Speculaas: Dutch Spice Cookies

One of my all-time favorite cookies are Belgian Biscoff cookies. They are SO GOOD! When my husband picked up this holiday cookie cookbook at the library for me, this recipe immediately caught my eye. These Northern European spice cookies are called Speculaas in the Netherlands, Speculoos in Belgium, and Spekulatius in Germany.

This recipe for Dutch Spice Cookies was adapted from Christmas Cookies: 50 Recipes to Treasure for the Holiday Season by Lisa Zwirn. It was recommended to use a diamond-shaped cookie cutter with fluted edges, but I made Christmas trees for the occasion! (Any other shape would truly make them seasonless.) The dough had an ideal texture and rolled and cut like a dream. 🙂 I am going to make them again for sure- and will (at least) double the recipe next Christmas. I may also have to get the traditional cookie cutter.

Yield: Makes about 50 (2 1/2-inch diameter) cookies

For the Cookie Dough:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp coarse salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice (or cloves) (I used freshly ground allspice)
• 8 T (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp grated lemon zest (I used the zest of 1 lemon)

For the Egg Wash & Topping:

• 1 egg white whisked with 2 tsp water until frothy
• sliced almonds, to taste

1. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice in a medium bowl.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar in a large bowl until creamy.
3. Beat in the egg, then the lemon zest.
4. With the beaters on low-speed, mix in the flour mixture until throughly combined.
5. Gather the dough in to a ball, then divide it in half.
6. Shape each half into a disk and wrap separately in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (I refrigerated the dough overnight.)
7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees on convection. Line 2 rimmed cookie sheets with parchment paper.
8. Working with one disk at a time, roll out the dough  between two sheets of plastic wrap or on a lightly floured surface to a 1/4-inch thickness.
9. Using a diamond, square, or round cookie cutter measuring about 2 1/2-inches in diameter, cut the dough and arrange on the prepared baking sheets about 1 1/2-inches apart. (I refrigerated the cut dough overnight prior to baking.)
10. Reroll the scraps and repeat.
11. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the egg wash over the tops of the cookies.
12. Press a few almonds onto the center of each cookie.
13. Bake for 10 to 14 minutes or until the cookies are slightly browned around the edges and the almonds are golden. (The cookies will crisp up as they cool.)
14. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool.

Note: The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks or frozen for up to 3 months.

One Year Ago:

• Chewy Ginger Spiced Molasses Cookies

Two Years Ago:

• Pizzelles
• Pistachio Semifreddo

Three Years Ago:

• Gingerbread Cookies with Royal Icing
• Gingerbread Snacking Cake

If you like this you may also like:

• Speculoos
• Biscoff Blondies
• Biscoff Crunch & Swirl Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
• Apple Biscoff Crumble

Apple Biscoff Crumble

We love love LOVE LOVE Biscoff cookies in our house. An absolute favorite. (You get the idea…) When I saw this recipe, it had to be made ASAP!! We ate it warm with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. It transported us to a Parisian bistro with every bite. Easy and fabulous!!

This recipe was adapted from Baking Chez Moi: Recipes from My Paris Home to Your Home Anywhere by Dorie Greenspan. I used a combination of Gala, Fuji, Pink Lady, and Granny Smith apples. Greenspan suggests that any fruit can be substituted for the apples (making it a year-round dessert!!): peaches, nectarines, plums, berries, or cherries in the summer, pears, bananas, or pineapple in the winter, or a holiday mix of cranberries, apples, dried fruit and nuts. I’m pretty sure we’ll be eating it at least once a season! 🙂

• 2 pounds (900 grams) apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 T granulated sugar
• 3 T plump raisins
• 1 package (about 8 oz) Biscoff or other speculoos cookies
• 1 stick (8 T) unsalted butter, cut into small chunks, at room temperature
• vanilla bean ice cream for serving

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (on convection).
2. Butter an 8-inch round cake pan or a baking dish that holds 4 to 5 cups. Put the dish on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
3. In a large bowl, toss the apples with the sugar and raisins. Set aside, but stir occasionally while assembling the topping.
4. Using your hands, break the cookies into pieces in a large bowl. Add the butter and toss, turn and press the cookies and butter with your fingers, working them together until you have a fairly well-blended ball. (You want the cookies to stick together.)
5. Stir the apple mixture and then pour it into the prepared baking dish. Spoon any accumulated juices over the mixture.
6. Pull off bits of the crumble mixture and strew it over the apples- you should have enough to practically cover all of the fruit.
7. Bake the crumble for 25 minutes and then tent it with foil to prevent over-browning. Continue to bake an additional 10 to 20 minutes, or until the topping is deeply brown and the fruit is bubbling.
8. Transfer to a cooling rack and let it cool until it is just warm. (It can also be eaten at room temperature.) Serve with vanilla bean ice cream.

Two Years Ago:

• Banana-Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes
• Blueberry Buttermilk Waffles

If you like this you may also like:

• Speculoos
• Biscoff Crunch & Swirl Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Speculoos

I am not a fan of packaged cookies- my one exception is Biscoff. I LOVE them! When I saw this bakery version of my favorite spiced shortbread cookie from Belgium, I could barely wait to make them. This recipe is from Bouchon Bakery by Thomas Keller and Sebastien Rouxel. To be just like Thomas Keller, I followed all of the instructions precisely including his method to roll out the dough. The dough is pounded with a rolling-pin to flatten it during the rolling process in order to prevent cracking- it worked quite well! Because I also wanted to present mine just like Thomas Keller, I sprinkled the cookies with powdered sugar just before serving. 🙂 The dough could also be topped with turbinado sugar prior to baking. (next time!) I cooked some of the cookies until the edges were lightly brown and others a little bit longer. All were delicious, but I preferred the cookies that cooked slightly longer as they were more reminiscent of crispy Biscoff. GREAT!

