Pass The Springerle For An Old-Fashioned St. Patrick's Day Party

St. Patrick's Day is an OLD holiday. Not as old as Christmas and Easter of course, but the 5th-century missionary who made the Irish Catholic has prompted party-ing for over a millennium. The Catholic Church considers St. Patrick such an honorable fellow that if March 17th falls on a Lenten Friday, Irish bishops will lift the day's ban on meat-eating. Pass the Irish Stew - It's Party Time!
Given the extreme age of this feast day, I think it merits celebration with a highly-traditional food. Let's eat food with history older than corned beef and cabbage (which I think was first made in the U.S.) How about 14th-century Springerle cookies? Yes, Springerle cookies are the traditional way to send good wishes on St. Patrick's Day. They are anise and lemon-flavored cookies which are pressed into iron baking moulds, dried and then baked. The moulds give the cookies a raised surface which is then intricately hand-painted with decorative icings. Today we call this type of cookie embossed. Embossed Springerle cookies originated in Europe in the Middle Ages and were exchanged as we exchange holiday and greeting cards. (Out of paper? Send a cookie.) The scenes on these Medieval cookies depicted the seasons and symbols of the holiday celebrated.
Embossed Springerle cookies are gaining popularity in the gourmet food scene. The texture and flavor differ from today's typical cookies. And this edible artwork can be so impressive that if you want to save it for display you can. Just leave it out to dry and it will harden into a decorative ornament you can bring out to celebrate St. Patrick's Day for years to come.

Looking for more ways to celebrate St. Patrick's Day? Check out my other blog, Edible Antics - Having Fun With Food. Be sure you say a prayer for the cook.