Whether you know them as speculoos, speculaas, spekulatius or Biscoff, few things are as irresistible as these positively delicious, buttery gingerbread shortcrust cookies! Wonderfully crispy, crunchy and deeply caramelized, they’re sure to become part of your annual holiday baking regimen!
Speculoos, as they’re called in Belgium, are spiced gingerbread shortcrust cookies that are traditionally made and eaten on St. Nicholas Day and throughout the Christmas holiday season. They’re traditionally embossed with designs using wooden molds, special rolling pins, or cookie stamps. Speculoos are likewise popular in the Netherlands (speculaas or Dutch windmill cookies) and Germany (spekulatius). This speculoos recipe creates those perfectly delicious, thin, crispy, crunchy, caramelized cookies that are positively irresistible eaten plain or dunked in a hot beverage.
Homemade Biscoff Cookies, Anyone?
If you haven’t heard of them by their traditional names, you’re most likely familiar their commercially-sold name: Biscoff. But let me tell you, the store-bought cookies, as good as they are, cannot compare with the rich and robust flavor of these homemade Biscoff cookies. These crunchy, buttery gingerbread cookies are absolutely scrumptious!
What Is the History Behind Speculoos?
Speculoos cookies go back to at least the mid-1600’s when the shoes of well-behaved children would be filled with them on the eve of December 5th. The following day the children would rush out to see what Sinterklaas left behind for them. The good children would empty their shoes and happily munch on their heaps of speculoos while the bad children were carried off in Sinterklaas’ burlap sack. Such was the threat anyway. From what history tells us no children were actually ever taken, leaving them with another chance to get it right the next year.
For centuries these cookies were a well-kept joint secret of Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany but have since become wildly popular throughout much of the world in the form of Lotus Bakeries’ famous Biscoff cookies, which are now sold in over 40 countries.
In their earliest days speculoos were embossed with the image of St. Nicholas and over the years a wide variety of images were used.
The Belgian, Dutch and German versions of these cookies are similar but with slight variations of the ratios and amount of spices used as well as the thickness of the cookies.
Where Did the Name Speculoos Originate?
Historians believe the name’s origin comes from the Latin word speculum. While the word speculum makes most of us cringe and really should be banned from anything having to do with food, the name, which simply translates as “mirror” from Latin, reflects the traditional method of embossing the cookies in wooden molds that created a “mirror image” of them. Invasive medical instruments aside, speculoos molds were treasured family heirlooms that were passed down from one generation to the next. Wooden molds are still made in Belgium, the Netherlands and in Germany and you can likewise find old antique ones circulating on the web (e.g., Etsy, eBay, etc) and in antique stores. I have a collection of hand-carved 19th-century and newer wooden molds that I look forward to taking out each year for this special occasion of making speculoos.
Do You Need Special Molds to Make Speculoos?
Not at all. They will taste exactly the same no matter what shape they are. You can simply cut them in rectangles (like Biscoff cookies) and enjoy them plain and simple. However if you’d like to go the traditional route of embossing them, you can use traditional wooden molds as mentioned above. For example, a wooden Dutch Windmill mold is something you’ll commonly find in the Netherlands (here in the U.S. we call them “Dutch windmill cookies”). Or you can use silicon molds. Alternatively you can use cookie stamps. I have several sets from Nordic Ware like this one, this one, and this one and they are built to last.
Another option is wooden mold rolling pin that stamps designs onto the cookie dough as you roll it out. I have a mold rolling pin similar to this one that I brought back with me from Germany when I moved to the U.S.. So there are a lot of options out there, both inexpensive and expensive, and you can go as simple or as fancy as you want.
What is Baker’s Ammonia?
Baker’s ammonia, or ammonium bicarbonate, is what was traditionally used as a leavening agent up until 19th century when baking powder or baking soda came along. But that is not to say that baking powder/soda replaced baker’s ammonia because they are in fact different chemical compounds and they yield different results. For that reason some recipes, especially in Europe and the Middle East, still call for baker’s ammonia – specifically low-moisture baked goods like crackers and crispy cookies.
How is Baker’s Ammonia different than Baking Powder / Soda?
