Recipe below for my twist on classic holiday gingerbread cookies! Plus, cookie decorating tips! What're your favourite Christmas cookie shapes? (The reindeer are mine!)
Speculoos are a nicely spiced and notably buttery cookie or shortbread biscuit common in the Netherlands and Belgium. The subtle differences between a traditional North American–style gingerbread and this European-inspired recipe are the use of honey in place of molasses, and the addition of a little cardamom, ground anise and black pepper to the spice mix in place of ginger.
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• Recipe •
Makes 4 to 6 dozen cookies
Prep Time: 75 minutes (including decorating), plus chilling
Cook Time: 15 minutes, plus setting and air-drying
Make Ahead Tips: You can store these baked cookies, iced or plain, for 10 days in an airtight container at room temperature. They actually will keep for longer (about 1 month) if they are completely covered with royal icing. You can freeze undecorated baked cookies for up to 3 months. (Do not freeze decorated cookies as the icing may crack.) Thaw the cookies to room temperature before decorating.
Helpful Hint: Feel free to use a mix of cookie cutter shapes and sizes and even mix the variety of cookies on the same baking tray. If there is only 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5 cm) difference in size between them, they will all bake in the same time.
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• Ingredients •
Speculoos Cookie Dough
1/2 cup (115 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (100 g) packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (150 g) honey
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground anise
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Royal Icing
4 cups (520 g) icing sugar, sifted
3 Tbsp (14 g) meringue powder
6 Tbsp (90 mL) warm water
Food colour paste (optional)
Coloured sugars and dragées, for décor
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• Directions •
0:00 Intro
0:30 Start with Mixing the Cookie Dough
For the cookies, beat the butter, brown sugar and honey together using electric beaters, or in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed, or by hand, until smooth. Beat in the egg.
2:07 Add the Dry Ingredients
Sift the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, anise, baking soda, salt and pepper into a separate bowl and add all at once to the butter mixture, stirring until evenly blended (the dough will be soft).
4:14 Chill the Batter
Scrape this batter onto a piece of plastic wrap, wrap and chill for at least 2 hours, until set. The dough will still feel a little soft once chilled.
5:05 Cut Out Your Cookies!
Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to just under 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out your desired shapes and sizes and transfer these to the baking trays, 1 inch (25 mm) apart.
6:25 Bake!
Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C) and bake for 12 to 15 minutes (or even just 10 minutes, if the cookies are on the smaller side), until lightly browned at the edges. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.
7:27 How to Make Royal Icing
For the royal icing, place the icing sugar, meringue powder and water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on low speed until the icing sugar is incorporated. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the icing comes together and is fluffy, about 5 minutes.
10:00 Prevent the Icing from Drying Out
Set aside some of the royal icing in a bowl with plastic wrap placed directly on the surface of the icing, at room temperature.
10:34 How to Make Your Icing Spreadable
You may want different styles of icing to decorate your cookies. The royal icing made so far is great for adding decorative details to a cookie, but "flood" icing is more fluid, and spreads over the surface of the cookie (thicker than glaze). I recommend having a bit of both for decorating, so you can flood your cookie first and then add detail on top!
To make “flood”-style icing, take some of your royal icing and add just a little more water at a time, mixing by hand until the icing flows. To get your desired consistency, you can always add more water or icing sugar, as needed. Add food colour paste in small amounts, until you reached the colour intensity you want.
11:43 Prepare to Pipe Your Icing
Spoon the icing into piping bags. “Flood”-style icing doesn't need a tip, but regular royal icing can use a small plain tip.
12:41 Cookie Decorating Tips!
If using "flood" icing, to get more precision, pipe an outline on the cookie and then fill it in with icing, or pipe dots and use a toothpick to swirl the colours. Though the flood icing begins setting within minutes, allow 4 to 6 hours to dry before adding details with regular royal icing. After applying icing, sprinkle with coloured sugars or dragées. Allow to dry for an additional 4 hours.
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