Speculaas: Dutch Style Spice Biscuits (Wheat Free)

Have you ever gone to a café and got a little spice and caramel scented crispy biscuit on the side of your saucer? Well, you don't need to go to a café to get this delicious morsels any longer, because now you can make them at home!

I present to you: Speculaas biscuits! Well, at least my take on them anyway.

Yesterday was my second anniversary with my wonderful companion, and three days ago marked one year until our wedding, so I presented him with some lovely handmade presents. I made him a paintbrush roll from some vibrant neon pink and chocolate brown flock curtain fabric that I found in a bargain bucket in my local fabric shop, and I made him a jar of these lovely, thin, crispy Speculaas biscuits.

These aren't 100% authentic to the original Dutch recipe because they don't have the same amount of spices, and they aren't 100% authentic to the shop bought brands either because they have too many spices. Normally, the shop bought ones tend only to have cinnamon (and occasionally ginger) in them, and the traditional biscuits have white pepper, ground aniseed, ground mace, and ground nutmeg.

I decided to add the aniseed and pepper as optional ingredients to the spice mix, but I generally speaking don't have mace or nutmeg around. If however you don't have access to all these spices, just use shop bought mixed ground spice, like Goodall's.

Another reason that these aren't 100% authentic is that I roll the dough out and cut out the individual biscuits: the traditional ones and the shop bought ones are moulded by having the dough pressed into a wooden or silicone mould. I hope in the future to experiment with using or making moulds

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DIFFICULTY
Requires making roll-out cookie dough

TIME

About 2 hours, mostly chilling in the fridge

RECIPE RATING

Easy!

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INGREDIMENTS

Spice Mix

4 teaspoons (20 millilitres) ground cinnamon

3 teaspoons (15 millilitres) ground ginger

2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) coriander

1/2 teaspoon (3 millilitres) cloves

Optional: 1/2 teaspoon (3 millilitres) ground white or black pepper

Optional: 1/4 teaspoon (1 millilitre) ground aniseed

Dough

8 ounces (225 grammes) plain white spelt flour

½ teaspoon (3 millilitres) baking soda

Pinch of salt

3 ounces (85 grammes) dark brown sugar

3 ounces (85 grammes) caster sugar

4 ounces (115 grammes) very cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) vanilla essence

A few drops almond essence

2 tablespoons (30 millilitres) cold milk

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METHOD

This recipe is best prepared in a food processor, but you can do it by hand.

To make in a food processor

• In a mixing bowl, sieve together the spice mix, flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.
• In a food processor, blend together the cold butter, the sugars, and the essences until mixed but still cold.
• Add in the dry ingredients and blend until you have a dry mixture that looks like sand.
• Add in half the milk and pulse the machine in short bursts to combine. If you need more milk, add it a teaspoon at a time: you don't need a lot of milk to combine the mixture.
• Once you have a crumbly yet chunky mixture, turn the mixture onto a floured surface and bring together with your hands into a ball.
• Wrap the ball in some cling film and flatten into a disc and chill completely in the fridge for at least an hour.

To prepare by hand

• In a mixing bowl, sieve together the spice mix, flour, salt, and baking soda. Add in the sugars and break up the big lumps of brown sugar with your finger tips. Rub the sugars and dry ingredients until it's completely mixed.
• Add in the cold butter and rub into the dry ingredients as if you were making pastry. Rub until it's completely sandy.
• Add in the essences and then add half the milk and continue to rub, adding more milk gradually if you need it, until you have a nice dough. Don't add too much milk: just enough to bind it together.
• Once you have a crumbly yet chunky mixture, turn the mixture onto a floured surface and bring together with your hands into a ball.
• Wrap the ball in some cling film and flatten into a disc and chill completely in the fridge for at least an hour.

Then, make the biscuits

• Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F, Gas Mark 2½). Line one or two baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
• Take the dough from the fridge and work a little with your hands to make it malleable. Roll out to an ⅛ inch (3 millimetre) thickness and cut out shapes using whatever shape you want.
• Place the biscuits on the baking sheets about half an inch (1 centimetre) apart, and place in the centre of the preheated oven for 15 to 17 minutes, or until the biscuits are dry and a delicious tan brown colour.
• Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely before munching down with a cup of coffee. The Dutch are great at coffee.

STORAGE
Keep in an airtight container for up two a fortnight.