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Speculaas Koekjes (Dutch Spice Cookies)
Thirteen-year-old Lisa Jaarsma of Pella, Iowa, says, "I brought these cookies to the Marion County fair, where I received a top ribbon for them. From there they went to the Iowa State Fair where I received a blue ribbon and the special Meredith Award for them." Lisa adapted this recipe from one used by the first settlers of Pella. Lisa's father Ralph owns Pella's Jaarsma Bakery which features many traditional Dutch pastries. These cookies are usually formed in cookie board molds, traditionally in the shape of St. Nicholas, they're often called "St. Nick" cookies.
2 cups brown sugar Cream butter and sugar. Add remaining ingredients and mix, adding enough flour to form a very stiff dough. Press well-chilled dough into cookie boards (flour mold well, press dough in with fingers, level it off, then turn the board over and bang one on the counter so the cookie drops out).* Place on cookie sheet and bake at 350º F. for 10 to 12 minutes. Store in sealed container to retain crispness. *To use with Rycraft Cookie Stamp: wipe stamp lightly with oil to help prevent sticking. Form dough into 1-inch balls, (roll in granulated sugar), place on ungreased cookie sheet, and stamp immediately. If design disappears, add more flour to dough. If dough begins to stick, brush particles from stamp and treat again with oil. *Or shape into cylinder of desired size and chill thoroughly in covered container. Slice and bake as above. Makes six dozen this way. Sources for St. Nicholas cookie boards and stamps
2½ cups (300 g) flour Knead all ingredients into a soft ball. Butter two baking sheets. Form about 50 marble-sized balls. Place them on the two sheets, so that they are the same distance from each other. Flatten each ball slightly. Bake at 350º F. (175º C) 20 minutes or until done. The cookies will be very hard, but they will get softer as they get older. Makes about 50 peppernuts.
A beautiful collection with a bit of background and recipes related to seventy-three saints.
Warm the honey slightly and combine with the sugar. Add eggs and beat well. Sift the flour with the soda and spices and stir into the honey batter thoroughly. Let the dough rest overnight. Roll dough to ¼-inch thickness; cut out with a round cooky cutter. Brush with the slightly beaten white of an egg, press half a blanched almond into each cooky and bake at 375º F., for about fifteen minutes. From Feast Day Cookbook by Kaherine Burton & Helmut Ripperger, David McKay Company, 1951
Melt one tablespoon sugar in large skillet and allow to caramelize. Pour in one fourth cup water, allow to boil. Add rest of sugar. When sugar has dissolved, add honey and spices. Allow to come to boil. Let cool. Sift flour. Put aside one cup with which to flour the board. Add to the caramelized sugar, butter, the eggs, flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Knead very well, adding more flour to make elastic dough. Refrigerate dough for thirty minutes. Roll out on floured board and make favorite cut outs. Bake at 350º for 15 minutes. From Treasured Polish Christmas Customs and Traditions, The Polanie Club, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1972. To make St. Nicholas honey cakes, cut the pattern out of posterboard. Put it on the dough and press into place. Carefully cut out the shape with a sharp knife. Or use a cutter from our shop. Decorate (as shown on the pattern) with decorator's icing. Pattern from Christmas Ornaments . . . Polish Style by Lawrence G. Kozlowski, 1988.
Here is a recipe for a traditional Nicholas cookie that comes out of the Rhineland. The cookie is called "Speculatius" which means "image." In Europe, the "image" is the mirror-image of a Nicholas which had been pressed into a wooden mold and then turned out on a sheet to bake in the oven. As we don't have these molds, we roll out dough and use a cardboard pattern (about 7-inches tall) of a gingerbread bishop to cut around for the basic shape and everyone further decorates it as the imagination dictates. The St Nicholas Center Shop has St Nicholas cookie cutters Mix in order:
1 cup shortening Turn out onto a floured board. Knead in about one cup additional flour or as much as you need until dough is no longer sticky and is easy to handle. Put into a plastic bag and refrigerate until chilled and stiff. Then you are ready to roll out and cut the cookies. Cut off a manageable piece and keep the rest cool until you are ready for more.
