Winter, time for some Speculaas

It's that time of the year again that we all get a craving for speculaas and wood fires, Winter.

Speculaas spices:
1 tbs cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cardamon, anise seed
1/8 tsp white pepper
Blend together and keep in a jar.


Speculaas dough:
2 cups plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup dark brown sugar (or rapadura)
2 heaped teaspoons with speculaas spices (see recipe above)
135 grams cold butter
3 tbs milk

Mix flour, baking powder, sugar and spices. Cut through the cold butter until mixture becomes crumbly. Add the milk, 1 spoon at the time, until it comes together into a dough. Roll into a ball and refrigerate, until cooled.

Option 1: Kruidnoten:
Roll speculaas dough into little balls the size of marbles and place on a baking tray. Before baking, cool the tray with balls for about 10 minutes in the fridge. Bake for 30 minutes on 170C degrees.
Let them cool on the tray for about 10 minutes.

Option 2: Speculaas pieces:
Roll out the cooled dough to a thickness of 4mm and lay on a baking tray,
Optional: press some (blanched) almonds in.
Bake for 30minutes on 170 degrees. Once cooled break into pieces.

I went rogue and cut it before baking, very unprofessional, but much easier to serve.

The dough can be kept in the fridge up to one week, or frozen.
Plain flour can be (partly) substituted with buckwheat flour, I used half/half and didn't taste a difference.
I've also made them with half rye/ half plain flour, the best I've tasted them.