It's Time for Speculaas!

Cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger are the main ingredients for a special Dutch treat called "speculaas", with a dash of white pepper thrown in for good measure. The word seemingly originated from the Latin word "speculum", mirror, in reference to the way the goods were prepared: the dough was pressed into a wooden decorated form, turned over and knocked out onto the baking sheet. The cookie now carried a "mirrored" image. In the old days by the end of November, bakers all over the country would initiate a subtle but effective sales strategy by throwing a handful of their speculaas spices in the bread oven's fire. The smoke would carry the wonderful smells into the streets, announcing the beginning of the speculaas baking season. Once you start baking this dough in your own kitchen, you'll know why: it makes the house smell wonderful!

Speculaas is no longer a unique December treat. An industrialized baking process has made speculaas an everyday kind of cookie in the Netherlands and it's available year-round for all to enjoy, even here in the US. As for me, I still wait until the beginning of December before I start baking speculaas, somehow the "once-a-year"-ity of it makes it into such a special occasion.

This year, I opted for two varieties: Gevulde Speculaas (filled with almond paste) and "brokken". Speculaas can be cut out in many shapes, but my favorites are "brokken", chunks. I bake a 1/2 inch high slab of speculaas in the oven until it's ready, and when it's cooled down on the counter, I break it into large chunks. Not pretty and fancy, but a lot easier and just as flavorful! 

Before I start, I make my own mixture of spices. Everybody has a preference for one or more spices in the mix, so feel free to adjust and experiment accordingly. As for me, I am not big on either nutmeg or cloves so barely put in the minimum.

Speculaas Brokken
2 cups (300 grams) self-rising flour*
2/3 cup (125 grams) dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons speculaas spices**
1 stick (125 grams) butter, cold 
5 tablespoons (75 ml) milk, cold
1 egg, beaten

Optional: sliced almonds

Mix the flour, sugar, and spices in a bowl until well integrated. Divide the butter into small pieces and rub into the dry mixture until crumbly, like wet sand. Moisten the mix with a tablespoon of milk at a time, and knead the dough until the butter and the spices are well blended. This will take a bit of kneading as the warmth of your hands will make the butter melt, and together with the milk, form a cohesive dough. Pat the dough into a flat oval, wrap securely in plastic wrap and refrigerate preferably overnight, but at least for four hours. This will allow the spices to thoroughly release all their goodness into the dough.

Preheat the oven to 350F/175C. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. If you are baking on a silicone mat or on parchment paper, place the dough on top, cover with the plastic wrap, and roll into an oval shape, about 1/2 inch high (or 3 mm if you are baking cookies). Pull back the plastic wrap, brush the dough with the beaten egg and sprinkle the almonds on top (optional) and softly roll the almonds onto the dough, just enough to where they're stuck.

Move your silicone mat or parchment paper onto the baking sheet, place it on the middle rack in the oven and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes. Check regularly as you want to avoid burning the bottom. Remove when the edges are crisping up (the rest of the speculaas will still be soft) and rest on a cooling rack until lukewarm. Break the oval into chunks and allow them to cool and harden, about another hour. Great with a steaming cup of coffee or a hot chocolate.

* If you don't have self-rising flour, measure out two cups of all-purpose flour and add two heaping teaspoons of baking powder and a large pinch of salt.

** For the spices: start with 1 heaping tablespoon of ground cinnamon. Mix in a 1/4 scant teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon scant ground cloves, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/8 teaspoon cardamom, 1/8 teaspoon mace and 1/8 teaspoon white ground pepper and, if you have it, 1/8 teaspoon of dried orange peel. If you like the flavor of anise, add a 1/8th teaspoon of ground anise to give it a special twist. Smell and decide if you like it. Too much clove? Add in a bit more cinnamon. Prefer more ginger? Feel free to add some more. You are welcome to make it your very own, but make sure you write down the quantities and ingredients so you can replicate your personal recipe. Store in an airtight jar.

If you don't feel comfortable mixing the speculaasmix yourself, try finding them on one of the many online stores that sell Dutch foods.

Speculaasjes

Each season has its charms: in the winter we embrace heavy dishes of stamppot and erwtensoep, and we break the heavyness in the spring when we enjoy the first bounty of the land with white asparagus and early strawberries. The summer regales us with an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables, and the fall is host to mussels and a variety of apple dishes.

But nothing smells as good as this time of year, when we start preparing for the upcoming holidays of Sinterklaas and Christmas.  Enticing autumnal aromas waft from the kitchen as we bake taai taai, kruidnoten en gevulde speculaas. The fragrance bouquet of cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and ginger is one that belongs to this season, and neighbors will be wondering what you're up to, hoping for a taste of whatever it is you're baking!

Today's recipe, the humble speculaas cookie, is a great and welcome gift to those same neighbors, and will hold you over with a cup of coffee while you're waiting for the next tray to come out of the oven. It's also a good way to test your mix of speculaaskruiden, speculaas spices, and see if some spices need adjusting if you are going to do additional baking this season. Speculaaskruiden are used for speculaas, gevulde speculaas and even apple pie!

The dough will hold several days in the fridge, so there is no need to bake everything at once. Makes approximately 75 cookies. You can use cookie cutters or the more traditional speculaas molds, wooden boards that are cut out with traditional figures. If you do, dust your board well and make sure the dough is stil fairly cold so it doesn't stick to the board. Here's a video on how to accomplish this: http://www.cookerathome.nl/shoart.php?artikelid=126.