Baker’s ammonia consists of tiny crystals that break down during the baking process, leaving tiny air pockets behind that create a unique honey-combed, porous crumb for a crispier, crunchier texture. This unique texture is something that neither baking powder nor baking soda can replicate, which instead will yielder much harder, denser cookies without the same crisp-crunch effect. Baker’s ammonia is also unique from baking powder or baking soda in that it contributes to a more uniform spread in the cookies and also increases browning for that wonderful caramelized effect.
Baker’s ammonia does have a very strong, very unpleasant odor but don’t be put off by that – the odor and taste will dissipate during baking.
Speculoos are a prime example of the kind of cookie that greatly benefits from the use of baker’s ammonia for all the reasons mentioned above. Another example is German Springerle.
Any brand of baker’s ammonia will do the trick, just select one that’s food grade. I’ve been using this one from Amazon.
One of the advantages of these cookies is that they’re supposed to be made well in advance. So you can get some of your Christmas baking done at least a couple of weeks before you’ll even need them. Speculoos cookies are supposed to be stored in airtight tins for at least a couple of weeks before eating them to allow their flavors to mature.
While they’re delicious straight out of the oven, their flavor only gets better with time. This also means they’re perfect for gift-giving as they store and ship well. And you’ll score major points with your friends and family!
Let’s get started!
In a mixing bowl combine the flour, baker’s ammonia, salt and spices. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, place the brown sugar, butter, egg yolks, cream, vanilla and lemon zest. Cream this butter mixture until smooth and pale, 5-6 minutes.
Add the almond/hazelnut flour and mix until combined.
While beating, gradually add this flour mixture to the wet mixture.
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.
If you’re using a mold rolling pin you can roll the dough out between two sheets of plastic wrap to a thickness of just under 1/4 inch (4mm), peel off the top sheet of plastic wrap, use the mold rolling pin to roll the designs out onto the dough, then cut out the cookies and place them on a non-stick cookie tray.
If you’re using molds give them a light dusting of flour to prevent sticking. No need to roll out the dough if you’re using molds, simply take some of the dough and roll it in your palms to the length of the mold, lightly flour the dough (depending on your particular mold you may need that additional bit of flour to prevent sticking), and press it into the mold.
Keeping your knife parallel to the speculoos mold and using a sawing motion, gently cut away the excess dough off the mold so that all you’re left with is the dough that’s shaped inside the mold. Save the dough scraps to roll out to make the rest of the cookies. Invert the mold onto your lined cookie sheet and tap and gently peel until it comes out.
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.
To put your molds and mold rolling pins to further use, be sure to try our Authentic German Springerle!
Traditional Speculoos Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter , softened at room temperature
- 2 large egg yolks (if the dough is too dry add some extra egg yolk)
- 3 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon quality pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- 1 cup almond or hazelnut flour
- 3 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baker's ammonia (see blog post for explanation)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground anise seed
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
Instructions
- 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.
Laurena Schmitz says
Experimenting, I have made several batches using “spekulatius spice mix” and Amonium Bicarbonate. Result, bland spice flavor. Not the punch of spice you get from store bought. I used 2.5 tbs, so I won’t be substituting with that anymore.
2nd, I used ammonium bicarbonate. I have read extensively that it is equal 1:1 with baking soda. AB is a different composition and scientifically creates a crispy, more air hole cookie which is quite appealing. BUT: you can definitely smell the ammonia when cookies are baking and you open the oven door. Also, you can definitely taste the ammonia in eating the cookies. It does change the taste slightly where you are trying to identify the flavor while you’reeating the cookie. I will not use it again either.
Note: stay true to recipes and be wary of the substitutes.
Janine says
Kia Ora, I’ve just made these using the metric measurements and they have come out perfectly. It’s a very hot summer evening, so finding a cold place (not I the fridge) was tricky. The dough sat over night in the laundry and was perfect to use today-soft glossy and not dry. I put too many on the tray so got squares instead of circles, but taste is delicious and crunchy bite. My Dutch colleague I hope, will enjoy these. Nga mihi
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Janine, I’m so glad they were a success!
