Purpose of this Blog...

You may have noticed that not all books are equal in capturing children's imaginations and in cultivating those innocent, tender souls. My goal is to help you find the ones that do!
(Painting by Mary Cassatt: "Mrs Cassatt Reading to her Grandchildren" -1888)




Tuesday, November 19, 2013

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?




17 comments:

  1. That sounds like a lot of love that goes into making these cookies....no wonder they are so beautiful!! What a great St. Nicholas Day treat!!

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  2. Those are beautiful! They would be such a treat to win.

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  3. Such lovely cookies. Thank you for the neat giveaway.

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  4. These are so beautiful and would make the perfect gift for my dear friend who comes from Netherlands. I believe it would remind her of her childhood and St. Nicholas Day celebrations. Lovely.

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  5. Thank you for this giveaway. I would love to win these adorable cookies for my nephew who will turn 6 on December 6!

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  6. Little edible works of art:)
    Heather

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  7. How exquisite! We have a family tradition of making St. Nicholas gingerbread cookies at our house. The kids love to bake. I took a peek at the Springerle website. Wow. They have cookies depicting the Nativity and Bible stories too!

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  8. Wow! I am so excited that you have now added such a wonderful book. This will absolutely thrill my nephew whose birthday is on December 6.

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  9. Can't wait to read this book. I'm enjoying all the wonderful suggestions.

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  10. Oh, my goodness. I haven't seen these cookies since our days in Germany, and I miss them SO much. I used to get them at the Christkindlesmarkt in Nürnberg every year. I have molds I bought at the market, but I'm no baker.

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  11. I am so glad that your love of books turned into such a wonderful community service. You rock my friend!

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  12. You've gotten me thinking about unpacking my molds and looking up my old German recipes. The Springerle cookies can also be such beautiful tree decorations when painted. But I'm not sure I have that kind of skill and patience! I was better at visiting the Christkindlsmarkt, sipping a Glühwein in the snowy cold, and buying a few Springerle.

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  13. @Michele - Love your comments - I'm ready to plan a trip to Germany - let's go!!! :)

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  14. Have you tried the Trader Joe's speculoos "butter"? ♥ Those cookies are lovely. I would love to win this giveaway.

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  15. @Martha - yes, we love TJ's speculoos cookie butter!

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  16. Beautiful cookies! Ruth R.

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