Belgian Saint Nicholas Cookies Recipes

HOW TO MAKE AUTHENTIC SPECULOOS COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar together.
• Add one egg at a time, mixing about 30 to 60 seconds after each one.
• In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and spices. Then add about 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter-sugar mixture. Mix lightly until incorporated. Repeat in 2 steps for the next 2/3 of the flour mixture.
• Make a ball with the dough. Knead gently on a floured cutting board only to make sure all ingredients are mixed well together. If the dough sticks to your hands or the cutting board, add a little more flour until it's no longer sticky. Wrap the ball of dough in plastic wrap and put in refrigerator. Leave at least 30 minutes. I usually leave it overnight. It can stay in the refrigerator 24 hours without any problems.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator about 15 minutes before rolling. Preheat oven to 350°F / 175°C (see notes below). Cut dough in three parts. Flatten the first part. Roll it out on a floured cutting board until the dough is about 1/12 inch / 2 millimeters thick. A little thicker is ok too. Be careful not to roll the dough too thin or else the cookies will break or burn. Gather the remaining dough and roll it out again to create new shapes.
• Use your cookie cutters to create shapes. Place the cut-out shapes of dough onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Put the filled baking sheet into the oven (on the middle rack). Let bake until the cookies are lightly brown on top (about 15 minutes). Remove cookies from oven and let them cool on a rack.
• While you bake each pan of cookies, continue rolling out the rest of the dough. You will thus roll-out and bake simultaneously. Therefore the time indicated for rolling out and baking will overlap to a large extent.
• After all the cookies are baked and cooled off, enjoy! If you create shapes the size of my cookies in the photo, you will make about 45 cookies per egg. Share with friends!

EMPIRE COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream butter. Add sugar, creaming well. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder; gradually add to creamed mixture.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into 2 inch rounds, and place on ungreased baking sheets.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 10 minutes, or until very lightly browned at edges. Cool thoroughly.
• Spread half of the cookies with jam, and top with remaining cookies.
• Combine confectioners' sugar, almond extract, and enough hot water to make a thin icing. Frost tops of cookies. Top each with a small piece of candied cherry.

SPECULOOS

Steps:

• With a spatula, mix the butter with sugar, salt and spices. Add the eggs one by one and mix well.
• Gradually add the flour mixed with the baking powder until obtaining a homogeneous dough.
• Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12 hours.
• Preheat oven to 375 F / 190 C.
• Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces.
• Thoroughly dust the work surface with flour and the rolling pin. Roll the first piece dough to a thickness of ¼ inch (5 mm)
• Cut the dough with a knife or a cookie cutter and use the wooden or silicone mold to make some prints on the speculoos.
• Place the speculoos on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for about 10 minutes.
• Renew the operation until all the dough is used.
• When they are out of the oven, wait a few minutes before placing the speculoos on a rack and let them cool completely before storing them in a tin box.

SAINT NICHOLAS COOKIES

Steps:

• Sift flour with spices in bowl. Add baking powder and salt; set aside.
• In large bowl of electric mixer, at high speed, beat butter with sugar and egg until mixture is very light and fluffy.
• With wooden spoon, stir in half of flour mixture, then beat in rest of flour mixture and almonds, mixing with hands, if necessary.
• Refrigerate dough, covered, several hours.
• Preheat oven to 350°F Lightly grease several cookie sheets.
• Remove 1/4 of the dough at a time from the refrigerator. With hand, flatten dough or roll out to 1/8-inch thick. Cut with cookie cutter.
• Repeat with rest of dough, 1/4 at a time. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown around edges.
• Remove cookies to wire rack; cool completely.
• Dust lightly with icing sugar. Store cookies in covered container.

SPECULAAS

Steps:

• Using a food processor, finely grind the almonds with 2 tablespoons of the flour. Whisk together ground almonds with the rest of the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt in a bowl and set aside.
• In a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat until combined.
• With the mixer on low speed, add in the flour mixture and mix until just moistened and combined.
• Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap well with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least three hours, but preferably overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line several cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Roll dough 1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Cut out cookies and place on sheets about 1 inch apart.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through, until firm and lightly golden around the edges. Cool sheets on wire racks for a couple minutes before transferring cookies directly onto wire racks with a spatula to finish cooling.