So every year this season cookie baking and I have a thing... Last year, for those of you who were with me, you might recall the cookies on this blog were never-ending. And also last year a few of you were insistent on speculaas cookies. This year, I got caught up in working on my book Unconventional Treats (it'll be out tomorrow!! Craziness), and didn't get as much of a chance to focus on cookies (well that's a half truth -- many of them just ended up in the book instead...). In fact it's been so hectic with all the book work that I've hardly been able to share any recipes the last few weeks. But speculaas never left my mind...
...In fact, I've been baking them non-stop. Partly experimenting with different textures and flours, partly experimenting with the stamps (more on this later), and partly trying to get the spice flavor right -- after all, that's the essential component of a speculaas; what makes it magical. (Derailing a little, but anyone notice how sneaky the packaged store-bought speculaas are? "Ingredients: ...spices (like cinnamon)" >> thanks, that's super helpful...). And most importantly because I really needed some baking therapy to hold myself together through the mountain of work to get that book out to you.
Since the speculaas I've seen at the shop don't list the spices, I had to do some investigating and a lot of trial and error to nail it (for some very random reason we have a Dutch products shelf at the local grocery store. Only Dutch. No other cultures. Go figure. But grateful it was there for this speculaas experiment ;) ). ... And amused to know that Dutch people seem to REALLY like their chocolate sprinkles (there are like 5 different brands of them on that shelf)...
Another important component to speculaas is their distinct beautiful shape. There's a standard mill imprint that most use, and otherwise lots of decorative imprints that definitely evoke a feeling of winter, coziness, and family. I looked around to find some, but found that they were either unavailable or pricey. So I resorted to my favorite cookie decorating -- using regular stamps. I shopped around A LOT to find a nice one. And by nice, I meant one that conjures up that very same feeling of care, warmth, seasonal tidings, and an element of nature ... and also of course one that imprints well too.
Of course the cookies can be enjoyed un-stamped as well. But there's something special to eating a beautiful cookie. And even more special when you gift beautiful cookies to others. So if you're curious, here is the stamp I used:
You can find it here on Amazon (which is where I got mine). In previous years I picked many stamps up from the art shop however -- so check your local ones if you prefer to pick them out in person (I found lots at Michael's). But this stamp worked out quite well. If you're interested, here are a few other beautiful patterns I was debating:
- The cutest sheep sporting a scarf
- A cute little sparrow
- A beautiful nut-eating squirrel
- The tiniest igloo
- A moody minimalist reindeer
- And a cardinal
- And for reference, here is one of the traditional types of speculaas stamps you could go for if you prefer (though rubber stamps are a little more budget-friendly...)
And of course you've got lots of typical snowflake rubber stamps to choose from too or other winterscapes to your liking. Just select carefully -- the more minimal the pattern, the better it will transfer over onto a cookie.
This one worked a treat:
The last thing I'll note is on the texture of these cookies. There's been a bit of a debate over what speculaas should feel like... All the ones I've tried before were slightly crunchy, sweet, and crumbly, but this recipe also tastes nice softer to me and I couldn't decide which version to share with you -- the only difference is really the baking time. Bake longer = crunchy, bake less = crunchy on the outside, soft and crumbly on the inside. I've given out samples and the verdict was divided. I've even gotten my Dutch friend to try them for me... but he was no use in that regard since he's happy to just be eating cookies :) He did say the spice was bang on. So at least we got that part covered. In a nut shell, I'll leave the texture decision up to you. They are delicious no matter the texture, so it's just a matter of finding what you like best.
Oh, and final note: you'll notice in some of the photos you can see large speckles -- that's because the coconut sugar I used had some larger crystals (bottom of the jar... ;) ) -- which actually sort of looked nice. The photo above and below was from a different batch with properly ground coconut sugar, and as you can see the results are much smoother. Just sharing in case you're wondering. Ok, and now to the cookies...
