Speculaas Recipes

SPECULAAS COOKIES

Steps:

• Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, mace, white pepper, and cloves in a large bowl.
• Cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in half the flour mixture. Beat in water, then remaining flour mixture. Shape into 3 disks. Pat each to a 1-inch thickness, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Dust surface and springerle mold lightly with confectioners' sugar. Roll out dough to a 1/4- to 3/8-inch thickness (deeper molds will need thicker dough). Cut a piece of dough about the size of the mold. Press mold firmly into dough, flip over, and gently roll over dough with a rolling pin. Flip over, and press onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Using a knife, trim excess dough. Gently coax dough out of mold with fingertips and onto a baking sheet. Repeat, spacing cookies 1 inch apart, and placing same-size cookies on same sheet. Freeze until firm, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place 1 sheet of cookies in oven, and immediately reduce temperature to 250. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until cookies are set and just beginning to turn light gold around edges, 55 to 65 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.

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.

SPECULAAS

Steps:

• In a medium-sized bowl, mix the flour with spices, baking powder and salt.
• In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar at high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and mix well.
• Stir in by hand half the flour mixture, then add the remaining flour and almonds. Mix with a wooden spoon or knead with hands.
• Divide dough into four parts, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for several hours. (If you are using a mold, chill it as well.)
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and grease two cookie sheets.
• Remove one quarter of the dough from the refrigerator and flatten it with your hands. Oil your mold and lightly flour it. Using your fingers, press dough firmly into the mold. Trim any excess dough from the mold with a knife.
• Transfer the cookies onto greased cookie sheets with a spatula, spacing about one inch apart.
• Refrigerate dough trimming to be rerolled later. Lightly flour but do not re-oil cookie mold.
• Repeat process with remaining dough. When cookie sheets are full, bake cookies for 20 - 25 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Store in a covered tin.

DUTCH SPECULAAS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, molasses and orange zest. Combine the flour, ground almonds, cinnamon, baking powder, nutmeg, cloves, pepper, ginger and cardamom. Gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or until easy to handle. , Preheat oven to 350°. On a parchment-lined surface, roll a small amount of dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Use a floured cookie stamp to press design into dough, then cut with floured 3-in. cookie cutters, leaving 1 in. between cookies. Remove excess dough and reroll scraps, if desired., Transfer parchment with dough to cookie sheet. If dough has warmed, place baking sheet in refrigerator until it firms up, about 10-15 minutes. Bake at 350° until edges are lightly browned, 8-10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

SPECULAAS - DUTCH COOKIES

Steps:

• Combine sugar and milk in a bowl.
• Stir until smooth.
• In another bowl, sift the dry ingredients and blend in the butter until the mixture is like cornmeal.
• Add the sugar and milk mixture and the almonds.
• Mix well.
• Wrap in foil, or wax paper and refrigerate overnight.
• Roll out the dough pretty thin.
• Use Christmas cookie cutters (or a windmill or other shaped cookie cutter if it isn't Christmas).
• Dust the cutter well with flour to be sure it doesn't stick.
• Place on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 10- 12 minutes.
• Remove and cool.

SPECULAAS (DUTCH WINDMILL COOKIES)

Steps:

• In a bowl, beat the butter 30 seconds or until softened.
• Combine the remaining ingredients, except for the almonds, in a small bowl.
• Add half of this mixture into the butter. Stir until mixed.
• Add the remaining flour mixture and 1/3 cup almonds and stir until mixed.
• Divide dough in half.
• On lightly floured surface roll one portion ot the dough to 1/8" thickness.
• Cut into desired shapes, place on greased cookie sheet and decorate with remaining almonds (if desired).
• Repeat with second half of dough.
• Bake at 350 degrees 8-10 minutes, or until browned.
• Cool on cookie sheet one minute.
• Remove and allow to cool.

SPECULAAS COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Dust 2 baking sheets with flour.
• Combine brown sugar and butter together in a bowl; beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, cinnamon, baking powder, cloves, and nutmeg. Mix in flour, 1 cup at a time, until dough comes together.
• Shape dough into cookies by hand or using cookie cutters. Arrange on the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until firm but not hard, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

NICK'S SPECULAAS COOKIES

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, add flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, coriander, ginger, cloves, and white pepper. Stir well to combine.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and brown sugar on medium speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Reduce to low speed, and beat in half of the flour mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
• Beat in milk; then add the remaining flour mixture. Continue to beat until a firm dough forms. Shape dough into a 1/2-inch-thick rectangle. Wrap dough in plastic, and chill it in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place racks in upper and lower third of the oven. Line two or three baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
• Remove dough from the refrigerator. Dab mold all over with a small piece of dough; this provides a light buttery coating that will prevent sticking. Generously sprinkle mold with flour, tapping to remove any excess. Take a piece of dough that is roughly the same size as the mold, and press it with the palm of your hand into the mold. With a long thin knife, scrape away excess dough. Invert the mold over the baking sheet, and rap the far end of the mold against the pan, holding it at an angle to release the formed cookie. Use a paring knife to trim any excess dough. Reflour the mold, and repeat with remaining pieces of dough. Press together scraps of trimmed dough, and chill to prepare them for molding.
• Bake cookies until firm and golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Slide parchment paper from each baking sheet to a rack to cool. Cookies may be stored between sheets of parchment paper in an airtight container for up to 1 month.