German Springerle cookies are traditionally flavored with anise oil or anise extract and embossed with intricate designs. They're crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and perfect for dunking into cocoa or tea! I love adding a little orange zest in mine, which compliments the anise flavor in these festive German cookies.
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Springerle can be translated from German to "little jumper". These cookies get their cute name because the dough rises from the bottom on "feet" similar to macarons. They puff up as they bake and become crispy on the outside and tenderly chewy on the inside.
The classic flavor of these cookies comes from anise, which tastes similar to licorice. It's one of those flavors that people often either love or hate, but I absolutely love it!
Plus the flavor of traditional Springerle deepens or "ripens" overtime, so they're one of those cookies that actually taste better after a few days, like Lebkuchen Herzen.
This was inspired by my other German Christmas cookies including strawberry jam Spitzbuben, German spice cookies called Pfeffernüsse, soft German gingerbread Lebkuchen, vanilla crescent Vanillekipferl, and German Spritz cookies.
And these crunchy cookies taste great dunked in hot cocoa, coffee, or homemade chai.
Growing up in Germany, I'd sometimes find antique Springerle molds in antique shops. The molds, usually made from wood, are embossed with a wide variety of designs from flowers and animals to intricate scenes of people or landscapes.
Because of their beautiful design, these festive Springerle cookies are also great for holidays and special occasions like birthdays, Valentine's Day, anniversaries, Christmas, New Years, and Easter.
What Makes Springerle Unique
These cookies are unique for a couple reasons. Whole eggs are whipped and used as the only fat in these cookies. Without butter or oil, they are firmer and harder than other types of cookies.
And once shaped, Springerle are left out at room temperature for a full one to two days to dry out. This creates a "crust" or "skin" on the cookies which helps the intricate design stay intact during baking.
Ingredients and Notes
- Eggs - Make sure your eggs are at room temperature so they whip up faster. Leave them out on the counter for 20 to 30 minutes, or submerge them in warm water for 10 minutes.
- Anise oil - Anise oil provides a punch of licorice flavor, but you can substitute 1 to 2 teaspoons of anise extract if you can't find anise oil.
- Vanilla extract
- Confectioners' sugar - You can also use powdered sugar or icing sugar, but I recommend using confectioners' sugar which contains cornstarch to create Springerle's signature chewy, soft inside.
- Cake flour - Cake flour is more finely ground than all purpose flour, and it creates a softer, lighter texture.
- Orange zest - This optional addition of citrus enhances the flavor of the anise. However, it will give a slight orange tint to your cookies.
- Baking powder
- Salt
How to Make this Recipe
Below is the process to make this recipe. For the full step-by-step directions and ingredient quantities, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
1. Fit your stand mixer with the whisk attachment, add all three room temperature eggs.
2. Whisk the eggs until they double in size, become bubbly, and turn pale yellow.
3. Add the anise oil or anise extract and vanilla extract. Whisk again to combine.
5. In a separate bowl, mix the cake flour, orange zest, baking powder, and salt.
7. Divide the dough in half and wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least one hour, or overnight.
9. Use the rolling pin or a mold to imprint a design on the dough.
11. Transfer the cookies to several baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Spread out the cookies by at least two inches.
13. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes at 300°F, until the cookies have their characteristic "feet" on the bottom.
4. While whisking on low speed, add the powdered sugar one spoonful at a time.
6. While whisking on low speed, add the flour mixture one spoonful at a time.
8. Dust an embossed springerle rolling pin or a cookie mold with a little powdered sugar and a pastry brush.
10. Cut out the cookies with cookie cutters or a cookie mold.
12. Allow the cookies to dry out at room temperature until the top feels fully dry and the bottom is dry on the outer edge.
14. Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet. Enjoy right away, or store in an airtight container.
Carissa's Kitchen Tip
Cornstarch is the best way to dust cookie molds to prevent the dough from sticking to them.
Flour absorbs more moisture and it's harder to brush off. And powdered sugar doesn't stick to the mold as well, which makes the dough harder to get out.
Recipe Tips
- Don't skip chilling the dough, which allows it to develop its flavor and make it much easier to remove from the cookie mold.
- Brush your cookie mold with cornstarch. Powdered sugar and flour don't work as well.
- Use edible paint or luster dust mixed with a little lemon extract to paint on your festive Springerle cookies.
Variations
- Because these cookies are pretty dry, they're sometimes made into DIY Christmas tree ornaments. Just before baking, use a straw to poke a hole through the dough near the top. As soon as they come out of the oven while they're still soft, use your straw to re-poke the hole to ensure twine or ribbon can go through it once the cookies cool.
- For more anise flavor, sprinkle anise seeds on your counter or a baking sheet, then place the cut-out Springerle dough on top of the seeds. The anise seeds will get stuck to the bottom of the dough, adding even more anise flavor.
- You can substitute all purpose flour for the cake flour, but your Springerle cookies may end up a little harder.
- You can add orange oil or orange extract instead of orange zest, if you don't want a slight orange tint to your Springerle cookies.
