Speculaaskruiden Recipes

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 COOKIES OR SPICY SINTERKLASS CAKES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve the brown sugar in milk. Combine the flour, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking powder and salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the sugar and milk. Mix in 2 tablespoons of almonds and candied citron. Cut in the butter until it starts to form a dough, then knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Cover dough and chill for about 1 hour for easier handling.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Dust a wooden speculaas mold lightly with cornstarch. Firmly press the dough into the mold. Run a knife around the edges to trim off excess dough. Gently lift dough out of the mold or tap out onto a cookie sheet. Press remaining almond slivers into cookies to match the designs.
• Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, just until the edges begin to darken. If your cookies are more than 1/2 inch thick, bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for up to 30 minutes. Cool cookies on wire racks to crisp. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a month. The flavor will get better with age.

SPECULAASKRUIDEN

Steps:

• On a wooden board or in a small bowl, mix the spices well.
• Once the spices are mixed well, scoop them into a small, clean jar.
• Mix again with the back end of a teaspoon, or put the lid on and shake.