A Sweet Giveaway for St. Nicholas Day

updated 12/6: Giveaway OVER St. Nicholas Day falls on December 6 each year, and will be here before you know it!  Why am I doing a cookie giveaway in honor of St. Nicholas, the good Bishop of Myra, who gave gifts and did good works in secret?  

Giveaway from The Springerle Bakery

Well, in central European countries such as Germany, Belgium, and Switzerland, it is a time-honored tradition to bake and give specially molded Speculoos (gingerbread spice) or Springerle (orange, anise, or lemon flavored) cookies throughout the Christmas season, but especially on St. Nicholas Day.

The Springerle Bakery has kindly partnered with me for this special cookie giveaway! Their cookies are little works of edible art!

Alice has baked up a special collection of 15 cookies just for my lucky winner.  You can see them pictured above.  There are 8 Gingerbread and 7 Springerle (vanilla-orange or lemon): from cookie molds depicting St. Nicholas, Nativity Scenes, Angels, and even a Gingerbread Man. The cookies range in size from approximately 2-1/4" to 4" tall.

I hope you'll take a minute to peruse The Springerle Bakery website.  These beautifully detailed cookies would make a very special (and tasty) gift - you still have time to get in a Christmas order!  There are large single cookies available, or collections of smaller cookies - each one handmade. (Note: they only ship to the U.S.)

A little bit about these cookies: To make these Springerle, very cold, stiff dough was rolled thin and pressed into a mold. The dough was unmolded and then left to dry for about 24 hours before being baked at a low temperature on greased, baking sheets. The leavening caused the biscuit to at least double in height during baking. This "pop-up" effect may be the source of the name in German. The baked biscuits are hard, and are packed away to ripen for two or three weeks. During this time, they become tender.

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:
(The Springerle Bakery can only ship to addresses in the U.S., so to be eligible for this giveaway, you must live in the U.S.)
How to enter -
1- Leave a comment here between now and December 5 at 11:59 p.m. (PST) on this post and any others I post through December 5, 2013, to enter this giveaway.
2- Leave a comment on Facebook ("likes" don't count, must be a comment) when I link to any blog posts between now and 11:59 p.m. (PST) on December 5, 2013, to enter this giveaway.
3- Enter as many times as you like between now and 12/5/13.
Giveaway winner announced -
Giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. on December 5, 2013. The winner of this giveaway will be chosen using List Randomizer and announced on St. Nicholas Day - Friday December 6, 2013, at 7:00 a.m. (PST).
Shipping -
1- The winner needs to contact me via e-mail (wendyb[spam]1963@[spam]sbcglobal[dot]net) with their mailing address by 11:59 p.m. (PST) on Saturday, December 7, 2013.  If not, a new winner will be chosen.  
2- The winner's mailing address will be given to The Springerle Bakery so that the cookies can be shipped on December 10, 2013.

If you're not familiar with St. Nicholas Day (Dec. 6) and its traditions, you will find lots of information in my past posts below (click on the titles to read):
Will the Real Santa Claus Please Stand Up?

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

Who is the Man in the Red Suit? 

St. Nicholas Day in Greece (Gold Coins!)

Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien