climate is dry this process may take only 6-8 hours.
  • The cookies are ready to bake when dry on top and starting to dry underneath, but are still mostly moist. You can see a distinction between where the dough is wet and where it is dry.
  • Bake on the bottom rack in oven at 300 degrees for 10-20 minutes (the size of your cookie will determine this. Cookies are done when they just start to brown around the edges. My small ones take 10 minutes.

Notes

Tips for best results:

  • Flour your dough to allow for easy removal of mold. You may want to lightly dust the inside of your mold with flour as well.
  • If your mold is very detailed it is important to press firmly on all parts of mold. I use the weight of my elbow to press down on each part of mold.
  • Don't roll dough too thick. The best imprints are dough rolled to about 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick. Keeping the dough thinner also helps to avoid significant puffing during baking.
  • Don't overbake until brown (unless you want them brown). If you want them to stay creamy white then bake only until edges are browning.
  • Some molds  require the dough to be pressed into the mold carefully to get all the detail. After filling the mold with dough I smack the mold down firmly until the molded dough releases. This may take a few smacks.
  • It is okay to practice for a bit to get the hang of it, so you create crisp images. The dough is forgiving and can be re-rolled.