Ok, wait, one more note: traditional speculaas cookies often use rosemary extract as a key component. I wasn't able to find any, so went with anise extract instead and it worked really well. Ok, cookies...
P.s. If you like the cookie pattern idea, but not all the spices, try this cinnamon bunny recipe instead -- it works great for imprinting cookies.
PrintSpeculaas Inspired Cookies
A gluten-free spiced cookie recipe inspired by the traditional holiday Dutch speculass cookie. Dairy-free.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 large cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Dessert
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, softened (not melted)
- 2½ tbsp agave
- 2½ tbsp coconut sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp pure anise extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp of each: ground cardamom, ground ginger, ground nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp of each: ground white pepper, salt
- 1/16 tsp of each: mace, cloves
- 12 tbsp white or brown rice flour
- 3 tbsp arrowroot starch
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Get 2 sheets of parchment for rolling and a rolling pin ready, as well as your stamp and a knife (if using; otherwise whatever cookie cutters you like).
- Whip coconut oil in a mixing bowl with a hand mixer to fluff it up a little. Add everything except rice flour and arrowroot, and mix once more into a uniform mixture. Add in the flour and arrowroot and use your hands to start mixing the mixture until you can lump it into a ball. If after kneading it a little it's too crumbly, add another ½ tablespoon agave and knead into a ball then flatten into a disk.
- Roll out the dough into somewhere between ⅛" and ¼" thickness in between the two sheets of parchment (thinner -- crunchier, thicker -- softer cookies). Imprint the dough with the stamp (leave room between each imprint so they don't affect one another when you press into the dough to make more -- I can usually get about 4 prints in at this stage). Use a sharp knife to cut out the edges of the imprint into a square cookie shape. Use a wide spatula to carefully transfer the cookie onto your cookie sheet. Collect all dough scraps, roll out again, and repeat to create 2 more cookies.
- Bake in a pre-heated oven for 15 - 19 minutes (15 -- crunchy around the edges, but very soft in center, 19 -- very crunchy. You can also pick something in between :) ). Remove from oven and cool on a rack for at least 10-20 minutes (note: they will be soft when you pull them out, but will harden once they cool. Enjoy!
Tea says
Hi, I wrote a comment around Christmas, but it didn't get posted, maybe it got lost somehow. I was wondering if I could get some troubleshooting help with these cookies, as I mine didn't turn out ok. They were very very hard, almost impossible to chew. The only important change I made to the recipe is that I had to add water to get a cohesive dough, otherwise it was just sand in my hands. Adding more liquid sweetener wasn't possible as it was getting too sweet, so I started adding water 1 teaspoon at a time until I got a dough; I maybe added 2T or so.
I was also wondering about the lack of leavening agent and the reason for that, and if adding some might help. I really like the look and ingredients of these cookies, and would love to make them work.
Audrey says
Hi Tea. I'm so sorry, indeed the comment wasn't posted -- I'm just getting to it now, better late than never (and maybe the reply will help someone else down the road). I responded to your original comment below, so see answer there. Just wanted to add that I have another recipe that's similar but simpler and maybe it would work better for you: https://www.unconventionalbaker.com/cashew-butter-tea-biscuits-gluten-free-cookies/
No leavening agents there either, but it works well without them :)
Tea says
I'm afraid I need some help understanding these cookies. These did *not* work out for me. My only changes where that I used honey instead of agave, and 1/4t ground anise instead of the extract; and I had to put the dough in the fridge for a day until I could get to it. I looked up the weight for the ingredients and measured precisely.
I noticed something was off when I saw you had no leavening agent in these? I thought this was a typo so I scanned some of your other cookie recipes, and many don't use any baking powder/soda. How come? Because *one* of the problems with the cookie was that it had a *dense* structure. I went on because I don't have experience baking GF, so I figured the 'sandiness' of the rice flour will give it some crumble. Boy did it not. Is there a reason you didn't put any leavener in?
