Recipes

Speculaas Spices

Cookies  Dessert  Oven 

• Cooking Time: 20
• 125 gr brown sugar
• 100 gr unsalted butter
• 1 egg
• a little salt
• shredded lemon rind
• 30gr milk
• 250 gr all self-raising floor
• 10 gr speculaas spices ( recipe hereunder)
• 30 gr ground almonds
• Speculaas spices
• 50 gr ground cinnamon
• 15 gr ground nutmeg
• 10 gr ground ginger
• 10 gr ground cloves
• 5 gr mace
• 5 gr ground black pepper
• 5 gr anise
• Mix all ingrdients well and store in a well closed can on a dark cool place.

Cream the sugar, butter and shredded lemon rind, then beat in the salt, almond, e3gg and 3 tbs milk mix well and add flour and spices, work in all the flour thoughout the mixture.

Roll into a ball, cover with cling film and refrigerate for min 1 hours.

Roll out and use cookie cutter forms

Place on a greased baking tray, brush lightly with milk and bake at 200 C (400 F) ca 20 min till browned, (not to light brown).

I wasd born in Amsterdam in Holland, living in Greece from 1972...however never forgot nor will forget specific Dutch celebrations, like one of them = especially for the children :Saint Nicholas birthday which is on December 6.

St. Nicholas was a very nice man who loved the children very much and every year in Holland he is coming from Spain to Holland (by boat) with his best helper Black Pete (Zwarte Piet)...he arrives at December 5 and the children put that evening late their shoes (clogs) under the chimney, so that the "Black Pete" who rides on the roofs of the houses with the "Sint" on his white horse and goes down the chimney to put presents in the childrens shoes.

From mid November special St. Nicholas (Sinterklaas) sweets are available in the shops, but the best are the ones we make ourselves at home.

A few of them I like to introduce here: First Dutch Speculaas cookies .

I really don't know how old this recipe is, but simalars can be found in a little communitry cookbook " Cooking on Clogs"