Speculaasjes
2 sticks butter
2 cups dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 cup speculaas spices**
1/4 cup buttermilk


Cream the butter with the sugar and the salt. Sift the flour with the baking powder and the spices and knead it into the butter. Use the milk to make it to a rollable, but slightly stiff dough, it is not allowed to stick to your hands! Wrap the dough in plastic film and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, warm the oven to 325F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon mat. Divide the dough in four pieces. Re-wrap three and return them to the fridge.

Dust the counter with a little bit of flour and roll out the dough. Cut out shapes* (I used a windmill cookie cutter but you are welcome to use any kind you fancy) and place them on the parchment. When you're done, return the baking sheet briefly to the fridge for about ten minutes, then place in the oven and bake. The cookies are done after about twenty minutes.

Cool on a rack.



* If you don't have any cookie cutters you like, just cut cookies the size of a business card, about 2 x 3.5 inches. You can sprinkle some slivered almonds on top if you wish.

** ** For the spices: start with 2 heaping tablespoon of ground cinnamon. Mix in a 1/2 scant teaspoon nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon scant ground cloves, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon cardamom, 1/4 teaspoon mace and 1/4 teaspoon white ground pepper and, if you have it, 1/4 teaspoon of dried orange peel. If you like the flavor of anise, add a 1/4 teaspoon of ground anise to give it a special twist. Smell and decide if you like it. Too much clove? Add in a bit more cinnamon. Prefer more ginger? Feel free to add some more. You are welcome to make it your very own, but make sure you write down the quantities and ingredients so you can replicate your personal recipe. Store in an airtight jar.

Broodbeleg



Pink and white "mice",
aniseed dipped in a sugary coating.
Each seed has a little stem that causes the
bread topping to look like a small
mouse...hence the name.

Holland, or the Netherlands, is one of the largest bread consumers of Europe. Many a tourist, when stepping inside a Dutch bakery, is surprised by the large amount of bread varieties. Two out of the three daily meals, breakfast and lunch, consist mainly of bread. As you can imagine, the variety of bread and the huge amount of sandwich toppings is not so much a luxury as a necessity.

On average, breakfast usually consists of two to 4 slices of bread, depending on whether you prefer open or closed faced sandwiches. The Dutch spread butter or margarine on their bread to hold on to the toppings. One sandwich will have a savory cover such as cheese, liver paté or sandwich meat, and the other one will have a sweet choice. From early on, Dutch children learn to eat the savory sandwich first, and save their appetite and creativity for the sweet one. Because it's not just jam or jelly that's available to the Dutch: in regards to bread toppings, they are the master decorators!

Koninklijke De Ruijter, in existence since 1860, is the main producer of bread toppings in the Netherlands. They carry a solid array of favorites and introduce every so often a new variety. The following bread toppings are by far the most favorite.

Chocolate Flakes

Children in Holland have it good: by liberally sprinkling chocolate hail or, as pictured here, chocolate flakes or vlokken on their sandwich, they can assure themselves of eating at least the equivalent of half a chocolate bar in one sitting. Chocolate vlokken come in dark chocolate, milk, white and a combination of all three. The cacao content is at least 39% on average, which makes it a sweet, sugary but also a quality kind of bread topping!

Chocoladevlokken were introduced in 1955, as the first chocolate product to decorate a slice of bread. Barely two years later, chocolate hail followed.

Pink Mice

"Pink mice" is the name of a sweet breadtopping that consists of pink and white sugar coated aniseed. Because of the seed stem, the shape often resembles that of a little mouse. Pink mice, or "roze muisjes" are traditionally served on a Dutch rusk when celebrating the birth of a girl. For a boy, it's blue and white mice, or "blauwe muisjes". The birth of royalty, such as a prince or princess, is celebrated nationally with orange mice, in reference to the name of the royal family, Oranje.

These nativity mice, as they were called, were the first product that was sold by De Ruijter in 1860.



Speculaas

Speculaas, or spice cookie, is a crunchy, buttery cookie made with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, white pepper and cardamom. It's similar to the American windmill cookie but contains a larger variety and amount of spices. Traditionally a December treat, speculaas cookies are now available year round.

Straight out of the package, speculaas cookies are served with morning coffee or afternoon tea. After several days in the cookie jar, the cookies absorb moisture and soften and are no longer presentable to guests. This is when they become a desirable bread topping, especially for children. The softness of the bread, the slightly salty taste of the butter and the spicy sweetness of the speculaas cookie is a winning combination, and one that is engraved in many a Dutch child's memory. For a recipe for speculaaskoekjes, click here.

Chocolate Hail

The story goes that, after receiving several letters from a young boy imploring him to make a chocolate bread topping, Mr. De Ruijter introduced chocolate sprinkles, or in Dutch "chocolate hail", chocolade hagel, in 1957. The earliest advertisements from a company called Venz showed a boy and a girl, hiding from a chocolate hailstorm under a giant umbrella. These children were so smart as to have a slice of buttered bread: they stuck it out from under the umbrella, had their sandwich hailed on and enjoyed a buttered slice of bread with top notch chocolate!