Second thing was that the dough would *not* come together - I had to add water by the teaspoonful quite a few times until I could get a sheen and crumbliness level of the dough like in your picture. Perhaps it was the extra water (it had to be water, I started with extra liquid sweetener but it started getting way to sweet) but my cookies were *tough*. Like break-your-teeth tough! They had the 'texture' of really thick raw pasta that you can barely break with your fingers. Those were the 'crunchy ends', the 'chewy middle' was like 'thick pasta that's been cooked for 1 minute'. I was both disappointed and amused by my cookies :).
Troubleshooting? :)
Audrey says
Hi Tea. Your comment made me laugh and become very curious all at once too haha.
Many years ago I made a lovely cookie with honey where the dough was nice and firm and the cookie had a cute "mushroom top" kind of shape to it. A few years later when I tried to "veganize" it I followed the recipe exactly but used maple syrup instead of honey -- the cookie dough behaved completely differently. It was runny and didn't have any firmness / shape to it when I tried to shape the cookies. That experience was was one of my first times seeing the difference between honey and maple syrup / other liquid sweeteners (like agave) in recipes. I'm not entirely sure why it behaves so differently, but I wonder if that might have been the cause for thick / dense / dry texture here?
I find agave and maple syrup to be a little more interchangeable in recipes, so can give that a try here instead if you ever attempt these now "amusing" cookies again :)
As for the leavener, I just try to keep the recipes minimal when possible (especially since gf & vegan / alternative recipes are notorious for a million ingredients) and find it's not really necessary here as they work without it (normally, anyways lol).
So sorry these didn't work out for you, but I'm really glad you shared your experience. It's always good to know what works and what doesn't.
Jen Kapadia says
Hi! Do you think sorghum would work? Would it be lest gritty than brown rice flour? Thank you so much. I need to make a pressed cookie for a kids party where kids have allergies. Thanks!
Audrey says
Hey Jen,
If my memory doesn't fail me, I believe I tried this recipe out with sorghum and the results were fine, though the texture was a little different and they were a bit more delicate. That said, given allergies, I think it would work fine.
I have a slightly simpler more recent stamping cookie recipe (same issue with rice flour substitution though) that you might want to check out as well as an option (if you haven't seen it already):
Cashew Butter Tea Cookies
Ginger Fox Cookies
Carob Hedgehog Cookies
and Cinnamon Bunnies
For many of these my readers have reported back saying they made them with regular flour or oat flour -- I think it can be flexible if you're open to playing around with the recipe :)
Emma says
Oh yay I'm gonna bake these sometimes! As a dutchie its always good to see people from abroad like your food! And at some point im probably gonna miss these cookies so good to know there's a recipe :) oh and btw, those different kinds of chocolate sprinkles is because we put them on our bread (it's really good, you should try it!) so it's just like kinds of PB or jam or something :) your blog is awesome!
Audrey says
Hehe. Yes, I've been explained about the chocolate sprinkles -- funny. I'll have to try it sometime for sure :)
Emma says
It's goooood.... little bit of butter and there you go! and if you feel like having a sandwich that tastes like snickers: peanut butter and chocolate sprinkles :)
cv says
Will this work with the Mochiko type of white rice flour? Thanks!
Audrey says
Hello. I think mochiko on its own would be too fragile in a recipe like this, so probably won't hold up well. That's just my best guess though, as I haven't tried it out myself.
Christina Diaz says
Love, Love, love reading everything you write, Audrey. Your writing style is such a joy and your recipes are always wonderful. And I love all the history and background you give as you experiment. And I really enjoy and appreciate your dairy free investigations and recipes. And love all of the organic and terrific ingredients you recommend. Thanks so much!
Christina
Port St Joe, FL
Audrey says
Thank you so much for your kind comment, Christina! :) Appreciate it and always happy to share.
Vita says
I can't find arrowroot starch in my country. I there another starch I can use.
Blessings....
