Speckulatius
Yes it is this time of the year again, when it smells like cinnamon and cloves, when we look forward to riding ski lifts and warm music, overdecorated trees and fullfilled stomachs.
The dough of my Speckulatius Cookies is rubbed with a spicy mixture. The best part is cutting it in thin stripes and watch it get crispy in the oven.
May all of you (vegetarians included) have a spicy christmas.
Speckulatius
(speculoos baconstripe cookies)
dough
250g butter
250g brown sugar
2 eggs
150g almond flour
500g flour
a pinch of salt
some red food coloring
spice mixture
2 tsp cinnamon, grounded
1/2 tsp cloves, grounded
1/2 tsp ginger, grounded
2 tsp cardamom, grounded
1/2 tsp nutmeg, grounded
1 tsp cakao
2 tsp honey
All ingredients should have room temperature. Beat the butter and the sugar with an electric mixer, then add the eggs and beat until frothy. Add the almonds and flour and knead until all ingredients are dissolved.
Set aside 1/4 of the dough. Mix the rest with 2/3 of the spice mixture, then divide it in 3 parts and color it in 3 different red tones.
Now assemble and layer the 4 parts as you wish (base is a rectangle of about 20x15cm). I like to have a light „fat“ layer on the bottom and and to put the darkest red on top. In the end, squeeze your rectangle a bit, so your layers won´t look too evenly.
Rub the rest of the spices on the top. Foil and refrigerate for at least two hours.
Preheat your oven to 180°C. In a small bowl, mix the honey and two teaspoons of water. Cut the dough in thin stripes (the thinner the crispier it will get, the best is to cut it with an electric slicer, be sure that the dough is really cold), brush with the honeywater and bake about 10 minutes until golden brown.
