Nicks Speculaas Cookies Recipes

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.

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 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.

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 SPICE COOKIES OR WINDMILL COOKIES)

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, cream together sugar and butter. Add egg.
• Add remaining ingredients and stir to form a stiff dough.
• If making the cookies without a mold, roll the dough into cylinders that are the diameter of your desired cookies.*
• Freeze for at least 20-30 minutes.
• Slice the chilled dough into thin (~1/4 inch) rounds and place on a cookie sheet. Cookies will spread a little bit upon baking.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes.
• *Also chill dough before pressing into molds or using cookie cutters.

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 - 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.