Name: Speculoos
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 10 servings
Cuisine: Belgium
Ingredients: 300 g plain flour; 1 tsp baking soda; 2 tbsp speculoos spice mix, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cardamom, white pepper; salt, pinch; 150 g unsalted butter, softened; 200 g brown sugar (cassonade); 1 egg; 1 tbsp milk, if needed

Speculoos are Belgium's spiced, deeply caramelized biscuit, traditionally pressed into carved wooden molds and baked until completely crisp, tied closely to Saint Nicholas celebrations in December.

Their flavor comes from a specific blend of warming spices and brown sugar baked until well past lightly golden, into something closer to caramel.

Part of our 20 best Belgian recipes list.

method

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, spice mix and salt in a bowl.

Beat the softened butter and brown sugar together until well combined, but not necessarily light and fluffy.

Beat in the egg until incorporated.

Gradually mix in the dry ingredients until a smooth dough forms, adding a splash of milk if it feels too dry.

Wrap the dough and chill for at least 2 hours, or overnight, until firm.

Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F). Roll the dough out to about 4mm thick, and either press into speculoos molds and unmold onto a tray, or cut into shapes with a cutter.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until deeply golden brown and firm at the edges; they’ll crisp further as they cool.

Let cool completely on the tray before moving, since they’re fragile while warm.

chef's tips

Brown sugar, specifically the moist Belgian cassonade if you can find it, is what gives speculoos their deep caramel flavor; white sugar produces a flatter-tasting biscuit.
Chilling the dough thoroughly before baking keeps the spice patterns crisp if using molds, and stops the biscuits from spreading too much in the oven.