These German Springerle cookies are flavored with anise oil (or anise extract) and fresh orange zest. Made with cake flour, powdered sugar, and a day-long dry time, they bake up crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and perfect for dunking into a hot drink.
Featured Review
"Congratulations!!! My Grandmother taught me how to bake springerles when I was 8 years old... Most recipes on line use granulated sugar which is not traditional. Only confectionary sugar will do. Also, you are spot on about rolling to a ½ thickness... After rolling, the cookies will be ⅜ thick……the perfect height for "springing." The only trick I would add is….after drying, we would dust off the excess flour and then have a moistened towel on a dish next to the cookie sheet and would gently moisten the bottom of each cookie as we placed them on the sheet. This would assure that the cookies will rise evenly." -Frank
The Festive Anise Cookies I Bake Every Christmas
Growing up in Germany, I found a couple antique Springerle molds in antique shops. The wooden molds are embossed with a wide variety of designs from flowers and animals to intricate scenes of people and landscapes. So after buying a new mold to bake with, I created this German Springerle recipe, adapted to my American kitchen.
The flavor here is really unique, and if you love licorice, you'll love these anise cookies. And like many other German Christmas cookies, the flavor deepens and "ripens" overtime, so they taste even better after a few days.
And the dough is probably different than any other cookies you've made. Whole eggs are whipped and used as the only fat in these cookies. Without butter or oil, they have a much firmer texture and are sometimes even turned into Christmas tree ornaments. And cake flour plus confectioners sugar work together to create a chewy center and prevent the dough from becoming too tough or spreading in the oven.
Once shaped, Springerle are left out at room temperature for a full day (or two) to dry out. This creates a crust or "skin" on the exterior, which helps the intricate design from the cookie mold to stay intact during baking.
Step-by-Step: Let's Bake Springerle!
My Tips for Baking Anise Cookies
- Don't skip chilling the dough, which makes it much easier to remove from the cookie mold, since warm dough feels sticky.
- Brush your cookie mold with cornstarch. In testing, powdered sugar didn't stick as well to the mold so the dough stuck, and flour absorbed more moisture, making it harder to brush off.
- In the U.S. I've found Springerle molds are nearly impossible to find in stores. You can purchase traditional Springerle molds online, but they can be kind of expensive. I found this heart-shaped wooden cookie mold on Amazon, and I've used it to also make Spekulatius, which are another classic German Christmas cookie with more spices.
- If you can't find cookie molds, you can also use an engraved rolling pin like a Springerle rolling pin or even just a regular rolling pin and cookie cutters.
Notes on Baker's Ammonia
Traditional German Springerle cookies are made with Baker's Ammonia which is also called hartshorn. It's similar to baking soda and baking powder and makes cookies extra crispy, but it's not easily available here in the U.S. I experimented with other ingredients, and found that having a little cornstarch in the dough, similar to chocolate hedgehog cookies, creates a similar crispy texture.
German Anise Cookies | Springerle
developed & tested by:
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)
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, add the room temperature eggs. Start whisking on low speed for 1 minute, then increase the speed to high and continue whisking for 5-10 minutes, until the eggs double in size, become bubbly and airy, and turn a yellowish-white color.
- 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 large 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, 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.
- 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 1 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).
- Cookie Mold: Dust a cookie mold with cornstarch using a pastry brush. Press a small handful of dough into the mold, making sure it's flat in the mold. Tap the dough out of the mold and continue brush cornstarch for each cookie.Rolling Pin: Dust an embossed rolling pin with cornstarch using a pastry brush. Roll out the dough with a regular rolling pin, then roll it once with the embossed rolling pin to imprint the design. Then use cookie cutters to cut out the cookies.
- 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.)
- 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 (150°C). 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
- Anise: 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 more of that tasty licorice flavor.
- Orange: You can swap in orange oil or orange extract if you don't want the subtle orange tint added to your Springerle cookies from orange zest.
- Storing: Allow your baked cookies to cool completely, then store them in an airtight container or metal tin for up to several weeks.
Frank says
Congratulations!!! My Grandmother taught me how to bake springerles when I was 8 years old. Back then and for many years after, It was my job to hand beat the eggs for 45 minutes. My grandma woud not allow the use of an electric mixer. Most recipes on line use granulated sugar which is not traditional. Only confectionary sugar will do. Also, you are spot on about rolling to a 1/2 thickness. We used a hand carved rolling pin that has been in the family for ? years. After rolling, the cookies will be 3/8 thick......the perfect height for "springing." The only trick I would add is....after drying, we would dust off the excess flour and then have a moistened towel on a dish next to the cookie sheet and would gently moisten the bottom of each cookie as we placed them on the sheet. This would assure that the cookies will rise evenly.
Carissa Erzen says
Hi Frank, I love that Springerle has such a beautiful history in your family! And I bet your hand carved rolling pin is a stunning heirloom. I will definitely try that moistened towel trick next time, thank you so much for sharing that!
Tom E. says
Followed recipe EXACTLY but had to add 3/4 cup extra cake flour to almost play doh. I figured that's enough! in the fridge firming up now. not sure what to expect!! what did I miss??
Nicki Dellaposta says
I'm about to make these and realize you have 4 eggs in the ingredients and 3 eggs in the instructions. How many should I put in?
Carissa Erzen says
Hi Nicki, I'm so sorry about that! It's 4 eggs, I'm updating it in the instructions right now. Let me know if you get a chance to make these cookies!
Tom E. says
OK...even after adding the extra 3/4 cup of flour, they are superb! I will definitely make these again. They turned out light and soft and very flavorful!
Carissa Erzen says
Hi Tom, I'm so sorry it took me a few days to get back to you. I'm so glad your cookies turned out great! This is definitely a sticky dough, and I'm glad you added the extra flour your batch needed, since the texture of this one can be a bit finicky compared to other cookies. Cheers!
shkalen says
Those molds are good, where did you find them?
Carissa Erzen says
I love the mold! I found it on Amazon.
Flora says
Woah Beautiful!!
Rolf says
Love these