Springerle cookie expert to teach class

Published 4:34 pm Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Birmingham Bake and Cook Company plans to host House on the Hill owner Connie Meisinger as a guest instructor April 4.

House on the Hill creates specialty springerle cookie molds that were featured on the cover of the December issue of Martha Stewart Living.

Birmingham Bake and Cook owner Susan Green said the class would be a rare treat for anyone who loves to bake. She said the molds are creative and the cookies a time-honored classic.

“It’s a very old world cookie that is often used around the holidays,” Green said. “But they are quite unique in that you roll out the dough and then press the mold into the dough to create the image. They really can be used year-round.”

Meisinger began baking springerle about 20 years ago when her grandmother was no longer able to make the cookies. Springerle is a type of cookie from Germany that can often be anise-flavored or flavored with orange, vanilla or almond.

The molds also allow bakers to form sweets using ingredients such as marzipan or modeling chocolate. Many people also use them to create creating cards, wall art and ornaments.

House on the Hill carries more than 500 designs, which are each hand-cast from resin and wood composite and are based on molds found in many private collections.

Green said calling House on the Hill the premiere distributor of these molds would be putting it lightly.

“This is what they do and Connie is a true expert,” she said. “I met her at a show in Atlanta. It’s very lovely of her and gracious of her to have called me up and offered to come in and teach the class.”

Birmingham Bake and Cook is the only retailer in Birmingham that carries these specialty molds. The class begins April 4 at noon. Cost for the class is $35 and lasts three hours. It will include a demo of two flavors of springerle cookies, as well as samplings of gingerbread and marzipan toppings for cupcakes.

For more information or to reserve a spot for the class, call 980-3661.