springerle

(German Christmas Cookies)

Recipe origin: United States Great Lakes Region

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour
• 1 pound powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 4 eggs
• 1 Tablespoon lemon rind

Procedure

1. In a paper bag, shake together 1 cup of flour, the powdered sugar, baking powder, and lemon rind.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs until very light and frothy.
3. Add dry ingredients from the paper bag to the beaten eggs. Beat well.
4. Work in the rest of the flour to make a soft dough.
5. Place dough onto floured surface.
6. Roll dough out to about ¼-inch thick and cut into 1½-inch by 2-inch rectangles.
7. Lay cookies out on a lightly floured cloth and let set about 2 hours to dry the tops.
8. Preheat oven to 250°F.
9. Bake cookies on greased cookie sheet for 20 minutes or until bottoms are golden.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

[SPRING-uhr-lee; SHPRING-uhr-luh] One of Germany's most famous Christmas sweets, the anise-flavored springerle are beautiful embossed cookies that originated centuries ago in the German duchy of Swabia. The embossed designs on the cookie's surface are formed with a special carved wooden rolling pin, which, when rolled over the dough, imprints it decoratively. Alternatively, the dough can be pressed into a carved cookie mold. Once the dough is imprinted with the design, the cookies are allowed to sit out at room temperature overnight. This allows the dough's surface to dry so the design will remain as the cookie bakes.

IN BRIEF: Noun- A thick hard cookie that is usually flavored with anise.