Belgian Speculoos Recipe (Homemade Biscoff Cookies)

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Crispy, caramelized, buttery shortcrust cookies – the perfect blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, ginger, and cardamom. These Belgian Speculoos are amazing on their own, or as edibles with tea and coffee.

Whether you know them as speculoos, speculaas, Biscoff cookies, Dutch Windmill Cookies, or Spekulatius…these traditional Belgian treats are a delight!

How to Make Speculoos

Step 1: Measure out all your ingredients. Then, in a stand mixer, beat the brown sugar, egg yolks, butter, cream, vanilla, and lemon zest until fluffy and pale. This will take about 5-6 minutes. Now, add the almond flour to the mixer bowl and beat ingredients until well mixed (2 min).

Step 2: In a separate bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, baker’s ammonia, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, anise, and cardamom. Stir them together thoroughly.

Step 3: Continue beating the wet mix and then slowly add your dry flour mix (step 2 above) to the wet flour mix your mixing bowl. Add an extra egg yolk if you find it’s too crumbly.

Step 4: Remove the dough from your mixing stand and shape it into a ball or log. Now, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap several times and let sit in a cool temp area for 4-5 hours. This should NOT be the refrigerator. But if it’s the only cool place you have, then let it sit for 90 minutes.

Step 5: Once fully cooled, remove the plastic wrap and lightly flour your working surface. Roll out the dough into a 1/4″ (4mm) thick sheet. Next, cut your dough into 2″ x 2″ square or rectangle shapes. If you want to go fancier, then use molds to create festive shapes. Also, if you want to add almond slivers to the top of each cookie (to make windmills) then now’s the time to do that while they’re slightly soft.

Step 6: Place the cookies on a parchment-lined baking tray and let them chill for 30-60 minutes in the refrigerator.

Step 7: When ready, preheat your oven to 350°F to 375°F (175°C to 190°C), depending on the thickness of the cookies you made. Bake on the middle rack for approximately 10-12 minutes, or until fully browned. Transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack 2 minutes after baking.

Step 8: Allow your cookies to cool and harden fully before eating. Enjoy!

Tweaks

As always, we’ve got a few tasty tweaks for you to try:

• Hazelnut Flour: Instead of using almond flour, you can try using hazelnut flour for a slightly different flavor profile.
• Nut Slivers: Traditionally, you can add almond slivers on your cookies as they cool (or even before you bake them), but you can also try pecans or walnuts for a different flavor.
• Sugar Variations: Try using a combination of dark and light brown sugar for a slightly different flavor, or experiment with using a portion of granulated sugar for a different texture.
• Liquor Additions: For a richer flavor, you could add a splash of rum, brandy, or whiskey to the dough.
• Texture Adjustments: Depending on your preference, you can adjust the texture of the dough by adding more or less heavy whipping cream. For a softer cookie, add more cream, and for a firmer cookie, add less cream.
• Fruit or Nut Add-Ins: You could add chopped nuts, dried fruits, or candied citrus peel to the dough for added texture and flavor.

Storage

Refrigerate: You don’t really need to refrigerate these cookies after they’ve been cooked. They’ll last about 2 to 3 weeks when stored in an airtight container at room temperature. Just remember to keep them in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight and heat.

Freeze: Freezing your speculaas dough for later is a great plan! Simply for a ball or log shape with the uncooked dough, then wrap it in plastic wrap several times. Then, place the dough in a labeled, rigid, freezer-safe container. You can store it like this for up to 3 months before noticing any significant degradation in taste.

Reheat: When you’re ready to bake speculoos cookies from frozen dough, simply remove the dough from the freezer, let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then proceed with baking according to the recipe.