For the larger, decorated St. Nicholas cookies, roll the dough to about ¼ inch thickness. Cut out cookie around paper pattern. Place on greased baking sheet.Then get inspired. Use scrappy bits of dough to decorate your Nicholas. For a beard press a little dough through a sieve or a garlic press. Use little balls of dough for eyes or buttons. The same dough lends itself to all sorts of shapes and symbols and is useful for making "St. Nicholas awards" to certain people on this special occasion. Bake at 350º F. until golden-brown. These keep forever in tins in the freezer or for two–three weeks on the shelf.
Here is another variation of the European spice cookies so popular for St. Nicholas Day—this one has sour cream and finely chopped walnuts. This recipe is also given by Maria Trapp, of the Trapp Family Singers, in Around the Year with the Trapp Family. Makes a tasty thin, crisp cookie. 1 cup butter Cream shortening and sugar; blend in sour cream. Mix and sift dry ingredients; add slowly to creamed mixture. (Do not use electric mixer if dough is too stiff.) Stir in walnuts. Divide into 4 portions; wrap each portion in aluminum foil; chill several hours or overnight. Work with one portion of dough at a time, leaving the others in the refrigerator. Roll out very thin, cut with St. Nicholas cutters. Bake at 350º for 10 minutes. (Roll scraps into a ball; refrigerate briefly before re-rolling.) Frost and decorate as desired. From The Cook's Blessings: A unique cookbook based on the social and religious traditions of the Catholic world and including recipes and menus for holidays, holy days, and special occasions by Demetria Taylor, Random House (copyright © The Catholic Digest), 1965. Permission pending.
This recipe was in Sunset Magazine years ago. It makes a good chocolate-covered almond cookie which is especially nice if you don't have access to Dutch chocolate letters for St. Nicholas Day. The initials could be made smaller. With an electric mixer or wooden spoon, beat together until creamy: 1 cup butter or hard margarine Beat in 1 egg Gradually mix in 3 cups flour until thoroughly blended. Shape dough into large initials. Keep dough tightly covered while shaping a few cookies at a time. Bake on ungreased cooky sheet in a 325º F. oven for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned on the bottom. Cool. CHOCOLATE COATING FOR LETTER COOKIES: 6 oz. milk or semisweet chocolate piecesPlace over hot (not boiling) water just until melted. Arrange cookies on a wire rack with bottom sides up and place rack over a sheet of waxed paper. With a pastry brush or small spatula, brush or spread chocolate over flat bottom side of cookie; chill 10 minutes or until firm, keeping remaining chocolate soft over hot water. Turn cookies over and cover remaining survaces with chocolate glaze. Let stand at cool room temperature or chill until set. Keep cookies cool until they are served. Makes enough to coat 4–6 large initials.
1 cup butter Cream butter. Add egg, sugar, salt, lemon peel, and cinnamon. Mix flour with baking powder, slowly add to butter mixture. Place dough in a pastry bag with a tip that has one flat and one fluted side. Squeeze dough onto a buttered cookie sheet, shaping it into letters or initials of the names of the family or guests. Bake at 400° for 15–20 minutes, until lightly brown. Remove cookies from sheet at once. From Festive Recipes and Festival Menus by Sula Benet, Aabelard-Schuman, 1970, p. 83.
This is the "gourmet cake" of the St. Nicholas Festival celebrated annually on December 6th. St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, presides over the feast day, giving an air of solemnity to Lucerne, and culminating in a procession through the town. St. Nicholas is preceded by two heralds and is escorted by frightening Schmutzli. Luzern Lebkuchen Recipe from Culinary Art and Traditions of Switzerland, Pro Gastronomia, 1992
1 cup sugar Beat sugar and eggs until foamy. Add other ingredients and knead into dough. Form little rolls about the size of a finger and put on a pan, formed into a crescent moon. Make slanted slits on the edge of the crescent. Put in a warm place and let stand for 12 hours. Bake 350° until yellow. TO USE WITH MOLDS: roll dough out ¼–3/8 inch thick. Swish powdered sugar or flour on top, then imprint with the mold. Cut apart with knife or pizza cutter. To preserve the picture, dry 2–24 hours (depending on humidity, etc.) before baking.
Purchase from NCRLC Bookstore.
