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Speculaas

Speculaas is a traditional Dutch recipe for a traditional spiced biscuit (cookie) that, typically, is served on the Feast of St Nicholas. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Dutch dish of: Speculaas.

prep time

60 minutes

cook time

20 minutes

Total Time:

80 minutes

Additional Time:

(+60 minutes proving)

Makes:

12–16

Rating: 4.5 star rating

Tags : Spice RecipesBaking RecipesNetherlands Recipes



Speculaas are a traditional Dutch biscuit (cookie) that are traditionally served on the Feast of St Nicholas (December 6th).

Ingredients:

210g plain flour
45g ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt
115g unsalted butter
160g light brown sugar
1 egg
finely-grated zest of 1 lemon
80g slivered almonds, to garnish

Method:

Sift the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Mix to combine then set aside.

Add the sugar to a separate bowl. Cube the butter and then cram into the butter until light and fluffy. Add the egg and lemon zest and beat until thoroughly combined then add the flour mixture a little at a time and beat until combined into a dough.

Form the dough into a ball then cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour (but preferably over night).

When the dough is cold pinch off pieces and form these into 3cm diameter balls. Set these 5cm apart on a baking tray lined with baking paper and flatten slightly so they stay in place. Using the base of a glass dipped in icing sugar flatten the balls into discs about 6mm thick and sprinkle them with the slivered almonds. Place in an oven pre-heated to 180°C and bake for about 10 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking trays for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.