Speculoos Dutch Windmill Cookies
Speculoos (also known as speculaas, spekulatius, Dutch windmill cookies or Biscoff) are thin, crispy, heavily spiced shortbread-type holiday cookies traditionally made for the Feast of St. Nicholas and Christmas in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and Austria.
🍳 Cook: 9 min
Ingredients
| 113 g | butter | |
| 1/2 cup | 120 ml | white sugar |
| 3/4 cup | 180 ml | brown sugar |
| 1 | egg | |
| 1 1/2 teaspoon | 7.5 ml | vanilla |
| 1/4 teaspoon | 1.3 ml | baking soda |
| 1/2 teaspoon | 2.5 ml | salt |
| 2 1/2 teaspoon | 13 ml | cinnamon |
| 3/4 teaspoon | 3.8 ml | nutmeg |
| 1/2 teaspoon | 2.5 ml | ginger |
| 1/4 teaspoon | 1.3 ml | cardamom |
| 1 3/4 cup | 420 ml | flour |
| — | cinnamon sugar (for topping) |
Instructions
- Cream the butter with the sugar until well mixed. Really, really well mixed, cream for 5-10 minutes in a stand mixer until the mixture is lemon yellow and fluffy.
- Add the egg and vanilla and mix well.
- In a separate bowl combine the baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamon and flour. Then add the flour mixture to the mixing bowl. Mix until the flour is just mixed in, but don't over mix.
- Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 175 C.
- Roll the dough into 1 inch balls. Place the dough balls on a well floured table or pastry board.
- Use a cookie stamp to flatten the balls until they are 1/4 inch thick. Keep the cookie stamp well floured, dipping in flour after every use. Use a knife to move the stamped cookies to a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper.
- You can also use a springerle rolling pin or cookie cutters to shape the cookies if you don't have a cookie stamp.
- Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with cinnamon sugar.
- Bake for 9 minutes, until lightly brown around the edges. Notes: Nutrition facts are estimates. Tips: Cream the butter with the white and brown sugar very thoroughly - let it mix in a stand mixer for 5-10 minutes until light and lemony yellow. Chilling the dough makes it easier to handle and keeps it from rising or spreading, so the stamped design isn't lost. To shape, roll the dough into small balls and squish each one with a floured cookie stamp on a lightly floured table, then transfer with a knife to parchment-lined cookie sheets; dip the stamp in flour after every stamp. Stamping on the table and transferring works better than stamping directly on the tray. You can also use a springerle rolling pin, cookie cutters, or squish the balls with a drinking glass. The final cookies should be about 1/4 inch thick - thin and crispy. Sprinkle the tops with extra cinnamon sugar before baking. (The blog also notes the cookies can be baked at 375 F for about 11 minutes.)