Speculaas

Do you know this phenomenon that one moment you did not even know that something exists and the next moment you cannot wait to try it? That happened to me when my dear friend Marina gave me some wonderful wooden Speculaas forms from Brugge (Belgium). By chance, I then still saw more forms in Zaanse Schans (Netherlands) and right away decided to complement my little collection of forms by a oh so Dutch windmill.

Aside from being utterly beautiful per se, I had no clue how these molds work... luckily, the internet knows an answer to everything! First, the molds have to be coated in a bit of oil, afterwards they should be sprinkled with a generous amount of flour. This will keep the speculaas dough from sticking.

Which takes us to the speculaas dough. I used the following recipe:

225g       flour
115g       butter (room temperature)
110g       brown sugar
7g           baking powder
3g           baking soda/ natrium
30g         butter milk
7g           speculaas/ gingerbread spices
1 pinch   salt

Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and the spices in a bowl. In another bowl, beat the butter and sugar until slightly foamy. Add the buttermilk and mix until smooth. Add the flour mixture and knead into a ball. Use some more flour if the mixture is too sticky or butter milk in case the mixture is too crumbly. Cover the ball with cling film and let rest in the fridge over night.

Once the dough is ready, you can start to prepare your speculaas biscuits. Start by preheating the oven to 175 degrees. Then take the dough out of the fridge and press a small amount of it into a flour-covered mold.

With confidence and in one go, cut away the excess dough with a very sharp knife. Tap the biscuits out of the molds. Use your fingers or a blunt knife in case the biscuit got stuck in the form. It needs a few tries to figure out a technique to get good results. A cold dough and generous use of both flour and swear words have proven to me to be helpful. While you work on a form, let the rest of the dough rest in the fridge. If wanted, you can cover the back of the cookies in almond flakes or almond slivers. Unlike shown in the photos, the best moment to do this is while the biscuit is still in its mold.

Finally, place the biscuits on a baking tray and bake for ca. 15-18 minutes at 175 degrees. Towards the end of the baking time you'll start to notice the typical smell of speculaas. Keep a close eye on the biscuits at that moment so they do not get too dark. Remove the biscuits from the oven when done and let cool on the baking tray until they firm up. Once cool, you can enjoy your crunchy speculaas with a nice cup of coffee or tea!