Speculaas

Speculaas

Speculaas: ship, farmhouse, elephant, horse
Alternative names	Windmill cookies
Type	Shortbread cookie, Biscuit
Place of origin	Germany/Belgium/France/Netherlands
Main ingredients	Flour, sugar, butter, pepper, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg
Cookbook: Speculaas   Media: Speculaas

Speculaas (Dutch: [speːkyˈlaːs] ^ⓘ; French: spéculoos [spekylos]; German: Spekulatius [ʃpekuˈlaːtsi̯ʊs] ^ⓘ) is a type of spiced shortcrust biscuit^[1] originated in the Low Countries (Belgium and the Netherlands)^[2] and baked with speculaas spices, which is a mix of 80% cinnamon, and 20% other spices: nutmeg, clove, ginger, cardamom and pepper, the exact proportions were often a signature and secret of the bakery who made them.^[3] They are usually flat, crisp and moulded to carry certain traditional images. Historically it was popular to eat speculaas around the feast of Saint Nicholas (Dutch: Sinterklaas). The oldest sources on speculaas also mention weddings and fairs. However, in the Low Countries it has become normal to eat speculaas all year round, especially with coffee or tea, or with ice cream. Although speculaas stuffed with almond paste (Dutch: gevulde speculaas) and the thicker speculaas chunks (Dutch: speculaasbrokken) remain a specialty of the holiday season.

Apart from Belgium and the Netherlands, it is also well known in adjacent areas in Luxembourg, northern France, and in the west of Germany (Westphalia and the Rhineland).^[4][5] It gained popularity in the former Yugoslav countries, where it is manufactured by the Croatian food company Koestlin. The cookie can also be found in Indonesia and is usually served there at Christmas or on other special occasions.^[6]