This summer I stopped at various farmers' markets in my travels, including Dungannon, Ontario; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Tisikawa, Illinois; and Waterloo, Ontario. At the Lancaster Farmers Market, I discovered Springerle. Perhaps my ancestors who arrived in Pennsylvania in the late 1700's were also makers of springerle?
"For over a thousand years in Europe, hand-carved molds have been used to imprint "picture cookies." These cookies have been historically used as betrothal tokens, tellers of tales and to celebrate daily life. Springerle molds first came to Lancaster County circa 1710 among the most treasured possessions of the Pennsylvania German immigrants. Our Springerle cookies and ornaments are made from replicas of molds painstakingly copied from original molds in museums in Germany and Switzerland."
The market vendor told of a woman who insisted it is best to look for a man who can carve a very detailed mold, not because of his mastery of the craft, but rather because he will be a very patient man and thus a good husband.
