Go Back
+ servings
Print Recipe
4.88 from 8 votes

Belgian Spice Cookies (Speculoos)

Belgian Spice Cookies or Speculoos are amazingly crispy, crunchy and delicious. They're not too sweet with a crunchy honeycomb-type structure. If you like the Delta Biscoff, you'll love these cookies.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Time in freezer30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 10 minutes
Course: Cookies
Cuisine: Belgian
Servings: 32 cookies
Calories: 69kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups (7.5 ounces) all-purpose flour
  • 5 teaspoons ground cinnamon (See Tip 1)
  • ½ teaspoon ground cardamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda (See Tip 2)
  • ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
  • ¾ cup (6 ounces) turbinado sugar (See Tip 3)
  • ½ cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces and chilled
  • 1 large egg

Instructions

  • Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, cardamon, cloves, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
  • Add turbinado sugar to food processor fitted with steel blade. Process for 30 seconds to break down sugar crystals. (See Tip 4)
  • Add the chilled butter to the food processor. Process until butter is incorporated with the sugar, about 30 seconds. Add the egg. Process until incorporated, about 10 seconds.
  • Add the dry ingredients to the sugar/butter mixture in the food processor. Process until flour is well incorporated, about 30 seconds.
  • Transfer cookie dough to gallon Ziploc bag. Leaving the top open, roll the dough into an even layer that fills the bag. As you roll, turn the bag occasionally and lift the plastic from the dough so that it doesn't cause creases. Seal the bag, and place in freezer for at least 30 minutes. See (Tips 5 and 6)
  • Preheat oven to 300°F
  • Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Put the ziploc bag on a cutting board and slit it open. Turn the firm dough onto a parchment lined board or counter; discard the bag. Trim the four sides of the dough with a fluted pastry wheel cutter. Using a ruler as a guide and a fluted pastry cutter wheel, cut the dough into 32 1-¼ inch rectangles. (See Tip 7)
  • Bake at 300°F for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for 20 minutes.
  • Yield: 32 Belgian Spice Cookies. (See Tip 8)

Notes

  1. 5 teaspoons of cinnamon might sound like a lot, but it really does not overpower the taste of the cookies.
  2. Baking soda improves Maillard browning in cookie dough, adding an extra dose of toastiness and crunch to the cookies.
  3. You can use Demerara sugar in place of the Turbinado sugar. Just be sure to use the same amount by weight and process the Demerara sugar in the same way as the Turbanido sugar.
  4. The processing of the turbinado sugar produces a fair amount of sugar dust. Wait a bit for the dust to settle before removing the cover of the food processor.
  5. When rolling out the dough, be careful to not get any of it on the tracks of the Ziploc bag.
  6. You can also place the dough in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours instead of placing it in the freezer. If you're not ready to bake the cookies, you can leave the dough in the freezer for up to one month.
  7. The pastry cutter wheel that I used was the Happy Sales Pastry and Pasta Cutter Wheel.
  8. Store cookies in an air-tight container. They will remain crispy and crunchy when stored at room temperature for several weeks, if they last that long. You can also store the cookies in an air-tight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Calories: 69kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 55mg | Potassium: 12mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 98IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 1mg