There's nothing better than a fresh speculoos, their smell alone can take you away. I like them both soft and hard. And there's no way they wouldn't be on the table for Saint Nicolas.
Recipe
I've tried 4 different recipes, all gluten free, with different sugars: blond vergeoise, dark brown cane sugar and coconut sugar (that gives a small caramel taste). I unfortunately couldn't get hold of brown cassonade which might be why I got good biscuits but couldn't get the speculoos I'm used to have in Liège. Then, it might be because they were gluten free but they didn't hold their shape in the oven and merged together.
Servings: 6
Calories: 410 kcal / serving
Ingredients:
* 250 g flour
* 125 g brown cassonade or vergeoise
* 100 g unsalted soft butter
* 1 egg
* 1 tsp mixed spices
* 1 tsp cinnamon
* 1 tsp dry yeast
* 1 pinch salt
* 25-50 g flaked almonds (optional)
Variations:
* 250 g flour & 175 g cassonade & 175 g butter
* 250 g flour & 187 g cassonade & 125 g butter
* 200 g flour & 167 g cassonade & 83 g butter
* 1/2 tsp mixed spices & 1 tbsp cinnamon
* 1/2 tsp mixed spices & 1/4 tsp cinnamon
* baking soda instead of yeast
Mixed spices
You can either buy a mix of 4 spices (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves) in the supermarket or make your own mix. I have found 2 recipes but haven't tried them yet.
Ingredients:
* 2 tbsp cinnamon
* 2 tsp nutmeg
* 1 tsp ginger
* 2 tsp clove
* 1 tsp pepper
* 1/2 tsp cardamom
OR
* 2 tbsp cinnamon
* 1 tsp nutmeg
* 1 tsp ginger
* 1 tsp clove
* 1/2 tsp white pepper
* 1/2 tsp black pepper
* 1/2 tsp coriander
* 1/2 tsp cardamom
* 1/2 tsp anis
* 2 star anise
Gluten free:
* Use a mix gluten free flour
* Add a few grams of baking soda and/or xanthan gum
* Let the dough rise for a shorter time
Lactose free:
* Use lactose free butter or margarine
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Resting time: 2-24 hours
Cooking time: 10-15 minutes
Oven temperature: 180 C
Cookware:
* Mixer or spatula
* Scale
* 1 large bowl
* Small cooking pot
* Cling film
* Baking sheets
* Sieve (optional)
Method:
Baking
* Prepare all your ingredients:
- Take the butter out of the fridge
- Bowl: flour, cassonade, cinnamon, spices, yeast
- Pot: butter cut in small cubes
* Mix all the dry ingredients in the bowl
* Melt the butter at very low temperature
* Make a fountain in the dry ingredients in the bowl
* Pour the melted butter in the fountain in the bowl
* Incorporate the dry ingredients with the butter
* Add the egg and a pinch of salt
* Mix until you get an homogeneous dough
* Wrap the dough in cling film
* Let the dough rest for 2 to 24 hours in the fridge
Cooking
* Pre-heat the oven at 180 C
* Spread the dough 1 centimetre thick with your hands
* Cut the dough and put the pieces on a baking sheet
* Cook the speculoos for 10-15 minutes
Tips:
* Take the butter out of the fridge a few hours before starting baking
* Sieve the dry ingredients to avoid lumps
