Spring

The painted springerle

by:
December 19, 2010
0
0 Ratings
  • Makes 10 cookies
Author Notes

Still hunting for my recipe from Freiburg I just got some lovely lemon springerles from Alice at the Springerle Bakery: http://thatcookie.com/ where you can also get a recipe from Ken at http://cookiemolds.wordpress.com/recipes/springerle/ which uses baker's ammonia or Hartshorn for leavening. Ken likes to paint his springerles with petal dust finished with vodka for some gorgeous vivid results, but I am suggesting that you use all natural colorants such as those from India Tree with some thinning, either with water or German schnapps. I am uploading my results painting the cookies from Springerle, which are delicious and so perfect, they are well worth ordering! I will be making my own cookies with my own molds over the holidays. If you are going to make your own and they are intended for decoration, you can make a small hole in the top of each cookie so a ribbon can be inserted later for hanging. You can also try a wedgewood effect by simply painting the background a solid tanzanite blue or olive green and leave the border and central image white. You can box your painted edible cookies as gifts. I like to make these completely edible. Painting these would be great fun to do with children, too. House on the Hill has a great line of food coloring as markers which would be really easy for children to use. They also have edible gold dust you can paint with spirits for gilding. —Sagegreen

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Ingredients
  • 1 red vegetable colorant made from beets
  • 1 yellow colorant made from tumeric
  • 1 blue colorant made from cabbage
  • 1 teaspoon German schnapps or water for blending
  • 3 ounces water for cleaning your brushes
Directions
  1. On a white porcelain plate squeeze out your three primary colors. Begin to mix two of each together to create your secondary colors.
  2. Continue to mix your colors until you achieve the hues you want. Then with very fine paint brushes dip into the colors. Think of tinting the surface of the cookies with a range of hues.
  3. Blend your colors further by dipping in and using a tiny amount of schnapps in your colors before painting on the cookies. Keep your brush relatively dry while working, so you do not saturate the surface of the cookie with moisture. If you do not like the results, very carefully and gently thin the color, blot with paper towel, and begin again. Let finished results dry thoroughly and store in an airtight container.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

31 Reviews

mtrelaun December 24, 2010
Beautiful!
Sagegreen December 26, 2010
Thank you. I am gilding the ones that I baked myself for a New Year's party. You can see some of those with my other recipe on this site, too.
latoscana December 21, 2010
Stunning!
Sagegreen December 22, 2010
Thanks! I am baking my own tomorrow and will be gilding some of those. Can't wait!
gingerroot December 21, 2010
Gorgeous!
Sagegreen December 21, 2010
Thanks, gingeroot. I just finished making several dozen of my own to bake tomorrow! Happy Holidays.
gingerroot December 21, 2010
Same to you and yours, Sagegreen!
thirschfeld December 21, 2010
one word, beautiful
Sagegreen December 21, 2010
Thank you so much! I will be baking some lavender, some with orange cardamom and some with lemon thyme, some to be painted with gold dust and schnapps for New Years! I have some wax molds from Bavaria that are lovely.
luvcookbooks December 21, 2010
luv these, what is petal dust? sounds like something you would get in a fairy tale, like hartshorn.
Sagegreen December 21, 2010
Thanks. From the Baker's Kitchen petal dust is "used to give subtle color with a matte finish to gumpaste flowers or fondant. Either dry-brush on for slight color effect, or mix with an alcohol-based product such as pure lemon extract and paint on for stronger color results." It sounds great, but is not as healthy as the vegetable all natural India Tree food colors. I really think the food coloring markers from House on the Hill are great fun for children and are like conventional food coloring. For a New Year's party hosted by our renaissance center director I am making springerles of different flavor combinations.
Sagegreen December 21, 2010
....and I am using hartshorn in my recipe...they are like making ancient fairy tale worlds come alive.
TheWimpyVegetarian December 19, 2010
These are absolutely stunning, sagegreen! You have such amazing talent - I wish I lived on the east coast to see your art. I know already I would love it. You are such an inspiration!!! Happy Holidays to you and your family!
Sagegreen December 20, 2010
Thank you ChezSuzanne. I will be headed to California in late March, but to L.A., not San Fran. though. Happy Holidays to you as well!
cowgirlculture December 19, 2010
Wow, these are amazing! Great job!
Sagegreen December 19, 2010
Thanks. Just discovered Ora's rolls. Great story!
hardlikearmour December 19, 2010
That's too pretty to eat!
Sagegreen December 19, 2010
Thanks, but you can always paint more! They are too tasty not to eat.
Lizthechef December 19, 2010
When are you opening your bakery ;) Fantastic!
Sagegreen December 19, 2010
Thanks, but Springerle Bakery is already open and no doubt far superior to my homemade ones! But when I retire....
mrslarkin December 19, 2010
so so pretty. Thank you!
Sagegreen December 19, 2010
Thanks, mrslarkin. It is my pleassure.
drbabs December 19, 2010
Wow, you are so talented...these are beautiful.
Sagegreen December 19, 2010
Aw, thanks....you just splash a little muted color on and they come out pretty well! The detail in these cookies is stellar. They are also a perfect white to take color easily.
campagnes December 19, 2010
absolutely beautiful!
Sagegreen December 19, 2010
Thanks, campagnes. They are great fun to paint!
Sagegreen December 19, 2010
Thanks, lapadia. I like painting these with subtle colors. They are really pretty quick to do, and they truly are delicious....so they are pretty easy to eat, too!
lapadia December 19, 2010
OK...let me WAKE UP already - and say...you mentioned they could be for decoration, however, I would prefer to use them for both purposes. Merry Christmas, Sagegreen!
Sagegreen December 19, 2010
Merry Christmas to you, too!
lapadia December 19, 2010
Incredible, a labor of love, what a hostess gift this would make...but then they are so pretty to look at, it woudl be hard to take a bite :)
lapadia December 19, 2010
...but then you did mention they are intended for decoration!