Speculaas Cookies (aka Speculoos)
Crisp, buttery Dutch spice cookies, pressed in a traditional wooden mold or rolled and cut with any cutter. Chill the dough at least 1 hour. Molded cookies bake about 8 minutes, and thinner cut cookies about 5. Yield will vary based on the size and shape of the cookies.
Cookies
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Ingredients
- 5 oz all purpose flour (1 cup, see note)
- 2 ¼ oz cake flour (½ cup)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground anise
- 4 oz unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 6 oz brown sugar (¾ cup packed)
- 2 oz almond flour (⅓ cup)
- 1 ½ oz whole milk (3 tablespoons)
- rice flour (dusting molds)
Instructions
- In small bowl, whisk together 5 oz all purpose flour, 2 ¼ oz cake flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon table salt, 2 teaspoons cinnamon,½ teaspoon ginger, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon cardamom, ¼ teaspoon cloves, ¼ teaspoon white pepper, and ¼ teaspoon ground anise. Set the dry ingredients aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl, cream together 4 oz unsalted butter and 6 oz brown sugar for 2-3 minutes on medium high speed. The mixture should be lightened in color and aerated. Scrape the bowl and the beater. Add 2 oz almond flour and 1 ½ oz whole milk, mix until incorporated.
- Scrape the bowl and the beater then add the sifted flour mixture. Mix until the flour is mostly incorporated. It will still look crumbly at this point.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead to form a cohesive ball. Flatten the ball to a disc. Wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour. See note.
- Line two half sheet pans with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 375 °F.
- If you're using a cookie cutter, roll the dough to ¼"-½" thick and cut the shapes. Thinner cookies will be crisp and thicker cookies will be slightly soft in the center. Reroll the scraps and continue cutting.
- To make cookies using a wooden speculaas mold, dust the mold with rice flour. Use your hand to press a ball of dough to fill the cavity. Trim off excess dough and flip the cookie onto the parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake the cookies for 5 minutes. Turn the trays and bake another 3 minutes until brown around the edges and the dough is set in the middle. If you rolled the cookies to ¼" they will bake faster, about 4-5 minutes.
- Allow the cookies to cool to room temperature, then store in an airtight container.
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Notes
If measuring the flour by volume use the “dip & sweep” method. That is, dip the measuring cup into the flour bin, overfill it, then sweep away the excess.
You can use 1 tablespoon plus a teaspoon of pre-mixed speculaas spice in place of the spices listed in the recipe.
The dough can be held in the refrigerator for 3 days or frozen up to a month.
The yield will vary based on the size and shape of your cutter or mold.
Storage
Speculaas will keep for a week in an airtight container. The cookies can be frozen for 1 month. Let them defrost before serving. Have you tried this recipe?Mention @eileen.bakingsense or tag #bakingsense!