Our gift to you is this bonus video featuring springerle cookies. How did 15th century German cookies end up on Michigan tables in the mid-1800s? And why would you ever put a skull on a Christmas cookie?

Here's the recipe from Donna:
"The recipe I use is the one used at Firestone Farm and dates to the 1870's. The Firestones were of German descent, and came to the Ohio region from Pennsylvania.

5 eggs - beaten to a stiff cream
fold in 2 cups pulverized (powdered) sugar
next mix in 3/4 to 1 tsp hartshorn (bakers ammonia / ammonia bicarbonate)
and the zest of one lemon
add 4 1/2 cups sifted flour

The dough should chill overnight (refrigerator is fine for this step)

After the cookies are pressed and cut, place them on a very lightly greased cookie sheet sprinkled with anise seed.
Set them in a cool dry place for 24 hours to dry out the tops - DO NOT use the refrigerator for this step, as the cookie tops will not dry out properly. I use an attic room with the heat vents turned off.
Bake at 250 degrees for about 40 minutes - use an unpressed piece of dough as a tester - when the center springs back, the cookies are done.
Do not over bake them - they should be a nice white color, with very little golden color on the bottoms only.
Once they are done and cool, place them in a glass or ceramic airtight container for 3 - 6 weeks to cure. You can decorate them during this time, just be careful to let the sugar paint dry and then return them to finish curing."

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