Nowadays you will find dark chocolate and milk chocolate hail. In order to call chocolate sprinkles "chocolate" they have to have a cocoa content of at least 37.5%. The combination of salty peanut butter and sweet chocolate hail is one of the most favorite toppings for both children and adults.

Fruit Hail

Fruit, or sugar hail, combines three bright colors: orange (orange), pink (raspberry) and yellow (lemon) and is a sweet, crunchy, slightly powdery confection. It melts into the butter and leaves bright colors on your bread but the flavors are not distinguishable. Fruit hail was first introduced in 1928 and was an immediate success.

Initially, fruit hail had four colors: the aforementioned three and a white hail (anise). In later years, the white hail was separated from the colored sprinkles and received its own packaging and product line as anise hail. In 2003, De Ruijter introduced a new fruit hail, the Berry Hail, made with berry juices and in the colors purple, pink and fucsia.

Fruit hail was the first bread topping that De Ruijter exported to the Dutch soldiers in Indonesia, in 1946.

Stroop

Stroop, or syrup, is a sweet, sticky spread made from reduced apple juice. Boiled down to a sticky, dark goo, apple stroop is favored on bread and on pancakes and in flavoring certains meat sauces such as "zuurvlees" or rabbit. Of all the bread toppings, it's probably a little bit healthier as it is said to contain iron and vitamins. Stroop is pleasant by itself as a topping but will often be used in combination with cheese.

Stroop is traditionally made in the province of Limburg where, nowadays, only two families have continued the tradition of "stroop stoken", "boiling down stroop". A lengthy process, apple and pear juice is reduced in large copper kettles while stirred down continuously. A more tart version called "rinse appelstroop" is made with apples and sugar beets.


Crushed Mice

Gestampte Muisjes, or crushed mice, is another variation on aniseed bread toppings.  The anise hail that was mentioned under fruit hail is now pulverized and presented as a white, powdery substance. Bread with a thin layer of butter and dusted with gestampte muisjes is delicious but certainly messy to eat. Do not inhale when you are about to take a bite, the light powder will get in your throat and cause you to cough! Gestampte muisjes are a key ingredients in a variety of baked goods of which the most famous one is Oranjekoek.



And the most humble bread topping of all:

Contentment

Holland has certainly known hard times, especially during and after WWII. Little food was there to eat but for the white bread loaves of American and Canadian relief agencies. Sandwiches, or slices of bread, were served with the bread topping "tevredenheid", contentment. A single slice of dry bread reminded the Dutch that, even though these were rough times, they could still imagine bread was topped with something.

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• De Ruijter Hagelslag
• De Ruijter Anise Sprinkles (Muisjes), Pink
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• Sprinkles Ground Aniseed (Gestampte Muisjes) 
• De Ruijter Fruit Sprinkles (Vruchten Hagel)
• De Ruijter 8 Kleintjes Mini Box

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Gevulde Speculaas

Soon, the Netherlands will be celebrating Saint Nicholas, or Sinterklaas. About a week before December 5th, children all over the country will place one of their shoes, filled with hay, a carrot or a handwritten letter, by whatever heating system the house possesses: a fireplace, gas furnace or central heating system. Why? Because at night, Saint Nicholas is supposedly roaming the roofs on his white horse Amerigo and has his helpers, the Pieten, go down the chimney to retrieve the gifts for the horse or the letter addressed to him. The letter usually contains the customary requests for presents and the assurance that the writer of the epistle had been an obedient, kind and pleasant child all year long. In exchange for Amerigo's goodies and the letter, helper Piet usually leaves a small piece of candy or fruit.

Courtesy of Sint.nl

On December 5th, the family gathers in the living room after dinner, children sing Sinterklaas songs at the chimney and at one particular time of the evening, there is knocking on the door. Knock-knock-knock! Any child that has been a pain in the neck to his parents all year and has a minute bit of a conscience will now be, if not fully in tears, at least in some type of panic. The person knocking on the door is of course Sinterklaas. He is here to deliver presents to the kids that have been good all year. If you're lucky, the old saint is so busy that, upon opening the door, all you find is a big bag of wrapped gifts. But if you have vengeful parents or a miffed neighbor, you will find the actual saint standing there with his helpers. At this point, any kid worth his weight will regret all the mischief from the last year: after all, Saint Nicholas has a big book that has every thought, action or word recorded and there will be no point in denying it. Oh boy!

Children that have been naugthy will be put in the, now empty gift bag and taken to Madrid in Spain, where Sinterklaas lives the rest of the year. What happens to them there is unknown. Many a smart alec will try to trump Sint and say that he'll be glad to go to Spain: the weather is nice year round and he wouldn't have to share a room with his sister.

I honestly don't know why we believed such drivel as children: any kid will at one point in time wonder how the horse gets up on the roof, much less stay there, how Piet can climb down the gas furnace, get all your stuff and then make it back up again without leaving any kind of charred evidence, why Sinterklaas bothers to travel all the way from Madrid on a steamboat and doesn't take an airplane like everybody else (and even more, how does he do it, since there is no direct waterway connected to the ocean from there) and why Sinterklaas looks and sounds so much like Uncle Steve. It must be because, eventually, we figured out that the adults amuse themselves so much with the anticipation, the hiding of the presents and the playing of Sinterklaas, that as a child, you don't have the heart to tell 'm that they're insulting your intelligence. You''ll play along as long as you get what you asked for. And you know you will, because it's been weeks since you found the wrapped gifts hidden away in the hall closet and you've undone one corner of each package to see what you were getting. Score!

