The scent of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg drifting through the house; little else captures that true christmas atmosphere quite as well. Outside it is chilly, inside the candles are burning, and the kitchen table is a picture of cozy chaos. Baking speculoos with children is a tradition that simply cannot be missed in the run-up to the holidays. It is sticky, it gets flour on noses, but above all, it brings a lot of fun and delicious treats.
Forget those immaculate kitchens from cookbooks. With little bakers around, it is not about perfection, but about messing around with dough together and keeping your fingers crossed that the cookies do not stick to the baking sheet. Time to tie on those aprons and roll up your sleeves!
What do you need for the best speculoos?
No complicated ingredients, just pure basics that you probably already have in your pantry. This recipe makes a generous mountain of cookies.
- 500 grams flour
- 300 grams brown sugar (dark soft brown sugar works best for that deep flavor)
- 250 grams cold butter, cut into cubes
- 4 tablespoons speculoos spice mix
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 pinch of salt
- Optional: a handful of sliced almonds for the topping
Step by step to delicious speculoos
The secret to good speculoos lies in patience. The dough needs to rest for a bit, even though that can be quite a challenge with impatient little hands around.
Step 1: kneading the dough
Put the flour, brown sugar, speculoos spices, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add the cold butter cubes and the milk. Now the real work begins. Let the children use their clean hands to thoroughly knead and squeeze everything into a cohesive dough. It might feel a bit dry at first, but the warmth of their hands will melt the butter and naturally form a nice ball of dough.
Step 2: resting in the fridge
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for at least two hours (or even overnight). This ensures that the speculoos spices infuse properly and makes the dough much easier to roll out later. This is the perfect moment to sit down together for hot chocolate and start dreaming about what will soon be added to Sinterklaaslijst.be.
Step 3: rolling and shaping
Preheat the oven to 175 degrees celsius and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly dust the countertop with some flour. Let the children roll out the dough with a rolling pin. Do you have traditional speculoos molds? Press the dough firmly into the molds and trim away the excess edges. No molds at home? No problem! Regular cookie cutters in the shape of stars, christmas trees, or reindeer will score just as many points.
Step 4: time to bake
Place the cookies on the baking sheet with plenty of space between them. Optionally, press a few sliced almonds onto the cookies. Slide the sheet into the oven for about fifteen to twenty minutes, depending on the thickness of the cookies. They should feel golden brown and nice and firm when you touch them. They will harden up a bit more as they cool down.
Handy tips for baking with small hands
Baking with children is fantastic, but sometimes calls for a strategic approach. With these tips, you will keep your spirits (and the floor) intact:
- Prepare the dough in advance: if you do not have patient toddlers who want to wait two hours for cooling dough, make the ball the night before. That way, you can get started right away.
- Accept the chaos: flour will end up on the floor, some sugar will land on the chair, and a finger will definitely end up in the butter at some point. It is all part of the fun.
- Give each child their own ball of dough: this prevents arguments over who gets to hold the rolling pin and lets everyone create their own masterpiece to their heart's content.
- Cleaning up together is also play: give the little ones a damp cloth and turn it into a game to see who can get the table sparkling clean the fastest.
Time to enjoy
As soon as the cookies come out of the oven and have cooled down, the moment has arrived to taste them. Save a few of the prettiest ones in a tightly sealed cookie tin, although chances are high they will all be eaten on the very same day. Happy baking!