Could it be some time of Springerle? My mother used to make anise cookies like that.

One of my Pfeffernuse recipes uses that technique and it seems like I saw not too long ago another one but will have to look.
RL`

I make an anise drop thingie like that....I will need to hunt for the recipe....but it's lots of eggs, anise seed, sugar, flour and lots of beating. it's a thin batter and you drop it onto parchment and let it sit overnight....bake in the morning and it forms a sweet smooth glaze on top and crispy cookie underneath.
Linda C

According to my German cookbooks, there are a number of cookies that they allow to dry several hours or overnight.
Springerle are another one. If you would like some recipes, let me know.
RL`

If they were cut out in the shape of stars, they were probably Zimtsterne. Let me know and I have a recipe for them also.
Lisa

Thanks all. I don't think they were springerle, b/c they didn't taste of anise and she didn't use a Springerle pin. I remember them being spice-flavored, so thought they were most likely lebkuchen. But maybe they were pfeffernuse, which I've made before, but I've rolled them into little balls and let them dry, instead of cutting them out. I'd love your pfeffernuse and zimtsterne recipes! I was raised on anise, so have quite a few recipes I like containing that, but thanks anyway.

Were they dark or light colored?
Linda C

Kind of a caramel color, dry and "toothy". My dad would dunk them.

I'm also trying to find a cookies which dried overnight. My Czech grandmother made a spice cookies w/ a lot of eggs which she called Zuzvernichy (please forgive my phonetic spelling). These cookies were light in color and kept well, they were delicious with tea or coffee.

Wow! I'm surprised that this post popped up again after all these years - but it's timely and I'll tell you why.

Last week, one of my cousins included me on a post that was going around that had some of Grandma's recipes. One of them was for her lebkuchen (actually her daughter's recipe) and I'm almost certain that these are the cookies I remember. One cousin said that they were always kind of dry and I said it was probably because Grandma let them dry out overnight. (Or maybe she didn't.)

Anyway, I was just thrilled to have it. I'm going to make them this weekend and will report back on whether or not they're what I remember. (There weren't any directions, so you just have to use your basic cookie-making judgment.)

Lebkuchen

1 lb. brown sugar (3 cups)
1/2 lb. of shortening (1 cup)
2 eggs
3/4 c. molasses
3/4 c. sour milk
1/2 teaspoons. each cinnamon, cloves, allspice & ginger
2 teaspoons baking soda
7 to 8 cups flour
1 cup of raisins
1/2 lb. nuts (2 cups)
1 box of citron