Spice Nuts

Spice nuts (kruidnoten or pepernoten in Dutch) are a traditional seasonal treat. These tiny cookies are crunchy and flavoured with a lot of spices. The arrival of these in supermarkets mark the end of summer and they are an integral part of the Sinterklaas celebrations. They are best homemade and accompanied by a glass of cold milk.

Ingredients

• 250 grams plain flour
• 1 heaped teaspoon baking powder
• 130 grams dark muscovado sugar
• 100 grams softened butter
• 1.5 / 2 tablespoons of speculaas spices (recipe here) *
• pinch of salt
• splash of milk

* If you don't have or feel like making the speculaas mix you can try and subsitute it with any other 'warm' spice mix. You could even try to make it with just cinnamon.

Step 1

Add the baking powder to the flour and mix. Add the other dry ingredients. Now rub in the softened butter. Add enough milk to form a cohesive dough, test this by taking a piece and rolling it in your hand. If it holds its shape you are done, if not, add a little bit more milk. Taste a little bit of the raw mix to see whether you are happy with the amount of spice.

Step 2

Break of a piece of the dough and roll it on the counter into a consistently shaped roll. Use your index finger as a measure and cut the dough. Roll the pieces of dough into little balls. But them on a baking tray lined with parchment and keep a little bit of space between the balls.

Step 3

Bake them for 15 minutes in a preheated oven on 160 degrees centigrade. You can check whether they are done by taking one out and cutting it in half. If it looks wet inside it needs a couple more minutes. Cool them on a baking tray and store in an airtight container.