Wow - that is really nice! Thanks for suggesting it...

Alexa

Here is a link that might be useful: Springerle rolling pin

I'd love it. I've never made springerle. Are they just like a shortbread cookie?

/tricia

If they are anything like the ones my great aunts Elsie and Bertha would make when I was a kid, they would be sort of like shortbread or butter cookies, except they would be hard to the point of nearly chipping your teeth, dry, crumbly, and largely flavorless except for an overpowering black licorice flavor from the anise.

Can you tell I was not a fan? :-) I do remember that they had a springerle board that they would use that even then was an antique.

Thanks, sheilajoyce, that's a beautiful pin, I didn't post because I didn't want to run this down the page until everyone interested had seen it.

I do have a very old one that belonged to Elery's mother. I tried to use it for shortbread, but that didn't work well as the shortbread did not hold the pattern, it just spread out. It was still good to eat, though.

The springerle I remember was always anise flavored and Grandma would make the dough, press it into the forms, remove it and let it dry overnight so it would keep the pattern. Then it was baked at a very low temperature and was pretty hard. It wasn't one of my favorites then, although I love the "black licorice" flavor, so I'm thinking I need to try them again, maybe I'll have "grown into" them.

Annie

Springerle are meant to be made far ahead of Christmas and stored in an airtight container with a slice of apple to soften them. At least thats the way I remember my Mother doing it. Myself I would rather have Lebkuchen. I have my Mother's old springerle pin and its a work art. Actually, it was my grandmas and came here from Germany in the middle 1800's.