20 Days Of Christmas Cookies- Day 14

Carol’s Speculoos Spice Cookie Recipe

Let’s start with what is a speculoos cookie? This traditional Saint Nicholas Day spice cookie has roots in Belgium, The Netherlands, and Germany. Depending on your origin, you would call this a Biscoff cookie, Speculaas cookie, and Spekulatius cookie. It was a family activity of making the dough, rolling it, and cutting shapes,  much like the Americans do with cutouts. The traditional speculoos cookie is firm, think of an Italian coffee dunking cookie, or an American milk dunking cookie. There is no other taste like the traditional speculoos cookie, and while there are many recipes for speculoos cookies, there are specific reasons why we find it so difficult to replicate. 

If there is 1 reason why any recipe you make doesn’t taste just like another, it is because of the quality and type of the ingredients used, and substitutions that are made. 

Speculoos cookies have a distinct flavor that stays with us. It’s that warm sweet spice that makes us stop and smell the cookie. To replicate the spice we use cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and sometimes cardamom, but what about that lingering caramel flavor that seems to be missing so often? Well, that comes from the Belgium brown sugar which differs from the American light and dark brown sugars. 

American brown sugar is made from cane sugar mixed with molasses. So many recipes like this one will have cane sugar and molasses listed in the ingredients. Resulting in a softer cookie. Belgium brown sugar is made with caramel, and if you want an authentic speculoos cookie, you will need Belgium Brown Sugar.

Next on our list is cinnamon. There is lots of information on the health benefits of cinnamon, and we love cinnamon in all different types of food. It’s the type of cinnamon used that sets the speculoos spice over the top. Are you aware that there are 4 different types of cinnamon? Ceylon, also known as Mexican cinnamon, Korintje cinnamon, or Indonesian Cassia cinnamon, Saigon Cinnamon, a spicy sweet Vietnamese Cassia cinnamon. In America, we mostly find cassia cinnamon and unless you are specifically buying Korintje or Saigon, you aren’t aware of which you are getting, while in Belgium they use Ceylon cinnamon. Ceylon cinnamon is considered “true” cinnamon.

Do you use baking soda, baking powder, or Baker’s Ammonia that is the question? There are arguments out there that Baker’s Ammonia is not the same as baking soda or baking powder and will give a crispy snap to your baked goods, and you will always find a difference in recipes using baking soda or baking powder. The difference between baking soda and baking powder is that baking powder has the acid built in that is needed to make carbon dioxide in the recipe. Using 1 of the 3 over the other is going to make a difference in the leavening of the cookie.

So what makes up speculoos spice? We talked about the cinnamon, and all recipes for speculoos spice will have cloves and nutmeg. However, the addition of ginger, cardamom, allspice, and anise are seen and are subjective. Depending on your taste, you will use your favorites to get the desired flavor. This will change the outcome!

Do you need a mold, special rolling pin, or cutter for speculoos cookies? Interesting question, research has found that the simple speculoos cookie is rolled out and cut much like the American cutout cookies. However, as with the ingredients you use, I also found that molds, stamps, and rolling pins make the traditional speculoos cookie, and of course, if you want a Biscoff style speculoos cookie, cut it out in a rectangle.

With all of this information on the speculoos cookie, it is no wonder it is such a prized cookie. This speculoos spice cookie recipe is SIMPLE, delicious, and fun to make. You won’t be disappointed.

Ingredients

1 ½ sticks butter (room temperature)

1 cup of sugar

1 egg (room temperature)

¼ cup molasses

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp Ceylon cinnamon

¾  tsp ground cloves

¾ tsp ginger

¾ tsp cardamom

White Sanding Sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Using a heavy-duty stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until creamy and well blended. 

3. Add the egg and molasses and beat at medium speed to incorporate.

4. Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices together.

5. Add the dry ingredients to the molasses mixture and mix on medium speed until blended.

6. Roll the cookie dough out on a floured pastry board, to ⅛ inch thickness

7. I ran my embossed rolling pin over the rolled cookies. If you are going to use 1, now is the time.

8. Cut your cookie shapes out.

9. Place the cutouts on 2 greased  11x15 inch cookie/jelly roll pans.

10. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes

11. Sprinkle the cookies with sanding sugar.

12. Slightly loosen the cookies using a small thin spatula, and let them cool completely.

13. These cookies taste better as they set. 

14. Store them in an airtight container for eating and gifting later.