Belgian Spice Speculaas Cookies Recipes

SPECULAAS COOKIES

Steps:

• Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, mace, white pepper, and cloves in a large bowl.
• Cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in half the flour mixture. Beat in water, then remaining flour mixture. Shape into 3 disks. Pat each to a 1-inch thickness, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Dust surface and springerle mold lightly with confectioners' sugar. Roll out dough to a 1/4- to 3/8-inch thickness (deeper molds will need thicker dough). Cut a piece of dough about the size of the mold. Press mold firmly into dough, flip over, and gently roll over dough with a rolling pin. Flip over, and press onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Using a knife, trim excess dough. Gently coax dough out of mold with fingertips and onto a baking sheet. Repeat, spacing cookies 1 inch apart, and placing same-size cookies on same sheet. Freeze until firm, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place 1 sheet of cookies in oven, and immediately reduce temperature to 250. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until cookies are set and just beginning to turn light gold around edges, 55 to 65 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.

SPECULOOS (BELGIAN SPICE COOKIES)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Sift together flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
• In the work bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter, white sugar, brown sugar and vanilla.
• Add dry ingredients to mixer, a few spoonfuls at a time, mixing on low speed until combined.
• Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 60 minutes.
• Place dough on Silpat or parchment. Roll dough out to about 1/4" thickness - about the size of the Silpat. Use bench flour as necessary to prevent sticking. Transfer Silpat to a cookie sheet.
• Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. Cut into 3x2" rectangles with a pizza wheel.
• Transfer Silpat to a cooling rack until room temperature. Store in a tightly sealed container.

BELGIAN SPICE (SPECULAAS) COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream together first four ingredients.
• Sift together dry ingredients, pour into creamed ingredients.
• Stir until blended.
• Stir in the pecans.
• Form the dough into long rolls on wax paper and chill overnight in the refrigerator.
• Slice very thin (the family can't agree how thin "very" is) and place on cookie sheet.
• Bake at 400 degrees about 10 minutes.

BELGIAN SPICE COOKIES

Steps:

• Combine first 6 ingredients in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat brown sugar and butter in large bowl until light. Add egg and beat until fluffy. Gradually add dry ingredients and beat just until combined. Divide dough in half. Flatten each half into rectangle. Wrap with plastic; chill 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter 2 large baking sheets. Roll out 1 dough piece on lightly floured work surface to 13 x 9-inch rectangle. Trim edges to form 12x8-inch rectangle. Cut into 24 4x1-inch rectangles. Lightly press miniature cookie cutter into each rectangle to make imprints (do not cut through dough). Arrange cookies on prepared baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Bake until edges begin to darken, about 8 minutes. Transfer cookies to rack and cool. Repeat with remaining dough piece.
• Working with 1 cookie at a time, brush imprints with melted white chocolate. Sprinkle colored sugar generously over chocolate. Let stand until chocolate sets, about 2 hours. Shake off excess colored sugar. (Can be made ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week, or freeze up to 1 month.)