Thursday 2 December 2010

Recipe Thursday - Name this Rolling Pin


There is one kitchen tool that I find gets very little attention; the lowly rolling pin.  At minimum I feel that anyone who does a variety of cooking and baking needs at least two.  I have three at present. 

 The top one is from Martha Stewart and is the 'French Style' .  I bought this one on a whim during a clearance sale and absolutely love it.  It is made of a nice firm wood, not pine.  This is generally my rolling pin of choice.

The middle rolling pin is made of marble.  Great for rolling more fragile pastries on warm days.  The pin is quite heavy and it does most of the work for me.  I have had this one since my university days and have bought a few to give to friends.

The bottom one is the newest.  Even though I have had it at least 5 years I have not used it.  It is for making pretty little cookies. There are three rows of carved squares. I know that you roll your cookie dough with a regular rolling pin and then the final step is too roll over with this pin.   Problem is, it didn't come with a recipe and I had not seen one before except in a cookbook illustration. 

This is where I need your help.  Do you know what this pin is called ?  Do you have a recipe that would work with it?  Probably a dough that doesn't rise all that much or the impressions made will disappear when baked.

Linda has sent me a link to an interesting article about rolling pins at croppingcooks.com.  She suggests that my pin might be a springerle. 
Old hand-carved wooden rolling pins with grooves cut into their barrels were used for making cookies, particularly the Springerle, a typical anise-flavored Christmas cookie  from Austria and Baveria (Springerle is German for little knight or jumping horse).  The designs on these pins were the quaint figures of animals, fruits, and flowers, each carved in a square outline.

13 comments:

Colleen said...

I don't know the name of it, but I always assumed it would be for shortbread.

Colleen

Heather said...

HI Colleen, I had not thought to use it for shortbread. I do think that would work. I do have a few of the clay shortbread pans that work incredibly well, though they make rather large cookies.

I was thinking that this was a German or Austrian style rolling pin.

Marie said...

Sorry, I can't help either. I've seen it before, but assumed it was decorative.

I think it's time for me to get a new rolling pin...maybe one of those French ones.

Anonymous said...

I have no idea what it is except it's really cool. I can't wait to see what it is and find out some recipes for it.Where did you find it?

Linda said...

Hi Heather. What about Springerle Cookies...check this out http://www.croppingcooks.com/rolling_pins.htm I have seen these cookies around Christmastime.

Dorte H said...

Nice post, but I don´t know the name of your rolling pin either.

It´s funny that I have just been writing about Christmas cookies (in a Danish novel), but I never create real cookies.

(M)ary said...

Well. I haven't baked anything more than basic cookies in years so I won't be much help. And now I use pre-made dough so I have gotten really lazy.

However, I think it would be fun for you to play around with it even if you don't have a recipe. If you laid out a cookie dough and ran this across it, would you it 'cut' cookies in the same way as a regular cookie cutter?

Jill said...

I don't know what I'd do without my European-style rolling pin! No clue about the other one, though. Please post pictures if you ever do give it a try!

Kathleen said...

You're asking the wrong girl. I have one rolling pin which I almost never use. LOL. Sounds neat though.

Beth F said...

LInda beat me to it! I have a friend who uses a simple sugar cookie recipe for the Springerle cookies.

I have a maple rolling pin that I've used for years and years.

Beth said...

looks like its a springerle pin...King Arthur Flour sells them here: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/springerle-rolling-pin

Nazmiş Teyze said...

aa oklava:) in turkish meaning we say oklava:) we genaraly use oklava for making yufka (a kind of bread) :)

Wendy said...

I would say it is a springerle pin too. You should be able to google a good recipe for the cookies. I am with you on having a good pin. I have had mine for over 40 years now and although I do have 4 of them, my oldest one is my favorite. It is well seasoned, has the lovely red handles and just feels right in my hands. I do have 2 other antique ones as well. One is a glass pin that you fill with ice cubes. Good pin but the handles are a little short for my liking and another that is extra long all one piece...rolls well too , but old habits die hard...I still reach for my original wedding shower gift..my old kitchen friend.