Baking Adventures: Christmas Cookies - part 1: Speculatius

This weekend I got properly started with the Christmas baking. I made some Lebkuchen last weekend, but that was just a short prelude to this weekend's proper baking. And I'm not done yet either, but I'm finally getting into the spirit of things, even if it's much later than usual for me, as I've been known to start planning my Christmas baking in late September!

This weekend, I made two kinds of Christmas cookies: Zimtsterne (cinnamon stars) and Speculatius. I made the cinnamon stars yesterday and forgot to document them, so I'll report on that at another time. However, although I prepared the Speculatius dough yesterday, I didn't get around to shaping and baking it until today, and this time remembered to take pictures.

I've been making Speculatius using the traditional wooden models for over ten years now, but especially in recent times I haven't made them every year, as I always struggled both with the consistency of the dough and the shaping with the wooden models.



This year however, after not having attempted them for at least 2 Christmas seasons, I tried again, and with only minor changes, I finally succeeded making the whole process work. :D

The recipe I'm using came with the first wooden model I bought from the Christmas market. It calls for the following ingredients:

• 250g soft butter (unsalted)
• 200g sugar
• 500g plain flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom, ground
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves, ground
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon water

This always ended up way too dry to handle, so in the past I've resorted to increasing the amount of water until I had a pliable dough. However, this led to it being too tough after baking, and it was kind of glue-like when shaping too.

Yesterday, when I set about making the dough, I wondered if there was an alternative to the water, and since I had all my Christmas cookbooks out anyway, checked to see what other recipes used as liquid. I found one that used one egg for 500g of flour, so that's what I tried, replacing the water in the recipe above with one egg.

And it worked!

So if you fancy giving this traditional German/Dutch recipe a try, here is the recipe with instructions for shaping with the traditional models. Alternatively, simply roll out to about 5mm thickness and cut out shapes with a selection of cookie cutters.


Speculatius:

• 250g soft butter (unsalted)
• 200g sugar
• 500g plain flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom, ground
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves, ground
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 egg
  

1. Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the spices, then sift in the flour and baking powder and knead to form a firm dough.
2. Rest the dough in the fridge for at least an hour, preferably over night. It will keep for several days in the fridge.
3. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 200°C (175°C for fan-assisted ovens).
4. Roll out the dough in small portions and cut out shapes with cookie cutters.
5. Or, if using wooden speculatius models, proceed as follows:

Dust the models with sufficient flour to coat the insides, shake off excess but not too vigorously. You need a good covering of flour or the dough will stick, as I finally figured out this year. Do NOT oil the boards first, even though all the recipes tell you too!

Press enough dough into one hollow to fill completely, then cut off the overhang with a sharp knife or wire.

Hold the wooden model at a right angle to a hard surface (best to cover with some cloths or other soft protection to prevent damage) and tap the edge firmly onto the surface to loosen the biscuit, easing it out of the model carefully.

Place the shaped cookies on a lined or greased baking tray.


When the tray is full, bake at 200°C (175°C for fan assisted ovens) for about 10 minutes until the cookies turn pale golden. Cool on a wire rack.


The cookies improve if stored in a sealed tin for a few days, as the spices can develop then. They keep well for at least a week stored in a cool, dry place.

Happy baking!