Kath says
Can I substitute regular flour for the almond/hazelnut flour? My husband is allergic to nuts.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Kath, yes you can but regular flour is more dense so you can’t substitute it 1:1. Most sources recommend cutting the regular flour amount in half. So if this recipe calls for 1 cup of nut flour you’ll use 1/2 cup regular flour. I haven’t tried making that substitution myself so you’ll need to assess the texture of the dough with 1/2 cup of flour.
Mavky says
If you follow this recipe exactly, using quality ingredients and no substitutions, it makes very fine cookies. I used a stamped roller and the impressions came out just fine.
Kimberlee T says
Well, this is one sad cookie. I made the recipe and kept the dough wrapped over night. While it wasn’t like sugar cookie dough that easily rolls I was able to press the dough into my cookie molds and have beautiful Santa figures on them. Each one looked rectangular, same size, and mold. I refrigerated them for 2 hours, and baked them for 10-12 min. Then, poof…flat, flat, flat…great taste, but flat. Did I say flat? All the work to mold and carefully unmold and I got flat cookies that have little raised areas of the mold, so these cookies aren’t even attractive enough to give away as planned. I’m very frustrated and sad, and flat…
Jo Ann Wolff says
I live in Indiana, USA where there are many of German descent and many German recipes. Another name here for Bakers Ammonium is Hartshorn. Joyful baking!
Claire says
I just reprinted the recipe for my cookbook and comparing it to my previous one the metric measurement are very different. I’m not sure which to use. My previous one lists 375 g brown sugar, 250 g butter, 100 g almond flour, and 500 g all purpose flour.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Claire, that is super odd. I enter my recipes into the software and it automatically converts the U.S. measurements to metric. I have no idea why anything would have changed.
Camila says
Hi! Which flour do you prefer to use, the almond or the hazelnut?
Thank you!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Camila, for speculoos my personal preference is almond.
Laura Forest says
I used English (not metric) measurements. My dough is quite crumbly and I’m having no luck with molds. I used 3 1/4 c. flour, a comment above indicates 2 1/4, wondering which is correct. I’m going to try and add egg yolk at this late stage and see if that works. I followed recipe to a T including getting the special bakers ammonia.
Joanna says
Hi Laura I have just made these cookies, I’m also in England using English measurement, I have looked everywhere for bakers ammonia, where did you find it?
At the moment I am at the stage of cooling overnight before cutting them out.
Alexandra Slavin says
Bakers ammonia is bicarbonate of soda in England
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Alexandra, that is not correct. Bicarbonate of soda is the same thing as baking soda. Baker’s ammonia is a completely different ingredient.
Lenora Boardman says
Not the same! Bakers ammonia actually smells like ammonia but makes cookies really crispy! I get mine from King Arthur Flour here in the states.
Craig says
Hi Joanna,
I know this is late but I’ve found some in eastern European shops, usually alongside sachets of vanilla sugar etc
Chantel says
I just finished making these biscuits, very nice recipe. They did spread a hit much, but I also forgot to refrigerate them before baking (it was late in the evening….). I sampled à few after they cooled and was very impressed with them. They’re quite like biscoff. I do like them a bit spicier, so I think next time I will add one and a half of tge spice measurements. (I also patiently waited and *ENTIRE* day for baker’s ammonium. I don’t know if it made a huge difference, but I’m glad I waited)
Chantel says
I did NOT have a problem with crumbly dough, it was perfectly…. malleable? kneadable? rollable? I used metric measurements, but I converted them on my own bc I’m used to doing it and they didn’t seem right.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Chantel, I’m happy you enjoyed them! In your other comment you mentioned having used your own metric conversions – did you end up using less flour than the recipe called for?
Chantel says
Yes, I used a bit less. I used 390 grams of all purpose flour (120g X 3.25). I use this website for most of my “cups to grams” conversions https ://www .kingarthurbaking.com/learn/ingredient-weight-chart (not sure if I can include links, but going to put it anyways). It has been pretty accurate in the past for me. I did only use 227 g of butter bc that’s what the butter came in and I didn’t feel like trying to add the 3 grams.
