Speculaas (Dutch Spiced Cookies)
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 tas
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 48 min
- Total
- 1 hr 8 min
- Servings
- As written in source
- Difficulty
- Medium
Timings are approximate — worked out from the method, not measured in a test kitchen.
Ingredients
Quantities are retained as written by the source and do not scale automatically. Tap an ingredient to check it off as you go.
Cooking instructions
Procedure
Cream together the butter, sugar, salt, and spices until you have a soft mass.
Procedure
Add the egg and flours, and mix into a soft dough.
Procedure
If desired, let the dough rest for 2 days in the fridge. This will give a stronger taste of the spices to the biscuits.
Procedure
Sprinkle the speculaas mold with flour so the dough will not stick.
Procedure
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.
Procedure
Flip the mold over, and smack it forcefully face-down on the kitchen worktop. This should get the speculaas out of the template.
Procedure
Arrange the speculaas on a well-buttered baking sheet, leaving enough space between them to allow for spreading.
Procedure
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.
Procedure
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.
Photo: DGH22 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0 · Photo source and licence
Wikibooks contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ · Adapted; quantities retained as written. · Original source
Read it through first
Skim all 10 steps before you start — it is the difference between cooking and firefighting.
Scale it
Use the quantities listed in the original recipe. Adjust them manually if making a different batch size.
Storage
Cool completely, then keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
Reheating
Reheat gently with a splash of water in a covered pan, rather than blasting it, so nothing dries out.
Approximate values per serving. Worked out from the ingredient list — treat them as a guide, not a measurement.
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