Storage
Allow the cookies to cool completely, then store them in an airtight container or metal tin for up to several weeks.
Where to Find Springerle Molds
In the U.S., I've found Springerle molds are nearly impossible to find in stores. You can purchase traditional or antique Springerle molds online, but they can be kind of expensive. I found this heart-shaped wooden cookie mold on Amazon for less than $10, and I've used it to also make Spekulatius, German butter cookies, and even Middle Eastern mamool.
If you can't find cookie molds, you can use an embossed rolling pin like a Springerle rolling pin or even just a regular rolling pin and cookie cutters.
A Note on Baker's Ammonia
Traditional German Springerle cookies are made with Baker's Ammonia which is also called hartshorn. It's a leavening agent similar to baking soda and baking powder, but it has less of an alkaline flavor, and it makes cookies extra crispy.
However, since it's not as readily available here in the U.S., I experimented with other ingredients. You can buy it online, but I also found that having a little cornstarch in the dough, similar to chocolate hedgehog cookies, creates a similar crispy texture.
That's why I use confectioners' sugar in my anise Springerle cookies, which contains cornstarch, which prevents the cookies from spreading as they bake, and creates a really chewy, soft center.
Related Recipes
Looking for more German holiday cookies? Try these:
Authentic German Springerle Cookies with Anise
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs (at room temperature)
- ½ teaspoon anise oil (or substitute 1 to 2 teaspoons anise extract)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3½ cups confectioners' sugar
- 3½ cups cake flour
- 1 Tablespoon orange zest, optional (from one large orange)
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt (use table salt or fine sea salt, not kosher salt)
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, add all three room temperature eggs. Whisk the eggs until they double in size, become bubbly and airy, and turn a yellowish-white color. Start on low speed for the first minute, then increase the speed to high. (This can take anywhere from 5 to 10+ minutes, depending on how humid your kitchen is.)
- Add the anise oil or anise extract and vanilla extract. Whisk again for one minute to combine.
- While whisking on low speed, add the confectioners' sugar one spoonful at a time. Continue whisking at high speed for 5 minutes after all the confectioners' sugar has been added, to ensure everything is evenly mixed.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the cake flour, optional orange zest, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Switch your stand mixer to a paddle attachment. While whisking on low speed, add the flour mixture one spoonful at a time. Once all the flour mixture is added, increase the speed and continue mixing until the dough is soft and smooth. If the dough is too wet or loose, add a quarter cup more of cake flour. If the dough is too dry and crumbly, add in one whisked egg white. The dough is done being mixed once it's dry and light enough that your paddle attachment pulls the dough away from the side of your mixing bowl and the dough gathers on the paddle. The cookie dough should feel a little sticky, but not wet. If you press a dry finger into the dough, it should feel pretty dense like play-doh.
- Divide the dough in half. On a clean surface, roll the dough into two smooth balls and wrap them individually in plastic wrap.Refrigerate the dough for at least one hour, or overnight.
- On a clean work surface, roll out one ball of the dough until it's ½ inch thick. (If your dough was chilled overnight and is really stiff, allow it to warm up and soften a little at room temperature for about 20 minutes).
- Dust an embossed springerle rolling pin or a cookie mold with a little cornstarch and a pastry brush. Use the rolling pin or mold to imprint a design on the cookie dough and cut out the cookies with cookie cutters or the mold.
- Transfer the cookies with a spatula or bench scraper to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread out the cookies by at least two inches from each other. (You'll either need to bake the cookies in batches, or bake them on two separate large baking sheets.)Continue rolling out, imprinting, and cutting out the remaining cookie dough.
- Allow the cookies to dry out at room temperature until the top feels fully dry and the bottom is dry on the outer edge. (This can take anywhere from 24 hours to 48 hours, depending on how humid your kitchen is.)
- Preheat the oven to 300°F. Position your oven rack on the bottom third, so the cookies can bake from the bottom and not get colored on the top.
- Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until the cookies have risen and have their characteristic "feet" on the bottom.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet. Don't try to remove them while they're still warm, as they could stick to the parchment paper and crack.
- Enjoy right away, or store your cookies in an airtight container for a couple weeks to allow the cookies to soften a bit and deepen their flavor. Enjoy!!
Notes
- Brush your cookie mold with cornstarch. Powdered sugar doesn't stick as well to the mold, and flour absorbs more moisture so it's harder to brush off.
- For more anise flavor, sprinkle anise seeds on your counter or a baking sheet, then place the cut-out Springerle dough on top of the seeds. The anise seeds will get stuck to the bottom of the dough, adding even more anise flavor.
- You can substitute all purpose flour for the cake flour, but your Springerle cookies may end up a little harder.
- You can add orange oil or orange extract instead of orange zest, if you don't want a slight orange tint to your Springerle cookies.
- Allow your baked cookies to cool completely, then store them in an airtight container or metal tin for up to several weeks.
shkalen
Those molds are good, where did you find them?
Carissa Erzen
I love the mold! I found it on Amazon.
Flora
Woah Beautiful!!
Rolf
Love these