In the meantime, grandma and grandpa sit back on the couch, drink a cup of hot chocolate or something stronger, and help themselves to another slice of gevulde speculaas. It's the traditional baked good for these festive days and although it is pretty much available year round, it still seems to trigger that Sinterklaas-feeling around this time of year.

Gevulde Speculaas
For the dough
2 cups (300 grams) self-rising flour (or regular flour and 2 teaspoons baking powder)

2 tablespoons (15 grams) speculaas spices
1 cup (200 grams) brown sugar, packed
Pinch of salt
1 stick and 2 tablespoons (150 grams) butter
2 tablespoons milk
1 egg 

For the filling*

1 cup (300 grams) almond paste

or
1 cup (125 grams) almonds, whole
1 cup (125 grams) powdered sugar, packed
1 egg, large
1 teaspoon almond flavoring (optional but recommended)

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 egg, separated

If you are making your own paste for this recipe, pour two cups of boiling water over the almonds and let them sit for about fifteen minutes. Rinse the nuts with cold water, and slip off the brown skin. Save twelve half almonds for decorating. Put the almonds in a blender and pulse several times until they have a wet sand consistency, that should take only a few pulses. Place the almond meal in a bowl, and stir in the sugar, the egg, the almond extract, the zest, and the egg white of the second egg. If you are using already made almond paste, add in the egg white and stir. You should have a creamy, spreadable consistency. If not, add in a tablespoon of hot water.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

Mix the flour, the speculaas spices, the sugar and salt. Cut in the butter with two knives until the butter is reduced to pebbles and the flour feels like wet sand. Add the milk and the egg yolk and knead the dough by hand until it comes together. Split in half, roll each into a ball, wrap in plastic film and refrigerate for several hours, preferably overnight.

Grease a 9" (23 cm) round** or 11 x 7 inch (28 x 17.5 cm) rectangular pie pan or springform and roll out the first dough. Cover the bottom and the sides of the pan, about 1.5 inch (approx. 4 cm) high. Spread the creamy almond filling over the dough, roll out the second dough and cover the filling and the edges of the pie form. Don't worry if it looks like the top is sunk down on top of the paste, it will rise with baking.

Brush with the remaining egg yolk, place the 12 almond halves on the pie, brush again, and bake at 325F (165C) for about 35 minutes. The speculaas will have browned nicely and the egg glaze will be golden, as in the picture below. Let it cool before taking it out of the spring form, then carefully slice into 12 pieces and serve.

* for an even better flavor, the almond filling can be made up several days in advance. Keep refrigerated. 

Speculaaskruiden

Speculaaskruiden, speculaas spice mix, are a traditional Dutch spice mix used to make our famous speculaas cookies, a traditional treat during the year with a cup of coffee or tea, or as a bread topping (don't judge! LOL). Speculaaskruiden are also widely used during the winter months, especially around Sinterklaas celebrations and the holiday season for other types of bakes. 

Its warm and aromatic blend reflects centuries of Dutch culinary tradition and trade history. The origins of speculaaskruiden are a product of the spice trade that flourished in the Netherlands during the Golden Age (17th century). Dutch merchants through the Dutch East India Company (VOC), brought spices like cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger from Asia. These exotic spices became integral to Dutch baking, particularly for festive treats as they are fairly expensive, either on their own, or combined in a speculaaskruidenmix.  

Speculaaskruiden are a blend of warming spices, with recipes varying slightly depending on personal preferences. The basic composition includes: cinnamon (the dominant flavor), cloves, nutmeg, mace, ginger, and sometimes cardamom and/or white pepper. Cinnamon constitutes the largest portion, giving the mix its characteristic sweet warmth. Some will use anise or coriander. 

While speculaaskruiden are best known for their role in speculaas bakes, such as gevulde speculaas, and speculaascake, it is versatile enough to also be used in other dishes and treats. Try a pinch of it in your coffee, tea, or hot chocolate, in oatmeal, in pancakes, or mixed in with butter for a sweet, buttery spread on your breakfast toast. You can also add a pinch to beef stews, meat pies, or roasted vegetables, such as butternut squash. 

Here’s a simple recipe for making your own speculaaskruiden blend at home. The proportions can be adjusted to suit your taste, but this version offers a balanced, traditional flavor. Having said that, everybody has a different preference. You may want to make a small quantity first (maybe 1 Tbsp cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon cloves, nutmeg, mace, and ginger, and 1/8 tsp cardamom and white pepper), and use it in a cookie recipe to see if you like the taste. It's easier to adjust and get exactly the taste you want. 

Can't be bothered or don't have the time? Amazon also sells speculaaskruiden, but we haven't tested them to see if the flavor gets close. When in a pinch, you could also use pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice. Read the ingredients list on each and adjust accordingly.

Homemade Speculaaskruiden Recipe

4 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp ground cloves
1 tbsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground mace
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground white pepper (optional, for a mild kick)

Measure out all the spices into a small mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly to combine, ensuring there are no clumps. Store the blend in an airtight jar or container in a cool, dry place. It will keep its potency for up to 6 months.

