Almond Speculoos Cookies

Every day we hear more about Speculoos cookies , typical and most traditional at Christmas in Belgium (where they are called speculaas), and also very popular in Germany (Spekulatius). I will tell you a few things about them and I bring you a recipe for Spéculoos almond cookies that is the most spicy and Christmassy.

Speculoos cookies have three characteristics that make them special and mut characteristics:

1. The spices they carry: they are super aromatic cookies because they always incorporate a wide variety of spices.
2. They are made from butter and brown sugar : brown sugar gives them a special, traditional and unique wood color - speculoos biscuits should always have a toasted sand colour, to acquire their traditional image.
3. They are made in very typical wooden molds and with reliefs that evoke Christmas, the manger and usually take motifs that evoke the Christmas story of Nicolás de Bari.

Although the traditional molds are made of wood and with many reliefs, many people were looking for a cheaper alternative, since they are generally very expensive and very thoughtful for Christmas, despite the fact that today Speculoos cookies are enjoyed all day long. anus. In any case, we have found an alternative to traditional moulds! This is the Lurch cookie mold , a mold made of Platinium silicone that ensures maximum durability and resistance, and a wonderful definition of shapes... With such sweet and familiar engravings that make them irresistible! By its nature, it is no longer an expensive mold, and makes it accessible to everyone to enjoy these precious cookies all year round.

So we leave you a recipe for Speculoos cookies with almond berries, which we hope will be the perfect premiere for your cookies.

Lurch Speculoos Cookie Cutter

Ingredients

• 115 g soft butter
• 240g of flour
• 110g of sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 pinch of ground ginger
• 1 pinch of cloves
• 1 pinch of nutmeg
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1/2 cc of almond extract
• 1 tsp milk
• 1 pinch baking powder
• Sliced ​​almonds or almond powder*

*The almonds will be to give an almond touch to the back of the cookie. You can do it with sliced ​​almonds or sprinkle almond flour.

Preparation

1. Start by kneading the butter and sugar with your hand mixer .
2. Add the remaining ingredients and knead vigorously.
3. Once all the ingredients are well integrated and you get a consistent dough, wrap the dough in transparent film and let it cool in the fridge for 3 hours.
4. After that time, cut the dough to size and press it into the Lurch speculoos mold . Prick the dough with a fork so that there are no air gaps. Remove excess dough with a knife (after making a cookie, you will see that it is easy).
5. Spread some sliced ​​almonds or almond flour over the dough and press lightly (we want some thin almonds to remain in the visible part of the unbaked dough, so when removing the galleys from the mold the layer of almonds will remain on the back).
6. Place the cookies on a baking tray and bake them for 10-15 minutes, at 175°C. When they start to turn golden brown (Not too much! You will notice that they turn a toasted color at the ends), remove the mold from the oven and leave cool.
7. Wait until the mold is almost warm and remove the cookies from the mold.

You will see what beautiful cookies! If you want to decorate the relief of the cookies, you can do it with melted chocolate or icing. In the latter case, you can see the post How to make cookie icing .

I hope this Christmas is filled with moments as sweet as these precious Christmas cookies!

Lurch Speculoos Cookie Cutter