1 7-oz roll Odense almond paste Kathy says: I find their almond paste to be the best SPECULAAS COOKIE DOUGH: 1 ¾ sticks of butter (softened) *If speculaas spices are not available you can make your own: 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, ¾ teaspoon cloves, ½ teaspoon ginger, ½ teaspoon allspice Mix butter and flour with fork or pastry blender as you would for a pie crust. Add other ingredients. Knead dough until well mixed and pliable. Let doug sit for a few minutes to harden slightly. Press ½ of dough into a greased 8x8" pan. Brush with egg white. Player layer of almond paste on top and brush with egg white again. Press other half of dough flat with your hands; put on top of other layers. Press all 3 layers together with your hand. Brush with egg white and decorate with almonds. Bake for 40 minutes at 350º F. CUT WHILE STILL WARM
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature Preheat oven to 350º. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Cream butter and sugar, on medium with electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest. Beat until combined. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low and gradually add flour and nuts until fully mixed. Lightly flour a flat surface and roll out dough to ¼-inch thickness. Using a small cookie cutter, cut out cookies and place on prepared baking sheets. Bake about 17 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on pan, then transfer cooling racks. When completely cook, spread the underside of half of the cookies with apricot jam. Make a sandwich with remaining cookies, pressing gently to spread jam to the edges. Gently toss sandwich cookies in confectioners’ sugar. Makes 4 dozen cookies From Serbians Honor Patron Saint in Kansas City, The Kansas City Star. Used by permission. back to top
For the Feast of St. Nicholas COOKIES 1 ½ cups honey FROSTING 2 unbeaten egg whites, for safety's sake use pasturized egg whites ONE (Cookies) TWO (Frosting) From The Catholic Cook Book: Traditional Feast and Fast Day Recipes by William I. Kaufman. The Citadel Press, 1965.
These are the cookies tossed in the door on Sinterklaas Eve 2 cups sifted flour Mix flour, soda, salt, pepper, cinnamon, ginger, orange rind, citron, and lemon rind. Cream butter and sugar. Beat egg yolks well and add to butter and sugar mixture, beating until creamy. Stir in gradually the flour mixture. Combine with stiffly beaten egg whites and gently blend all ingredients. Refrigerate dough refrigerated 1 hour and let stand overnight at room temperature. Roll out dough about ½-inch thick and cut into small circles. Place on buttered cookie sheet and bake about 20 minutes at 300º. Immediately as taking out of the oven, sprinkle cookies with powdered sugar. From Festive Recipes and Festival Menus by Sula Benet, Abelard-Schuman, 1970, p. 83.
When St. Nicholas comes there is always a large tray of assorted cookies ready for him and any other visitors who might call during Advent ¾ cup (6 oz) sugar Whisk egg whites until stiff. Add the sugar and continue whisking until the mixture stands in stiff peaks. Add the remaining ingredients and fold in gently. Drop teaspoonfuls of mixture onto a greased baking sheet at least 1-inch apart. Allow to stand. Bake in oven at 300° for ½ hour. Carefully transfer to a cooling tray and store in an airtight container. They will keep for several weeks. From Feasting for Festivals: Customs and recipes to celebrate the Christian Year by Jan Wilson, Lion Publishing, 1990. Permission pending.
Byzantine bishop cookie cutters are available in our shop 2 cups sugarCream sugar and shortening. Add beaten egg, egg yolks, and cream. Add sifted dry ingredients using only enough flour so dough can be easily handled. Roll and cut into desired shapes; sprinkle with sugar (or leave plain to decorate with frosting) and bake at 350º F for about 10 minutes or until golden.
These Ukrainian Christmas cookies are a perennial favorite. They may be cut into rounds, stars, or crescents. Often they are hung on the lower branches of the Christmas tree as treats for the younger children. Byzantine bishop cookie cutters are available in our shop 4 cups flour Sift together flour, spices, confectioners sugar, and baking powder. Add eggs, honey, and orange peel; mix to make a stiff dough. On a floured work surface, roll out dough about ¼+ inch thick. Cut shapes with cookie cutter, place on non-stick baking sheet, and brush with glaze. If not decorating with frosting, a ½ almond may be placed in the middle of each cookie, then sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake in preheated 350º oven until done, about 15 minutes. Cool on racks. Store in tightly covered tins.
This recipe is easily doubled, as there are plenty of kisses in a package.
1 stick butter (8 tablespoons) Preheat oven to 350º. Optional:To further enchance the appearance of a bag, you may want to place mini chocolate chips like a tie around the cinched part of the cookie.
Recipe for Speculaas and Springerle cookies with tips for using HOBI Picture Cookie Molds by Gene Wilsonback to recipes print version |
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