Today is Sinterklaas Day. (Or, as I just learned from Holland.com, the last day of Sinterklaas, which goes from November 15 to December 5.)
Sinterklaas is Dutch for Santa Claus, (We got the name from when the Dutch came to the colonies.) On this day, Dutch people exchange presents, eat chocolate letters, write poetry about their relatives, and make Speculass cookies.
These spice cookies are often made in a wooden seculaaspop board, which forms the cookies into the shapes of dolls or other figures. My mother-in-law has one that makes a ten-inch tall Sinterklaas on his horse. I like the small one I have that makes cookies in the shape of windmills. It’s not always easy to get the dough out of the larger board impressions.
For a real treat, I spread vanilla frosting on the cookies, but I don’t think that is a very Dutch thing to do. It is delicious, though.
I’m making mine tonight (for Sinterklaas Day) and will show pictures in a future post. Whether you use a board or just make round balls that you press down with a fork like peanut butter cookies, these taste great and are easy to make.
Happy Sinterklaas Day
Dutch Spice Dolls (Speculaas Poppen)
From Let’s Go Dutch by Johanna (van der Zeijst) Bates
Ingredients:
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 2 cups light brown sugar
- 3 Tbsp. cinnamon
- 1 Tbsp. ground cloves
- 1 Tbsp. allspice
- ½ cup warm milk OR water
- 4 cups self-rising flour
Directions:
- Mix the unsalted butter and the brown sugar until they are completely blended. Mix together the cinnamon, cloves, and allspice to make the speculaas spices. Add the spices and the warm milk or water well into the brown sugar and butter mixture. Add the flour last and work the mixture into a nice moist dough ball.
- Get your seculaaspop board out and dust the configuration with flour. Press the dough well into your speculaas form and cut any excess dough off. Decorate according to your own artistic tastes.
- You can also spread the dough onto a cookie sheet, bake and cut the speculaas into squares.
Jennifer’s note: I like to roll the dough into small balls and then press them down lightly with a fork.
Temperature: 350 F
Baking time: 25-30 minutes (this may vary according to the thickness of your speculaas form – please use your “baker’s” discretion.)
Yield: 6 large dolls