The picture cookie

Originating in Germany, Switzerland and the Alsace region of France, springerle “picture”cookies can be traced back to the 15th Century or earlier.    Commonly used as  a form of  communication, the earliest images portrayed scenes from the bible which were used to educate those who couldn’t read or write. 

 In the 16th and 17 th Century, symbolic meanings were associated  to different images and eating the “correct” type of cookie was believed to influence a person’s good luck, fertility or personal abilities. Embossed cookie reached their highest popularity during the 18th Century,  at which time an extensive variety of designs became available in street markets.  Detailed images of births, weddings or a good harvest were sent as announcements. These sweet “postcards” from our past included street scenes, famous proverbs and even political propaganda. Love messages and erotic themes coexisted with religious images and the exchange of these cookies during the holidays  was as traditional as today’s exchange of greeting cards.   

At the beginning of the 19th Century it became trendy to paint and apply gold dust to the images. Gold was also believed to be a healthy ingredient.  After this point, molds start to show lack of imagination and slowly became  more and more stylized imitations of the original designs.  Today, collections of this practical form of art can be admired in some European museums and replicas are available on the market.