Photo by Wouter Supardi Salari on Unsplash

Appeltaart

 "Koffie met appeltaart", coffee with apple pie, what a traditional Dutch way of celebrating eh...anything! City cafés that want to lure customers in will advertise homemade, overly delicious apple pie on their street signs. Spend a couple of hours at an outdoor market and the smell of freshly baked apple pie will draw you in: don't fight it, but just give in. Sit down at one of the many outdoor terrasjes, or patios, that the cafés have, order a koffie verkeerd or a hot cup of tea, and let yourself be treated to a traditional Dutch apple pie. It's probably one of the first pies that young people learn how to bake and it's one of those delicacies that grandma's are usually very, very good at making.

With all due respect, the apple pies sold as Dutch apple pie here in the United States are wonderful......but not very Dutch. I'm actually not entirely sure why they're called Dutch, something to look into. Perhaps it stems from the Pennsylvania Dutch, which aren't actually Dutch at all, but Deutsch which means "German". A classic Dutch apple pie is loaded with fresh apples and raisins and stand at least a good 2.5 to 3 inches high, with a lattice top.

The dough is made with butter and eggs and the apples are flavored with lemon juice and speculaas spices. It's usually baked in a springform and shows the filling through an elaborate lattice cover. It's seems like a lot of work, but trust me: it's so worth it! Try a variety of apples for a more complex flavor, f.ex. three Honeycrisp, three Roma and two Granny Smith.

Grandmother's Dutch Apple Pie

For the dough

2 cups (300 grams) all purpose flour

1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar

1.5 stick ( 150 grams) butter, cold

2 tablespoons of ice cold water

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon of salt

Mix the flour with the sugar and cut in the butter until the flour turns into small pea-size pellets. Add 2 tablespoons of ice cold water, the egg and the salt and quickly knead the dough into a cohesive whole. Add more ice water if the dough is too dry. Pat into an oval, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

For the filling

8 small apples, peeled and cored (approx 2 lbs/1 kg)

1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup (250 grams) golden raisins, soaked*
1 tablespoon speculaas spices
2 tablespoons custard or vanilla pudding powder
2 tablespoons panko or unseasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup (50 grams) sugar

Brushing
1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 tablespoon coarse sugar (or regular sugar)

Quarter the apples and slice them thin. Toss them with the lemon juice, raisins, speculaas spices, custard powder and sugar. Set aside. Cut the crust off the bread and cut it into small cubes.

Butter a 9 inch spring form. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and remove 1/3th of the dough. Roll the rest into a large circle and line the bottom and sides of the form with the dough. Do not crimp. Sprinkle the panko or unseasoned breadcrumbs on the bottom of the dough, and pour in the apple mix. It's okay to push it down so as to fit more, that way the slices will stick better together and make it easier to cut into neat pie slices. Roll the rest of the dough out and cut into 6 wide strips. Place three strips crossing from left to right, the other three from right to left. Press lightly where the strip connects with the pie dough and remove any hangover dough from the rim. Brush the lattice with the egg and cream, and sprinkle the sugar on top of the dough. Bake in an 375 F degree oven for approximately 1 hour.

Let the pie cool on a rack, then cut into generous pieces and serve with a slightly sweetened dollop of whipped cream. Sit back and enjoy your hard labor: you deserved it!

Tip: you can also make five single serve hand pies out of the same amount. The small ones freeze well and are good to have around in case company shows up, or in case you feel like celebrating something. And if you have nothing to celebrate, you could celebrate the fact that you have nothing to celebrate!

* Soak the raisins in warm apple juice, a little bit of rum, or use boerenjongens. Lovely! And if you don't like raisins, don't put them in. Try cranberries, or walnuts, pecans...just make it your own!

Speculaascake met peren

These are busy times in a Dutch household! It's only five more days until Sinterklaas is supposed to leave a sackload of gifts on the doorstep but most people, as help-Sints(ahem ahem), still have gifts to buy, rhymes to come up with and even worse, think of any surprises they are going to built this year. Because during Sinterklaas you don't just wrap a present and attach a card to it: you disguise the gift into a completely unrelated (or not) object and write a long, tongue-in-cheek-and-poking-fun rhyming poem for the recipient of your generosity.

So if that's you, don't despair. You still have five whole days. Treat yourself to a comforting, sweet and hopefully rhyme-inspiring cake, made with fresh fruit and speculaaskruiden, those all-present spices that flavor just about anything this time of year.

Put your feet up with a good cup of coffee and a slice of speculaascake. Pears are a fantastic fall and winter fruit, and speculaas evokes promises of goodness and cheer. Take a sip, munch a bite. Grab a pen and paper. Go to the RhymeZone and before you know it, a fantastic poem will come right rolling out!

Speculaascake met peren
1 stick (100 grams) butter

1.5 cups (225 grams) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup (200 grams) sugar

1 tablespoon speculaas* spices
1/2 cup (120 ml) milk
2 eggs

3 pears (preferably Bartlett)
Lemon juice

Apricot jam

Powdered sugar
 

Soften the butter in the microwave, or melt carefully on stovetop and then cool down to room temperature. 

Mix the dry ingredients (flour through spices) in one bowl. Beat the milk and the eggs together, then fold them into the dry ingredients. Lastly, fold in the butter. 

Heat the oven to 325F/165C. Butter a 9 inch (22cm) pie plate or spring form. Peel the pears, slice them in half and remove the core. Slice the pear halves in thin slices, but keep them together, and brush with a little bit of lemon juice. Pour the batter into the pie plate and place five pear halves on top, pushing them slightly into the dough, but just a little bit.