I am bringing this dessert to Fiesta Friday (#6) over at The Novice Gardener this week- visit to check out the party! A FEAST 🙂

• 3/4 cup (104 g) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup plus 1 1/2 T (74 g) cake flour
• 1/2 cup plus 2 T (74 g) whole wheat flour
• 1/4 tsp (1.3 g) baking soda
• 1/2 tsp (1.3 g) ground cinnamon
• 3/8 tsp (1.3 g) Kosher salt
• 1/3 cup (74 g) dark brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/4 cup plus 2 1/4 tsp (59 g) granulated sugar
• 1 1/8 tsp (8 g) Clover honey
• 6.2 oz (177 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• powdered sugar for dusting or turbinado sugar for sprinkling

1. Place the all-purpose flour in a medium bowl and sift in the cake and whole wheat flours. Break up any lumps of flour remaining in the sieve and add them to the bowl. Sift in the baking soda and cinnamon. Add the salt and whisk together.
2. Combine both sugars in a bowl and whisk to break up any lumps. Using a fork, stir in the honey.
3. Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Turn to medium-low speed and cream the butter until smooth.
4. Add the sugar mixture and mix for about 2 minutes, until fluffy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
5. Add the dry ingredients in 2 additions, mixing on low-speed for 15 to 30 seconds after each, or until just combined. Scrape the bottom of the bowl to incorporate any dry ingredients that have settled there.
6. Mound the dough on the work surface and, using the heel of your hand or a pastry scraper, push it together into a 4- by 6-inch block. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or, preferably, overnight.
7. Position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees. (I used convection.) Line two sheet pans with Silpats or parchment paper.
8. Unwrap the dough and place it between two pieces of parchment paper or plastic wrap. With a rolling-pin, pound the top of the dough, working from left to right, to begin to flatten it, then turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat. (This will prevent the dough from cracking as it is rolled.) Roll out to just under 1/8 inch thick. If the dough has softened, slide it (in the parchment) onto the back of a sheet pan and refrigerate until firm enough to cut into cookies.
9. Using a decorative cutter (they would be pretty as snowflakes), cut out the cookies and arrange them on the prepared sheet pans, leaving about 3/4 inch between them. If necessary, push the trimmings together, refrigerate until firm, and reroll. If the dough softens, return it to the refrigerator until the cookies are firm enough to transfer to the sheet pans. (I cut the shapes, stack them with plastic wrap between each layer, and refrigerate for 1-2 hours (or overnight) prior to baking.)
10. Bake the cookies until golden brown, 13 to 15 minutes, reversing the positions of the pans halfway through baking. Set the pans on a cooling rack and cool for 5 to 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies to the rack to cool completely.
11. The cookies can be stored in a covered container for up to 3 days. Just before serving, sift powdered sugar over the cookies.

One Year Ago:

• Cornmeal Cookies
• Crumb Cake
• Whole Wheat Cinnamon Snacking Cake

If you like this you may also like:

• Biscoff Crunch and Swirl Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Biscoff Crunch & Swirl Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

This might be the best ice cream I’ve ever made. In fact, it might be the best ice cream I’ve ever eaten!

I have always loved the crispy spice cookies that are served on airplanes- Biscoff “the airline cookie.” I have always had trouble remembering what they were called- and I actually never knew that you could buy them. Almost immediately after seeing a recipe for Biscoff Crunch Ice Cream on Annie’s Cooking Lab, I saw Biscoff cookies at Costco. Yay!

I adapted the original recipe by putting the Biscoff swirl and crunch in my favorite vanilla bean ice cream. The vanilla bean ice cream base recipe is from Food and Wine, contributed by Jeni Britton. The Biscoff swirl and crunch recipe is from Annie’s Cooking Lab. FABULOUS.

Yield: About 3 1/2 cups

For the Vanilla Bean Ice Cream:

• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 1/2 ounces cream cheese, softened (3 tablespoons)
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped (see Note)
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Biscoff Crunch and Swirl:

• 3/4 package Biscoff Cookies (about 25 cookies), crumbled
• 1/2 cup (120g) creamy Biscoff Spread
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 tbl. light corn syrup

To Make the Biscoff Swirl:

1. Scoop the Biscoff Spread into small saucepan and place over medium-low heat. Add the cream and corn syrup and stir until combined.
2. Cover and refrigerate for several hours.

To Make the Vanilla Bean Ice Cream Base:

1. Fill a large bowl with ice water.
2. In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch.
3. In another large bowl, whisk the cream cheese until smooth. (I used a stainless steel bowl.)
4. In a large saucepan, combine the remaining milk with the heavy cream, sugar, corn syrup and vanilla bean and seeds.
5. Bring the milk mixture to a boil and cook over moderate heat until the sugar dissolves and the vanilla flavors the milk, about 4 minutes.
6. Off the heat, gradually whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Return to a boil and cook over moderately high heat until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 1 minute.
7. Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth.
8. Whisk in the salt.
9. Set the bowl in the ice water bath and let stand, stirring occasionally, until cold, about 20 minutes.
10. Strain the ice cream base into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

To Incorporate the Crunch and Swirl:

1. Once the ice cream is chilled, stir in the Biscoff cookie pieces.
2. Place a spoonful of ice cream in a glass loaf pan or plastic container, spread some of the Biscoff swirl mixture over the top.
3. Repeat the layers, finishing with ice cream on top.
4. Press a sheet of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the ice cream and close with an airtight lid or cover with additional plastic wrap.
5. Freeze the ice cream until firm, about 4 hours, preferably overnight.

Note: 1 tablespoon of Nielsen-Massey vanilla bean paste can be substituted for the split vanilla bean.