Learn to make Speculaasbrokken – a thick, crunchy speculaas cookie, broken into delightful chunks. These treats hold a special place in Dutch hearts, especially around Sinterklaas, the cherished holiday for kids in The Netherlands.
As the scent of warm spices fills the air, memories flood back to the joyous Sinterklaas celebrations of my youth. I vividly recall our upstairs neighbor, whom I affectionately called aunt, transforming our home into a haven of Speculaasbrokken goodness each festive season. The anticipation, the laughter, the exchange of gifts – these cookies are more than a sweet treat; they are a connection to those precious moments.
And now, I invite you to join me in this culinary adventure. Let’s not just bake Speculaasbrokken; let’s weave stories around them. Share your memories, tales from your family, or the excitement of Sinterklaas celebrations intertwined with the aroma of these spiced delights. Together, let’s create a tapestry of heartwarming recollections that go beyond the kitchen, capturing the essence of the Dutch holiday spirit.
Get ready to break the cookie mold and delve into the rich tradition of Speculaasbrokken, where every chunk tells a tale of family, joy, and the enchantment of Sinterklaas.
Speculaasbrokken: Chunks of Thick and Crunchy Speculaas
I invite you to join me in this culinary adventure. Let's not just bake Speculaasbrokken; let's weave stories around them. Share your memories, tales from your family, or the excitement of Sinterklaas celebrations intertwined with the aroma of these spiced delights. Together, let's create a tapestry of heartwarming recollections that go beyond the kitchen, capturing the essence of the Dutch holiday spirit.
In your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together the flour, salt, sugar, and speculaaskruiden.
If your brown sugar is clumped together, you may have to break it apart with a spatula.
Once it's all mixed together, add the butter, and mix on slow until the butter is incorporate. The dough should be crumbly at this point.
Add the milk, and continue mixing until the dough starts to form a ball.
Briefly knead it by hand to make it all come together.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and let it rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour, but it's even better to do it overnight. The longer you let it rest, the more it will develop the flavors of the spices in the dough.
Shaping the Dough
Preheat your oven to 170ºC (340 F), and prepare a cookie sheet by lining it with parchment paper.
(If you let the dough rest overnight, you want to take it out an hour before rolling it out - otherwise it will be too hard to roll out).
On a floured surface, roll the dough out to a slab that is approximately 1cm (⅜ inch) thick. I use a rolling pin with thickness guides on it.
Transfer the rolled out dough to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Put almond slivers on top of the dough, and gently push them to make sure they do not fall off / move.
Brush the top with the heavy cream until the entire surface is covered.
Put the cookie sheet in the oven, and bake it for 30 minutes.
When the speculaas is done baking, remove it from the cookie sheet, and let it cool off on a rack.
Making Speculaasbrokken - The Last Step
After the speculaas is cooled off, break it into chunks, and serve to your guests!
Thanks for publishing all these recipes for us! I've made Speculaasbrokken once now, and everybody loved it. This week I'm making two batches, because I have two events coming up that I want to bring them to. One question - I'm going to keep the dough in the refrigerator for several days because my events are next weekend, but I'm wondering whether I could even freeze the dough, if I ever want to keep it for longer than a few days. Do you think that would work?
I have never done it, but I believe you can… wrap the ball tightly in plastic wrap, and then store that in an airtight container in the freezer.
Hallo Toine,
Love your content anything related to Nederlandse recipes is appreciated by a dutchie who has one foot in my birthplace Castricum and the other here in Victoria Australia purely because my 3 children their 2 children each and now my 2 gorgeous great granddaughters live here. Although as I write this my youngest daughter Felicity and her husband and youngest son are driving in convoy to their new home in Queensland 1700 plus kilometres from me, Francien. Felicity has their Bernese x standard poodle in her car - not a keen traveler but he is 2cm too tall to travel in the hold? So needs must plus they all need their own car anyway.
OK Toine ℹ can’t find your Speculaas Kruiden recipe I really need. I know it has mace in it and I have already looked high and low in our duopoly supermarkets and Asian food stores as well! No success. Is it a deal breaker? I love it especially in Leek and potato soup. Nutmeg just doesn’t do it justice.
We used to call Pea and Ham soup -poop soup! It does move you doesn’t it?
You called it Snert Soup I am not sure pap called it that. He was from Den Hague? He was the Dutch king of Cooking and baking. Just seeing his photo daily brings me back to his kroketen, I never realised how much time he spent making them. Just the preparation of the meat takes good time management.
Olie bollen and Appel flappen was always a New Year staple and my sister always chose olie bollen for her birthday special request food on the 6th January. I would have picked the poop soup for sure.
I would be ever so grateful if you sent me the kruiden recipe please. Francien
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Thanks for publishing all these recipes for us! I've made Speculaasbrokken once now, and everybody loved it. This week I'm making two batches, because I have two events coming up that I want to bring them to. One question - I'm going to keep the dough in the refrigerator for several days because my events are next weekend, but I'm wondering whether I could even freeze the dough, if I ever want to keep it for longer than a few days. Do you think that would work?
I have never done it, but I believe you can… wrap the ball tightly in plastic wrap, and then store that in an airtight container in the freezer.
Hallo Toine,
Love your content anything related to Nederlandse recipes is appreciated by a dutchie who has one foot in my birthplace Castricum and the other here in Victoria Australia purely because my 3 children their 2 children each and now my 2 gorgeous great granddaughters live here. Although as I write this my youngest daughter Felicity and her husband and youngest son are driving in convoy to their new home in Queensland 1700 plus kilometres from me, Francien. Felicity has their Bernese x standard poodle in her car - not a keen traveler but he is 2cm too tall to travel in the hold? So needs must plus they all need their own car anyway.
OK Toine ℹ can’t find your Speculaas Kruiden recipe I really need. I know it has mace in it and I have already looked high and low in our duopoly supermarkets and Asian food stores as well! No success. Is it a deal breaker? I love it especially in Leek and potato soup. Nutmeg just doesn’t do it justice.
We used to call Pea and Ham soup -poop soup! It does move you doesn’t it?
You called it Snert Soup I am not sure pap called it that. He was from Den Hague? He was the Dutch king of Cooking and baking. Just seeing his photo daily brings me back to his kroketen, I never realised how much time he spent making them. Just the preparation of the meat takes good time management.
Olie bollen and Appel flappen was always a New Year staple and my sister always chose olie bollen for her birthday special request food on the 6th January. I would have picked the poop soup for sure.
I would be ever so grateful if you sent me the kruiden recipe please. Francien
Francien -
Thank you for your message… my recipe for speculaaskruiden is here: https://www.toineskitchen.com/recipes/speculaaskruiden/
Mace is sometimes called Javitri. If you can’t find it, you can try substituting with ground all spice, but you’ll need half as much.