Spekulatius 1 Cinnamon Almond Ginger Butter Cookies Recipes

TRADITIONAL SPECULOOS COOKIES

Steps:

• Beat the brown sugar, butter, egg yolks, cream, vanilla and lemon zest in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or use an electric mixer) until it's pale and fluffy, 5-6 minutes. Add the almond/hazelnut flour and mix until combined. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baker's ammonia, salt and spices. While beating, gradually add this flour mixture to the wet mixture. (If not using a stand mixer use a wooden spoon while you can and then knead with your hands.) If the dough is too dry/crumbly add a little extra egg yolk as needed.Form the dough into a ball, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let it rest in a cool place (NOT the fridge or it will become brittle) for at least 5 hours or overnight.
• Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface to a thickness of about 4mm or just under 1/4 inch. You can simply cut them into small rectangles (like Biscoff cookies) or you can use molds, cookie stamps, a molded rolling pin or any cookie cutters of your choice to shape the speculoos (see blog post pictures for instructions on how to use molds and molded rolling pins). If using molds be sure to lightly flour them first to prevent sticking. Cut out the cookies and place them on a non-stick baking sheet. Chill the cookies for at least one hour before baking.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the speculoos on the middle rack for 10-12 minutes or until nicely browned and caramelized. Let the speculoos cool for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.Store them in an airtight container. It is best to wait at least a week before eaten them to allow the flavors to develop. Will keep in an airtight container in a cool place for several weeks. Enjoy by the speculoos by themselves or dipped in your favorite hot beverage.

SPEKULATIUS 1 (CINNAMON, ALMOND & GINGER BUTTER COOKIES)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 Fahrenheit (200 Centigrade / Gas Mark 6).
• Grease a baking sheet.
• Mix the flour and Baking powder together in a bowl.
• Make a well in the middle and put in the egg, sugar and spices and slowly work it all into a thick dough.
• Cut the cold butter into pieces and together with the ground almonds put on top of dough.
• Cover it all with a little more flour and knead it well to form a smooth dough. Note: If the dough is too sticky or gets warm, cool it a little in the refrigerator.
• Some recipes call for the dough to be left to rest for an hour in the refrigerator at this point.
• Roll out the dough nice and thin (they *are supposed* to be about 1/8th inch thick). If using flaked almonds on the top, sprinkle a few over the dough and pat into it very lightly.
• Cut out the cookies with Christmas Cookiecutters.
• Put Cookies onto greased baking sheet.
• Bake at 400F / 200C (Gas Mk 6) on the top slot in the Oven for about 15 minutes.
• Normally cut into Christmas tree, people, partridge and gift parcel shapes.
• Lightly Adapted From recipe posted by : Brigitte Sealing, Cyberealm BBS, Watertown, NY 315-786-1120.
• These are known as Speculaas or Speculoos in Belgium and the Belgians claim to have invented them :) Some German recipes call for ground hazelnuts rather than ground almonds but Belgian recipes don't. I've had them with hazelnuts in and they're very nice, so given the price of ground almonds -- :).

SPECULAAS COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Dust 2 baking sheets with flour.
• Combine brown sugar and butter together in a bowl; beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, cinnamon, baking powder, cloves, and nutmeg. Mix in flour, 1 cup at a time, until dough comes together.
• Shape dough into cookies by hand or using cookie cutters. Arrange on the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until firm but not hard, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

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.

LOW-CARB ALMOND CINNAMON BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Combine almond flour, butter, egg, sweetener, vanilla extract, and cinnamon in a bowl; mix until well combined.
• Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Place on the prepared baking sheet and press down with a fork twice in a criss-cross pattern.
• Bake in the the preheated oven until edges are golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

SPECULAAS

Steps:

• Using a food processor, finely grind the almonds with 2 tablespoons of the flour. Whisk together ground almonds with the rest of the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt in a bowl and set aside.
• In a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat until combined.
• With the mixer on low speed, add in the flour mixture and mix until just moistened and combined.
• Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap well with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least three hours, but preferably overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line several cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Roll dough 1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Cut out cookies and place on sheets about 1 inch apart.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through, until firm and lightly golden around the edges. Cool sheets on wire racks for a couple minutes before transferring cookies directly onto wire racks with a spatula to finish cooling.

CINNAMON BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°F.
• In a medium bowl, combine flour, soda and salt; set aside.
• In a large bowl, blend sugars with a mixer. Add butter and mix.
• Add eggs and vanilla. Mix until light and fluffy.
• Add flour mixture and blend just until combined. Do not overmix.
• Shape dough into 1-inch balls.
• Roll in combination of remaining sugar and cinnamon.
• Place 2-inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake for 18-20 minutes.
• Remove immediately from pan and cool.