Bake for 50 minutes or until done. Brush the pears with a little bit of apricot jam. Let cool. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Speculaas spices: mix 2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon with ½ teaspoon of nutmeg, clove, ginger and coriander each, 1/4 teaspoon of cardamom, white pepper, and ground orange peel. 

Anijskrollen

One of the many strengths of our diverse kitchen are the local and regional specialties. Here I thought that, especially for the evening of Sinterklaas, I had covered all the food traditions: gevulde speculaas, taai-taai, kruidnoten and chocoladeletters. Imagine my surprise when I learned yesterday that in the province of Brabant, more specifically in and around the town of Veghel, Sinterklaas evening is not complete unless anijskrollen appear on the table.

These anijskrollen, anise curls, are soft and tender white rolls, flavored with both ground anise and anise seed. People eat them buttered and layered with speculaas cookies, and with a mug of hot chocolate. Bakers in a twelve mile radius around Veghel start baking these krollen, presumably so called because the knot in the roll represents the curl in St Nicholas's crosier, right around the time the kermis makes it to Veghel in September, and continue to bake them until Carnaval, usually in February. The busiest time around these rolls is Sinterklaas, where local bakers sell thousands of the rolls a day. For many Veghel-ers and surrounding areas it's just not Sinterklaas without them!

It is not clear when this tradition began, or why it is limited to just this particular region. Some people say that the anijskrollen have been sold in this area since the middle of the 19th century and found their origin in Veghel, but I have been unable to verify that claim. But the fact of the matter is that it is a popular practice now, and that many of those that were reared in this region or with this tasty tradition, consider it to be an important part of their Sinterklaas celebrations. So be it then, that tomorrow on Sinterklaas eve, we'll be gathered around the fireplace, ready to unwrap our presents, with a speculaas stuffed anijskrol in hand and hot chocolate within reach. Because, just because we weren't raised in this particular region of the country, shouldn't mean that we can't embrace new traditions and add them to our family's customs. Especially when it concerns these lovely, soft fluffy buns!

If you can't find ground anise, just double up your amount of anise seeds, or crush one teaspoon of anise seeds in a mortar and pestle or your spice grinder. If you want a sturdier bun, you can also substitute 1 1/2 cup of all purpose for whole wheat flour.

Anijskrollen
4 cups all purpose flour (500 grms)
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast (7 grms)
1/4 cup sugar (50 grms)
1 egg
4 tablespoons butter (50 grms), room temperature
1 3/4 cup lukewarm milk (300 ml)
1 teaspoon ground anise
1 teaspoon anise seeds
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Sprinkle the yeast on top of the lukewarm milk (<110F/43C), and let it proof. In the meantime, mix the flour with the sugar and the anise and cinnamon. Add the milk when the yeast is proofed, the egg and the butter and knead it into a cohesive dough. Cover and let it rise for 30 minutes. Punch the dough down, and measure out 3 oz pieces. Roll each into a ball. You should be able to get 10 -12 rolls out of the mix.

Now take each dough ball and roll it into a rope, about 7 inches long and tie it into a knot. Tuck one end of the rope under the roll, and have the other end come out on top. Grease a baking form (either square 9 x 9, or a 9 inch round springform cake pan) and place the knots in the pan. Cover and let them rise, at room temperature, for 50 minutes or until they are doubled in size and puffy. Heat the oven to 400F and bake the rolls for 15 minutes, or until their internal temperature registers 190F/88C and rising.

After they've cooled, wrap them in plastic to keep them soft.

Recipe adapted from the Nederlands Bakkerijmuseum Het Warme Land - a must visit if you can!

Get busy baking! (I really should)

It's that time of the year -lovely speculaas smells should be wafting from my kitchen, trays and trays of cookies ought to be cooling down while I whip up frosting...but no such luck. Once again, the holiday season has snuck up on me. Every single year, when the first day of December hits, I have great plans to show off my culinary prowess: this year, I tell myself, I am going to do it all. For the Sinterklaas celebration I will bake gevulde speculaas, speculaasbrokken and kruidnoten.

And then, I seriously mean it, between then and Christmas, I will bake a Kerststol for every weekend breakfast, make borstplaat to set out on the living room table for guests, I am going to make kerstkransjes to hang in the tree, and while I am at it, I may give schuimpjes a go. Not because they are necessarily a part of the winter holidays, but because they're so nice and light to eat.

And I, every December, solemnly SWEAR that THIS year, I will fry enough oliebollen, appelbeignets and sneeuwballen to share with friends so that we can all enjoy a great celebration and ending of the year.

But what happens e-v-e-r-y single time? That's right, life interferes with my carefully planned baking schedule! See, it's December 17 now, and what have I accomplished so far? Of all the amazing and lekkere plans, so far I've only tested a new oliebollen recipe (I decided to stick with my own) and made a small batch of gevulde speculaas. But I promptly forgot to take it out of the oven after baking, so it was harder than a rock (I still ate it because nobody else was going to make one!).

Today, I am finally baking a Kerststol (yay me!) for the first time this season. This year, again, nobody has seen (or will see, for that matter) any kruidnoten or speculaasbrokken emerge from my kitchen, unless I buy them from a Dutch store, and you can forget about the borstplaat altogether - it's not going to happen this year!!! Geef mijn portie maar aan Fikkie, like my mug says!

