Springerli

Ahhh, time to make Springerli!

Last year's springerli.  Yummm . . . ouch.

The molds (not the cookies)

About a dozen years ago, I inherited my grandmother's wooden Springerli molds, and I've taken it on myself to make these cookies every year for everyone in my family, whether they want them or not.  Springerli are cookies that are meant to last . . . I just pulled out a few I made last year; they're hard as bricks but still edible.  You just sort of have to gnaw at them.  An acquired taste, but yummy once you get used to them.




When the springerli come fresh out of the oven, they're more pliable -- they're only as hard as soft bricks.  Or something.  Generations of my family have teethed on them.







The recipe (which I triple, just to make sure I share the love) is

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp anise extract
• 1 Tbsp anise seeds
• 4 cups flour

Roll out the dough, coat lightly with flour, and press with the molds.  Let the cookies harden over night; the next day, bake them at 300° for 10-12 minutes.

In the past, I've done the overnight storage on several sheets of aluminum foil, but I'm becoming so enamored of living trash-less (or, at least, with less trash) that I realized I could pull out all my flat-ish pans and used those.  The cookies fit on the trays -- happiness.

This year, I inducted K-daughter into the Springerli ritual.  A new generation joins in the tradition -- she seemed very happy.  She gnawed along with me cheerfully.  Watch out, family, here come the cookies!