An Heirloom Christmas Tradition

An Heirloom Christmas Tradition

If you asked me to share my most vivid childhood memories of Advent and Christmas, odds are I would tell you about time in the kitchen with my Mormor (Swedish for “Grandmother”), my Mama, and my five sisters, making Springerle cookies with our wooden cookie molds from House on the Hill. 

“Springerle” is a type of South German biscuit or cookie with an embossed design made by pressing a mold onto rolled dough and allowing the impression to dry before baking. This preserves the detail of the surface pattern. The springerle tradition dates back to the 14th century, and House on the Hill offers molds with new designs as well as replicas of ancient ones. 

Because the springerle dough is so unique and precise, cookie baking for springerle Christmas cookies was special in my Mama’s kitchen. I remember Christmas music playing on the old stereo, all the women and girls in aprons, and flour - so much flour - all over us and the kitchen. 

I remember trying my little hand at creating mold cookies, carefully pressing the dough into the intricately carved wooden molds, with my Mama close by telling me not to handle the dough too much (so it wouldn’t get too warm and start sticking). And I remember my nose pressed up against the oven door, hoping that my cookies would bake perfectly with their beautiful designs of Nativity and Saint Nicholas and Christmas roses and festive hearts. 

There is one House on the Hill cookie mold that stands out in my memory above all the rest. It’s the mold of Saint Nicholas in his bishop’s hat and staff. My mama only used that large cookie mold to make cookies for Saint Nicholas Day on December 6th. It was so special because we knew we would only enjoy those amazing (huge!) cookies on December 6th. 

Decades later, after I married Peter and began preparations for our first Christmas together, Peter surprised me with an incredible gift. He presented me with a box from House on the Hill, full of wooden cookie molds to start my own collection and our own family traditions. 

Naturally, I cried as I unpacked the Saint Nicholas bishop mold, the Lamb of God mold, our family monogram, and other gorgeous heirlooms. 

That box was the beginning of many years of music and laughter and flour all over my own kitchen floor. I carried on the tradition of only using the St. Nick mold to make cookies for December 6th - and my children look forward to it all year long. 

When I opened the mother & home market, it was my dream to become a distributor for House on the Hill cookie molds. I wanted to share with other mamas a tradition that had meant so very much to me as a child and also as a mother. I knew the company was mama-owned and American made, and I also knew they were very selective with whom they allowed to distribute their very special heirlooms. 

When I applied to be a distributor, a company representative called me. “We aren’t accepting new online distributors at this time” she said, “but I did want to call and hear your story.” And so I told her about my mama, and my Mormor, and about the Saint Nicholas cookies, and how my own children looked forward to them all year long. 

It is with great joy and a tremendous sense of honor that I offer you House on the Hill cookie molds through mother & home. These heirloom pieces represent the highest excellence in craftsmanship and care. They symbolize a tradition of cookie making that spans continents and generations and centuries. I’m so grateful to be a small part in their story. Springerle cookies have been a magical, meaningful part of mine. 

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