Name: Speculaas chunks
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 65 min
Yield: 8 people
Cuisine: Dutch
Ingredients: 250 g plain flour; 1 tsp baking powder; 3 tsp ground cinnamon; ½ tsp ground cloves; ½ tsp nutmeg, freshly grated or ground; ½ tsp ground ginger; ¼ tsp ground coriander; ¼ tsp ground cardamom; 1 pinch salt; 125 g soft butter; 125 g dark brown soft sugar (basterdsuiker); 2 tbsp full-fat milk

A cookie for Sinterklaas: large, crunchy chunks of speculaas that you bake as one big slab and then break into pieces with your hands. You make the spice mixture yourself from separate spices, so there is no packet of speculaas spice or cookie mix needed. You press the dough flat on the tray by hand, so children can do almost everything themselves: mix the spices, knead, press flat and break the chunks after baking. Lovely with a cup of tea, in yoghurt or on top of a bowl of mousse or ice cream.

Method

Oven and tray

Preheat the oven to 170 °C (150 °C fan) and line a baking tray with baking paper. An adult does this.

Mix the spices

Let the children weigh the flour, baking powder, salt and all the spices into a bowl and mix well until the flour is an even brown.

Knead the dough

Add the soft butter, the brown sugar and the milk. Knead with clean hands into a cohesive dough that no longer sticks. If it still sticks, knead in 1 tablespoon of flour. Cover the dough and let it rest for 20 minutes.

Press flat

Place the dough on the baking paper and press it flat by hand into a rectangle of about 25 by 30 cm and 7 mm thick. Dust your hands with a little flour if it sticks. Prick holes all over with a fork.

Bake

Bake the slab for 22 to 25 minutes in the middle of the oven, until the edges are golden brown and the slab is firm. An adult takes it out of the oven.

Cool and break

Let the slab cool completely on the tray, at least 30 minutes. Then the children break it by hand into irregular chunks.

Store

Store the chunks in a closed tin, where they stay crunchy for 2 to 3 weeks.

Tips & notes

Baking with children: let the children mix the spices and flour, knead the dough and press it flat with their hands, prick the holes with a fork and break the slab once cooled. Only the oven is a job for an adult. The dough contains no egg, but do not eat it raw: raw flour can carry bacteria and is only safe once baked. The speculaas chunks stay crunchy for 2 to 3 weeks in a closed tin. Soft butter is butter that has stood outside the fridge for an hour. If you have no ground cloves, grind 4 whole cloves finely.

Chef's tip

Press the dough out evenly thick, about 7 mm, so the slab is done everywhere at the same time. Prick it all over with a fork before baking so it does not puff up. Only break the slab when it is completely cold, otherwise it bends instead of breaking.

Variations

With flaked almonds: sprinkle flaked almonds over the dough before baking (no longer nut-free) and press them in lightly.
With chocolate: spread melted dark chocolate over the cooled slab before breaking it.
As a topping: crumble the chunks over speculaas mousse, ice cream or yoghurt.

Contains: Gluten Milk

Speculaas chunks