Also apologies for the typos in the comments…. whoopsie 😬
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Chantel, yes that’s what I thought, hence the cookies spreading. The challenge is that difference sources will give you different cups-to-grams measurements and they can vary from quite a bit.
Anonymous says
Very nice cookies. A little bit dry dough. So, a little bit tricky to maintain the form when transfer on a sheet. But they a really crispy, tender and delicious. Thank you)
Angie O says
Thank you Kim for sharing this recipe. Will keep this recipe. After baked, I find that Everything is good except the spices flavor is way too mild for me. Next time will increase the amount of spice.
Signe says
Hi – I had the same problem as so many others that the dough gets way too dry and crumbly. So I double checked the measurements and the translation from cups to gram is not quite right:
2 1/4 cup of (packed) brown sugar is 450 g. (not 375)
1 cup of butter is 227 g. (not 250)
2 1/4 cup of all purpose flour is 442 g. (not 480)
1 cup of almond flower is 112 g. (not 100)
Could this be the problem?
The dough did not seem so bad last night when I made it. Then it was smooth and nice to work with so I did not add any extra cream. I packed it very tightly in a triple layer of foil and put it in our basement overnight. But this morning the dough is dry and very hard to work with. I can hardly roll it out without it breaking apart.
I’m waiting for the cookies to cool now before baking them. I’m really hoping they will turn out nicely so I can surprise my dutch husband :-)
Happy holidays and all the best from Denmark
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Signe, there was a temporary glitch in the metric conversion software that impacted several recipes but the developer was contacted and the problem is resolved. For anyone making this recipe during that temporary glitch the instructions to add some extra egg yolk if the dough was dry would have adequately addressed that issue.
Did you add any cream at all or just not any additional cream beyond the 3 tablespoons called for? These do need the cream for the texture to be correct. Also, I’m wondering if your basement was too cold? The temperature of a refrigerator for example will be too cold and the dough will be brittle.
In any case, I hope you enjoyed the cookies and wish you and your husband a Merry Christmas!
Jennifer says
Hi Signe!
God Jul fra Ærø!!
Jeg lige fandt denne opskrift! Kender den fra en Dutch bonus mor som bagt dem hvert år. Hun blev 90 år i går! Hvis kunne jeg var med hende til den stor fødselsdag i USA – hvor hun bor nu for ca. 65 år.
Håber det gik godt for dig til sidste 8^)
Mvh,
Jennifer
Anonymous says
Hi Signe! Please, tell us, did the new recipe you made with the new measures work out fine?
Monika says
I have to say they smell and taste amazing! But I had the same issue as others, the dough was too crumbly to even roll out (yes, I followed all the instructions exactly). I think I will make a note on my copy to add an extra egg yolk and hopefully it will work. Thanks for the recipe!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Monika, yes I already note in step 1 that if the dough is too dry to add a little extra egg yolk. I’m glad you enjoyed them, thank you!
Natalie says
Hello! Thank you for this recipe.
I did make the dough today, and I followed all of your directions, and it came out quite sticky and fragile. Everything seemed to be working fine while I used a rolling pin to make the figures. I had to use a knife and a flat spoon to carry them, so that they would not break. I put the speculoos in the oven, for 12 minutes, on 190 degrees Celsius. However, when they came out, they had melted and had stuck together! My beautiful shapes were gone! Is this because I used a NO gluten flour? I wanted them to be healthier you see…
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Natalie, yes, it was the no gluten flour. Additional adjustments would need to be made for a successful gluten free version and not having experimented with that myself I’m afraid I cannot offer an alternative version.
Natalie says
Hello Kimberly! Thank you for your quick reply! I have just discovered why my cookies have spread. There is a kind of gluten free flour that contains something called ‘xanthan gum’, which keeps the dough together. We should make sure it contains this substance, in case we want to make cookies. If it does not contain that, it is suitable only for apple pies and other sweets. So, I may have failed with the shapes, but the taste is delicious! My family and I love them!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s great, Natalie, I’m glad you discovered the culprit and am even happier that you enjoyed the cookies, thank you!