On one hand it bothers me that I can't get everything done that I wanted to - but I also realize that, while I am not in the kitchen, I am tending to work, school, pets, students, family members, friends and life in general. And that's okay, too. This holiday season will still happen, whether I bake or not!

Perhaps you are a kitchen goddess with all the time in the world, or maybe you are a bit like me, happy when life takes a step back so I can bake some of our heritage recipes that remind me of home, family or loved ones. Regardless of where you are in the baking spectrum, enjoy the upcoming holidays, don't be too hard on yourself and do the best you can! There is always next year :-)

What's baking in your kitchen this week?

Kruidnoten (also known as Pepernoten)

The arrival of certain foods on the supermarket shelves often announces the arrival of another holiday or celebration to come. Chocolate eggs mark the beginning of the Easter season, and Vlaggetjesdag is initiated by the catching of the first herring. But nothing prepares us for this month of December, with its Sinterklaas, Christmas and New Year celebrations, like the smell of speculaas from the bakeries and the sight of pepernoten, pepper nuts, at the store.  Pepper nuts show up as early as mid-September, three full months before the good-hearted Saint Nicholas with his Pieten helpers have even set foot on shore. And with it, also appears another event: the yearly, and sometimes heated, discussion on the difference between pepper nuts and spice nuts.

Pepernoten (pepper nuts) and Kruidnoten (spice nuts) are very different from each other: pepernoten are chewy, taai-taai-esque square pieces, whereas kruidnoten are small round, crunchy peppery speculaas-type cookies that the Pieten throw around as treats for the children. Throwing pepernoten is not encouraged!

Until recently, the difference between kruidnoten and pepernoten was clear to everyone. But as the crispy crunchy tenderness of the kruidnoten gained terrain, pepernoten became the new name for kruidnoten. And from then on, it's all been a bit confusing. Even product packaging, marketing and the customers call it pepernoten, except for the purists. And they are very vocal about it! 

When I first wrote an article on this treat for a Dutch magazine, the editor emailed me back and asked whether the recipe I was submitting was for kruidnoten or pepernoten. Good question, and I am glad he asked. I still called them pepernoten, but the recipe was clearly for kruidnoten. 

Anyway....if you choose to share these and call them pepernoten, you'll know soon enough which one of your friends is a peppernut purist. You've been warned!! :-) 

Kruidnoten

1 cup all purpose flour (150 grams)

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup brown sugar (100 grams)

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground aniseed
½ teaspoon white pepper
½ teaspoon ground ginger

2 tablespoons butter (28 grams), cold and cubed

1 medium egg


Mix the dry ingredients together, then cut the butter into the mix. Give it a quick knead, then add the egg. Knead everything together into a stiff dough. You may have to add a tablespoon or two of water or milk if it's too dry or too stiff. Wrap and rest the dough in the fridge, preferably overnight but at least for a couple of hours to let the flavors blend. 

Divide the dough into three equal pieces, and roll each one into a small log. Cut small pieces of the dough and roll them into a ball, about the size of a small marble (0.18oz/5 grams). Place them on parchment paper or a silicone mat on a baking sheet and slightly press them down. 

Because of the baking powder they will puff up a bit, as well as spread just a little, so give them a bit of space. If the dough has warmed up because of the rolling or your kitchen temperature, you may want to stick them back in the fridge for about 30 minutes before you bake them. 

Bake the kruidnoten at 375F in about 10-15 minutes or until nicely browned. They will be soft when you pull them out of the oven but let them cool on a rack so they can harden and crisp up. 

Mix with chocolate coins, and hard candy to make an excellent "throw mix" for the Pieten, or put it in a bowl on the table for people to snack on. 

Makes about 70 peper..eh...kruidnoten ;-). See below the picture for additional suggestions.

Listen, I get it. You're busy, you don't have white pepper, or can't be bothered to roll out 5 grams worth of pepernoten dough. Here are some suggestions. Some of these suggestions are links to the product. We are Amazon Associates so any purchase through this link will provide is with a tiny (and we mean TINY!) compensation which helps to keep the website running, at no cost to you. 

Leftover kruidnoten? 

• Make Arretje's cake or kruidnoten bavarois! 

Shopping Ideas:

• Don't care for the peppery bite? Use pumpkin spice or speculaaskruiden instead.
• Can't be bothered to roll 70 dough balls? Roll out the dough (3 mm) and cut out cookies instead.
• Don't know how much 5 grams is? Use this scale!
• Got all your kruidnoten rolled and baked? Practice Dutch with the grandkids with this cute Dutch-English book! 

Champignonsoep

These are busy times. Sint Maarten hasn't even left the building, figuratively speaking, and the next Saint is already eager to step forward and take his place. Set aside the wafels of Sint Maarten, because now it's time for Sint Nicolaas kruidnoten, speculaas and borstplaat!

But all that sweetness sometimes leaves you wanting for something else. Not a full meal, not a sit-down affair, but a quick pick-me-up. A hot, savory something to gulp down, before you get back on your bike and rush out to get some more Sinterklaas gifts, ingredients to make gevulde speculaas or some of those horrible-but-can't-stop-eating-them "kikkers en muizen", sugar-filled chocolatey candy in the shape of frogs and mice, wrapped in aluminum foil overalls. (Yes, you read that right, they are wearing bright-colored overalls. Why? I have no clue, but I'll try and find out!)