Audrey says
Hi Vita,
Yes, you can try with another starch, like corn, tapioca, potato. I liked the result best with arrowroot, but if you can't find it the other starches should do the trick.
sue|theviewfromgreatisland says
I love speculoos cookies, and I had no idea you could use regular stamps on them, I'm off to Michaels!
Audrey says
Thanks Sue! I hope you found some good stamps :) ♥
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
These are so pretty! I don't think I've ever had speculaas cookies. And rosemary extract sounds like it would have been fab!!
Audrey says
Yes, I'm on the hunt for some of that extract. I can imagine how wonderful it would taste already ♥
Linda @ Veganosity says
Hurray for the Dutch! I'm half Dutch, so I'm a bit biased. ;) These are gorgeous, Audrey. You deserve all of the success that you receive. Best of luck on the book launch.
Audrey says
Thank you so much, Linda! ♥ So... maybe you can enlighten me: what's up with the over-abundance of chocolate sprinkles on that Dutch shelf then? :)
Paul says
Hi Audrey,
Paul from The Netherlands here, love your site and found it funny to read speculaas all of a sudden. We eat Speculaas mainly around Sinterklaas but can get it all year long. Speculaas cookies and tea/coffee.
The sprinkles we use on our bread. It's called Hagelslag and it comes in many varieties and there are much more sprinkles besides the chocolate ones.
Audrey says
Ah, that's good to know, Paul. I was beginning to worry :D
It's literally a 2-shelf Dutch area, with 3 kinds of speculaas, 4 kinds of Dutch chocolate (delicious by the way!), some interesting-looking dark bread, and then 5 kinds of chocolate sprinkles. Seemed a little unbalanced :) -- good to know there are other kinds of sprinkles too.
Paul says
Just saw your reply... strange that it took me so long hahaha
Anyway, I wonder what brand the sprinkles are? Here I prefer the brand De Ruijter. If you like maybe you can order it also online. The blue/pink sprinkles we use when a baby is born!
We have an abundance of chocolate overhere, I could name it all but it would be a page long ;-)
Besides speculaas, you should try our stroopwafels, oliebollen, tompoes, drop, poffertjes and pepernoten.
The dark bread could be roggebrood.
Audrey says
Hey Paul. Hmm.. I'll have to check the brands next time because there are several, but the De Ruijter ones are definitely up there -- it's the only name I remember by heard. And the dark bread did say that on it. Thanks for all those suggestions -- I'm familiar with some, and they have been on my to try list for some time. I'll get cracking on figuring these goodies out this summer :)
Sophia @Veggies Don't Bite says
These are so so pretty. I love your photography so much, it draws me in every time!
Audrey says
♥
Ceara @ Ceara's Kitchen says
Your photos always blow me away - I love those adorable designs you did on the cookies! I LOVE speculaas and ate my fair share living in belgium!! :)
Audrey says
Thank you so much, Ceara ♥ I can imagine the authentic cookies from the source to be most delicious!
Rosie says
Wow. I am considering a midnight bake right now so I can eat these! I've never heard of them before, but that doesn't matter much since A) it's a cookie, and B) there is cinnamon involved. :)
Good luck tomorrow with the launch! Can't wait!!!
Audrey says
Thanks Rosie :) They do smell wonderful -- and very "spicy" ;) Oh, and they have that anise flavor you like.
Natalie | Feasting on Fruit says
I don't know how you are still managing to cookie the day before the big day, but Audrey these are wonderfully spiced and sweet and stamped! The closest thing I've had to Speculass cookies was the kind that come in a box from trader joes. Probably about 0% authentic, but I loved those things so I can only imagine how wonderful the legit version must be! And as for stamp choices, that igloo is pretty adorable (and I don't think I've ever said that about an igloo before in my life) but the birdy you chose is very holiday meets nature. Perfect <3
Audrey says
Eeeek, Natalie! I don't know either :) But I figured things might get busy and if I don't share these, people won't be able to make them for the holidays (it's late enough as it is). So had to make room for it somehow... Being powered by cookies and coffee helps ;)