Christmas Cooking with Sophie

Sophie Becker owns Sophie’s Bakery on the town square in Lutz, Texas. She’s Emma Justice’s best friend in A Texas Flower Farmer Cozy Mystery series.

Springerles are German cookies that require special molds or rolling pins. My ancestors brought these molds to America many years ago, and they have remained in the family.

Here’s one recipe for Springerles.

Ingredients:

• cooking spray
• 1 ½ tablespoons crushed anise seeds
• 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar

Spray 4 cookie sheets with cooking spray; sprinkle with anise seeds and set aside until needed.

Mix flour and baking powder in a large bowl until well blended. Place sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a separate large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until light and frothy, 5 to 8 minutes. Gradually stir flour mixture into egg mixture to form a thick dough.

Working with handfuls of dough at a time, roll out onto a lightly floured surface until 1/4 inch thick. Lightly sift confectioners’ sugar over the dough. Place springerle molds onto dough; press down hard and evenly until the mold’s design registers in dough. Remove the mold. Use a small knife to cut around each cookie, and place them 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Repeat, until all dough has been used. Cover cookies with a lightweight cotton cloth, and allow to dry for 8 hours, or overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

Bake cookies in preheated oven until tops are pale brown and cookies are set, 25 – 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

I hope you and your family have a warm and cozy Christmas.