SOMETHING SPECIAL VINTAGE HAND CARVED COOKIE MOLDS OLD MAN VICTORIAN LADY PORK FAMILY

HERE WE HAVE SOMETHING SPECIAL. A PAIR OF TWO DOUBLE-SIDED HAND CARVED WOODEN COOKIE MOLDS. THE ONE HAS AN OLD MAN WITH HIS CANE ON ONE SIDE WITH A LADY IN VICTORIAN DRESS ON THE OTHER SIDE. THE OTHER MOULDS HAS A LARGE MAMA PIG ON ONE SIDE WITH HER 3 PIGLETS ON THE OTHER SIDE.
 
THESE MOLD ARE MOST PROPABLY OF AFRIKANER DUTCH ORIGEN AND DATES FROM THE EARLY TO MIDDLE TWENTIETH CENTURY. NOTE I HAVE TWO OTHER SETS OF SIMILAR VINTAGE COOKIE MOLDS ALSO ON AUCTION THIS WEEK.
 
ALSO CALLED A SPECULAASPLANK (DUTCH) OR SPECULOOS (BELGIUM) OR SPECULATIUS (GERMAN) NAMED AFTER VARIOUS TYPES OF SPICY CRUNCHY COOKIES DEVELOPED IN BELGIUM AND THE NETHERLANDS AND LATER ALL OVER EUROPE. In fact these biscuits are eaten all year long in Belgium and the Netherlands, where they were invented. They are even popular among the inhabitants of Indonesia, a former Dutch colony.
 
EACH COUNTRY ADDED DIFFERENT SPICES TO THEM THAT DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT COOKIES. GINGERBREAD THAT USES GINGER AS SPICE IS ONE SUCH COOKIE WE ARE SO FAMILIAR WITH. Because of the many exotic spices needed to make it, Spekulatius was once an expensive luxury that most people couldn't afford until after the Second World War. Today, Spekulatius biscuits are commonplace.
 
THE ORIGIN OF THE WORD IS NOT CERTAIN, BUT SOME SAY THAT SPECULOOS COMES FROM THE WORD SPECERIJ, WHICH MEANS SPICE" IN DUTCH. OTHERS CREDIT THE LATIN WORD SPECULUM, MEANING MIRROR PERTAINING TO THE WOODEN MOLD GIVING A MIRROR IMAGE USED FOR THE COOKIES.
 
Because the dough used in making spekulaas cookies hardly rises during baking, it is well suited for making cookies using molds. Various molds with special motifs like the gingerbread man and St Nicolaas or Father Christmas has been handcarved and used. The motifs are clearly recognizable after baking.
 
IT CAN BE EASILY HUNG ON THE WALL FOR DECORATION, OR CAN BE USED IN THE KITCHEN TO BAKE YOUR OWN COOKIES.
 
SIZE OLD MAN AND LADY PLANK 14CM WIDE 35CM HIGH 3CM THICK
PORK FAMILY PLANK 19,5CM WIDE 35CM HIGH 2,5CM THICK
 
CONDITION: FEW SCRAPES. IN GOOD CONDITION
 
MOLDED COOKIES:
When it comes to the art of baking, few efforts yield edible masterpieces of such rich historical significance and decorative splendor as molded cookies. Molded cookies boast a lengthy and sometimes dramatic history. Some of the earliest cookie molds are thought to have been used for preparing gingerbread in Europe during the Middle Ages.
Early molds were made of stone, fired clay or metal. By the 17th Century, however, most molds were carved in wood and commissioned from master carvers by royalty, the wealthy or gingerbread-baker guilds who would then undertake modest-scale mass production of cookies for an eager public. Many molds displayed intricate detail.
 
How to use the cookie molds:
Mix flour, sodium bicarbonate, caster sugar and Speculaas (gingerbread) spices in a bowl.
Add butter and then milk and knead until smooth. Let the dough stiffen in the fridge for a few hours or one night. Carefully dust the hollow in the speculaas plank (cookie mold) with a brush. You get an even better result with the slightly finer rice flour. Press the dough firmly into the molds and cut away anything above the plank with a knife. Turn the board over a greased baking tray and "knock" the gingerbread from the board.VINTAGE
 
PLEASE ALSO SEE MY OTHER ITEMS LISTED. I HAVE TWO OTHER SETS OF SIMILAR VINTAGE COOKIE MOLDS ALSO ON AUCTION THIS WEEK.
COPY THE URL UNDERNEATH AND PASTE INTO GOOGLE AND IT WILL TAKE YOU DIRECTLY TO ALL MY LISTINGS THIS WEEK. NOTE ALL MY AUCTIONS END AT 22H30 SO IT IS ADVISABLE TO PUT IN AN AUTOMATIC BID (HIGHEST PRICE YOU ARE WILLING TO PAY) EARLY.
https://www.bidorbuy.co.za/seller/3685641/ErnRex1545