Cookbook:Speculaas (Dutch Spiced Cookies)

Speculaas (Dutch Spiced Cookies)
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Speculaas is a traditional Dutch spiced biscuit. It is eaten all year round but is mostly associated with pakjesavond, the celebration of Saint Nicholas on the 5th of December. The speculaas can have the shape of this saint, although windmills are a popular design as well. Speculaas gets it design from a template, called a 'speculaasplank'. This is a wooden board with shapes or figures cut in it. The design is better preserved when more flour is added to the dough, but this is not to today's taste anymore.

Ingredients

• 110 g butter
• 90 g light brown sugar
• 1 g table salt
• 3 teaspoons speculaas spices
• 100 g flour
• 100 g self-raising flour
• 1 egg, beaten

Speculaas dough removed from the template (pictured right).

Procedure

1. Cream together the butter, sugar, salt, and spices until you have a soft mass.
2. Add the egg and flours, and mix into a soft dough.
3. If desired, let the dough rest for 2 days in the fridge. This will give a stronger taste of the spices to the biscuits.
4. Sprinkle the speculaas mold with flour so the dough will not stick.
5. Press a piece of dough in the mold. Cut away the excess dough by using a string or by cutting with a knife, holding it flat against the template.
6. Flip the mold over, and smack it forcefully face-down on the kitchen worktop. This should get the speculaas out of the template.
7. Arrange the speculaas on a well-buttered baking sheet, leaving enough space between them to allow for spreading.
8. Bake the speculaas in a 170°C oven. Small cookies will take 20 minutes, while larger ones can take 30 minutes or more. There is no telling when the cookies are done when still hot, so take one out and let it cool down. When it smells good and is crispy, it is done.
9. Let the speculaas fully cool. Enjoy with a cup of tea or hot chocolate.

Notes, tips, and variations

• Speculaas spice is a mix of mostly cinnamon, but also coriander, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cardamom, white pepper, and orange peels. This mix is also used in kruidnoten. Often the mix also contains a secret extra ingredient.