speculaas

It still feels like summer here and I’m already craving the flavors of fall. I know some people go crazy for pumpkin lattes. Me? My newest obsession is a spice blend called speculaas, used in Dutch baking. I found this wonderful trio of flavors from King Arthur Flour and decided to splurge. And you see those silicone bowls in the photo below? That’s one from a set of three from Pampered Chef (and lucky for you – I sell it!) It’s really nice to be able to mix something like this dough in a flexible bowl and have a lid to stick it in the fridge until later.

It’s hard to know the true origin of these cookies. I’ve seen them attributed to Dutch and Flemish traditions. I’ve seen them in the shape of windmills and saints, geometric shapes and animals. No matter where they come from, the simple fact is – they’re delicious!

It’s that wonderful combination of cinnamon, ginger, clove, nutmeg, anise, and cardamom that puts you in the mood to cozy up to a fire and read a good book. I really wanted to make these in a windmill, but trying to find a cookie stamp with a windmill shape is nearly impossible. I decided to just use what I have and cut them in squares with scalloped edges.

Doesn’t this just make you want to bake something winter-y? This would be a great cookie to give as a gift. Put them in cute little gift boxes, tied up with string – hey! – this makes me think of a song! Can you guess what it is?

One more note before the recipe. A little trick I use is placing two large paint stir sticks on either side of the dough to roll it out. I did this before buying that rolling pin and it worked great.

Speculaas

• Author: heidi adapted from Cook's Illustrated

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 1/2 cups|7.5 ounces all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Speculaas spice mix from King Arthur Flour (see note for substitution)
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup|6 ounces Turbinado (Raw) sugar
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces and chilled
• 1 large egg

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Instructions

To make cookies:

1. Whisk flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl
2. In the bowl of a food process, pulse sugar for 30 seconds. Add butter and process until mass forms and no large pieces of butter remain, about 30 seconds. Add egg and process until smooth and paste-like.
3. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix with a spatula. Use hands to knead until no dry pieces of flour remain.
4. Using two pieces of parchment, roll dough to 3/8-inch thickness. I use this rolling pin for exact measurements. Transfer parchment and dough to cookie sheet and place in freezer for 10-15 minutes. This makes it easier to remove cookies and ensures a chilled cookie for baking.
5. While cookies are chilling, preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Remove dough from freezer and break apart cookies from rest of dough. Place cookies on parchment or silpat-lined rimmed baking sheet.
6. Bake cookies for 18-22 minutes until set. Cool for 5 minutes before moving to wire rack to cool completely

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Notes

*If you do not have the Speculaas spice blend from King Arthur Flour, substitute: 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground cardamom, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander, 1/4 teaspoon ground mace, pinch ground anise seed, pinch ground white pepper.

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