Excellent Recipe !

I thought Springerles would be only a childhood Christmas memory for me until I found this recipe - they taste EXACTLY as I knew them, and they are surprisingly easy to make! I found that the dough could be chilled for longer periods with consistent results for busy cooks. I used a cat cookie cutter as I do not have any molds; the cut cookies "rested" overnight on parchment paper for easy removal. Also, I used a spray mister to quickly wet the backs before placing on a greased and seeded sheet. My friends wholeheartedly shared in my enthusiasm by exclaiming how exceptional the "puffy cats" were, which caused the need for multiple double batches! Will get online to purchase down molds for next year. It was the highlight of my Christmas, thank you very very much!

This is the same recipe that I received from my great grandmother some 50 years ago. I've had problems finding the ammonium carbonate but my local drugstore was able to get some for me. My favorite way of "softening" them up, is to dunk them in a good cup of hot tea when I am eating them.

This receipe is the REAL THING. It asks for baker's ammonia and it tells you to let the shaped cookie stay outside for 24h. If you try this receipe for the first time, don't be discouraged by the strong an unusual smell of the ammonia. It makes the cookies puff up during the baking process. That's where its name comes from. Translated it means "little jumper". Ammonia is a must for those cookies, otherwise you will have Anise cookies. The smell will disapear over time and the strong flavor of anise will rise. Enjoy.