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

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 with butter and brown sugar : the brown sugar gives them a special, traditional and unique wood color - speculoos cookies should always have a brown sand color, 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 molds and very well thought out for Christmas, despite the fact that today you enjoy Speculoos cookies all day long. year. In any case, we have found an alternative to traditional molds! This is the Lurch cookie mold, a mold made of Platinium silicone that ensures maximum durability and resistance, and a stupendous definition of shapes... With such sweet and familiar engravings that they make them irresistible! By its nature, it is no longer an expensive mold, and makes it accessible to everyone to enjoy those precious cookies all year round.

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

Lurch Speculoos Cookie Pan

Ingredients

• 115g soft butter
• 240g of flour
• 110g 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 of 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 flaked 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 refrigerator 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 the excess dough with a knife (after making a cookie, you will see that it is an easy thing).
5. Spread some sliced ​​almonds or the almond flour on the dough and press lightly (we want some fine almonds to remain on the visible part of the unbaked dough, so when the cookies are removed 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 brown (not too much! You will notice that they take on a toasty color at the ends), remove the pan from the oven and let 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 that this Christmas is full of moments as sweet as these beautiful Christmas cookies!

Lurch Speculoos Cookie Pan