How about a savoury, steaming cup of mushroom soup instead?

The fact that mushroom soup is one of Holland's traditional soups is hardly surprising. Since the start of the first mushroom production in 1825, the country has become the third largest mushroom grower in the world. The fields of northern Limburg, Noord-Brabant and Gelderland proved to contain the perfect growing conditions and these provinces produce almost 94% of its national total. Nowadays, mushrooms are grown in very controlled and covered environments.

Creamy mushroom soup is therefore, next to tomato soup and split pea soup, one of the favorite choices for a cold, winter day!


Champignonsoep
1 lb mushrooms
5 cups chicken or vegetable broth
½ cup onion, diced
1/3 cup celery, sliced
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter
4 parsley sprigs, stems and leaves separated
Pinch of freshly chopped thyme
2 cloves
1 bay leaf
½ cup heavy cream


Wash and slice the mushrooms, keeping one mushroom whole. Melt the butter in a pan, and slowly sweat the onions and the celery in the fat, until the vegetables are soft. Add the mushrooms and the thyme, stir several times while they slowly release their juices and gain flavor.

When the mushrooms are soft, remove about half a cup for garnish and set this aside. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables in the pan and stir several times, so that they’re coated and slowly add in the stock. Keep stirring to make sure all the flour is dissolved. Bring to a boil, then turn to a slow simmer.  Take the whole mushroom and stick the bay leaf to it with the help of the two cloves. Add it to the soup, as well as the parsley stems. Simmer for twenty minutes.

Take out the whole mushroom, remove the bay leaf and the cloves and chop the mushroom in pieces, and return it to the soup. Use a stick blender to purée the soup to a fine consistency. Taste. Stir in the heavy cream and warm the soup, but do no longer boil. Taste again. Adjust seasonings to your liking. If you have it, a drop of sherry will do this soup good.  Add in the remaining mushroom slices, garnish with some chopped parsley leaves and serve hot.

 

My Amazon selections for this recipe

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A creative Sinterklaas tradition!

As you know, the evening of Sinterklaas is almost upon us. December 5th is when the children receive their gifts, either straight from Sinterklaas's hand (the anxiety is almost too much!), or left behind at the front door in a big burlap sack because, you know, he's a busy man and he has so many more homes to visit! 

Dinner is often skipped, but the table will be set with coffee or tea, almond paste filled banketstaaf, gevulde speculaas or regular large speculaas chunks, and may even have worstenbroodjes (sausage rolls), a warm soup, huzarensalade (made with potatoes and boiled beef) or salmon salad, and other snacks. 
 

After the youngest ones have unwrapped their gifts, nibbled on kruidnoten, drank their hot chocolate and gone off to bed, the adults give their gifts to each other. And here is where it gets to be real fun! 

There are two parts to the gift: one is the surprise (pronounced "sir-PREE-suh") and the other one is the poem. The surprise part is where the giver has taken the time and dedication to build a fun and dedicated wrapping around the gift itself. Not just a piece of pretty paper and a bow, mind you, but a whole construction, sometimes even with moving parts, that hide the real gift. 

This surprise is often reflective of the receiver's hobby, interests or passion. I'll give you some examples: a bird-watcher might receive a handmade papier-maché bird, with a pair of binoculars inside, or a bird book. A fervent baker might find her gift hidden inside a cardboard cake, complete with candles. Here are some other examples I found on Pinterest:

Now, because you are probably a kind and considerate person, you would think that the swimming pool is for a dedicated swimmer, the toolbox for a gifted handyman, and the side-table disguised as a cat for a kitty-lover. Not so fast, reader! Knowing our love for ribbing others or poking fun at their misadventures, these could just as easily be containers for gifts for somebody who failed their swimming diploma for the fifth time, a toolbox for that neighbor that always borrows your tools but never gives them back, or a kitty for somebody who is highly allergic. Those among you who have experienced a Dutch Sinterklaas know what I mean!

The second part is the poem that accompanies the gift. It is usually signed by either Sint or Piet, giving certain anonymity to the writer. This is not a love poem, or a dedication to how well one's behaved over the year, but most probably a gentle fun-poking rhyme about what the surprise represents, or why the gift inside was chosen. The receiver of the gift has to read the poem out loud before opening the gift. 

For example, for the toolbox I found this one here in Dutch. I am posting the translation here: 

Everything neatly together 

A job here, a job there, 

you get to work and it's done. 

But sometimes you have lost the hammer 

and then it takes extra time. 

Or you can no longer find the pliers. 

It is difficult to tie it around your neck! 

Saint hears you cursing under your breath, 

because you're tired of searching! 

So, if you didn't know yet you get a tool box! 

Everything is neatly arranged from now on. 

From combination pliers to earth leakage circuit breaker.

Best,

Sint

 

Of course, this rhymes in Dutch! As you can imagine, the more the evening advances, the more fun is to be had. It is wonderful to see how much dedication and attention people have put into finding that one gift, making the decorations and writing the poem. Aside from the gentle fun-poking, it shows real care and love for the person who the gift was for. It's always nice to get a gift, but it is double so nice if every single detail about it is well-thought out.

If you haven't done gift-giving the Dutch way, maybe this year is a good year to start a new tradition!