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Speculaas Spice
I’ve been harassed, solicited, stalked and followed by numerous people demanding a Speculaas spice recipe. Oh, you know who you are! Now I could either go in hiding—wait for them to get bored with me and find another Dutch blogger to badger—or I could suck it up and try to come up with something to get the angry mob off my back. Preferably before they’d break out the pitchforks and torches. I decided the latter was more my style.
All kidding aside, we usually buy this spice blend premade but I’m always up for a challenge. Tried several different combinations and found that it’s really, really hard to duplicate the store bought blend. But the judges mutuallly settled on this version. It’s a little more cinnamony, which we really like. In fact, we like it so much that I doubt we’ll be buying another commercial spice mix anytime soon.
Ingredients:
4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp mace
Directions:
Mix it all up. There. All ready! You’re grateful for my storyboards, aren’t you? I just spared you a scrolling trip past 9 photos of me putting spices in a bowl.
Note: for an even more authentic speculaas flavor, put 1 tsp anise seeds and 1 tsp coriander seeds in a mortar, grind them with the pestle and add them to the blend. I didn’t add them because I know a lot of people don’t have them on hand.
How I love these simple postings! I wish you could smell this. If only we could bring smell to the Internet.
Crank up your oven. We’re gonna do some baking.
mmmmmmmm I can smell all of those wonderful spices all the way over here! :-)
Thanks for sharing!
I LOVE your blog. I stumbled upon it a few days ago and have been reading nonstop ever since. It is unlike any other foodblog I’ve seen so far. You even make spices look beautiful. Amazing!!!
Yummy in the mix! Might even add a tiny bit of orange in there… but you’re right it’s hard to get that flavour home made. As far as I can tell smell it’s pretty much spot on!
We’re still waiting for scratch-and-sniff internet!!
Hi Kay,
I’m sorry if I sound like a dummy, but what do you use this spice blend in? I’m sure you probably use it in baking, but do you have any specific recipes that you put it in? Aside from the cardamom, white pepper, and mace the closest blend we have here in the stores would be pumpkin pie spice. But I’d like to make this and use it because it sounds like a wonderful warm spice blend. Also, I was curious what kruiden is?
@Andilynn:
You only use it for baking. Cookies, cakes and special St. Nicholas pastry. Don’t worry, I’ve got a posting lined up using this mix :)
Kruiden is Dutch for spices.
mmm…I can smell it…or at least the memory of it!
Thanks Kay! I’ll be looking forward to the recipes. We especially like to try cookie & pastry recipes from other countries for the Christmas holiday. I always enjoy seeing how other people in the world celebrate Christmas. Maybe you can share some other holidays that you celebrate.
@Andilynn:
This is actually a spice blend we only use a few weeks per year. Mainly around Sinterklaas, which is a very typically Dutch children’s holiday. Lots of fun.
http://www.thehollandring.com/sinterklaas.shtml
I love the speculaas cookies! We can buy them here in an Asian food store (go figure). I got addicted to them while travelling. That and stroopwaffels (spelling?!).
My family loves speculaas cookies, but I am at a lose as to how else to use this combo of spices.
Also, I recently baked a butter cake with almond paste and it was very, very close to my husband’s aunt’s recipe. Do you have a recipe for buttercake?
@deb:
I actually do have a recipe for buttercake, but not in my blog.
Ahhhhh……. for WEEKS I’ve been trying to find a good mixture… And now your’s HERE!!
Don’t like the supermarket / commercial mixes and have been trying for ages to find the perfect homemade speculaaskruiden…
Will definitely try yours! (love cinnamon too…)
I have certainly not heard or tried speculaas before! I can’t wait to see what you will turn it into!
I brought a few *pre-made* mixes home with me from the NL – but SO good to know how to put together when I use mine up! Bedankt!
Is there any way to have your blog remember me so I don’t always have to type in name/email acct? Just wondering if I am missing how to do this… :D
@elizabethk:
I never really added that feature because in all honesty, I’m not a big fan of leaving things on people’s computers. Like tracking cookies or this kind of stuff. I feel that’s incredibly invasive. But I can see if there’s a plugin that gives a choice whether you want the info to be remembered or not.
Baking? Did you say baking? Get to it, sister! I am ALWAYS up for a new baking recipe! What are we making?
Thanks Kay for the link about Sinterklaas. Do you have any holidays in the Netherlands that is similar to our Thanksgiving? Just curious.
@Andilynn:
No, we don’t really have anything like that. Our first Holiday after Sinterklaas is Christmas. We do have two official days of Christmas, though.
I have never heard of this spice blend. But then, I had never heard of garam masala until I read it on a blog and then tried to make my own. I was so happy to findthat spice at our local Worl Market! Maybe they will have this one too. But I will try your for sure, as soon as you give us a recipe to use it in. I love holiday baking!
Interesting! I’ve never heard of Speculaas before!
I love mixing my own spices–it’s cheaper and sometimes healthier…you know exactly goes into the blend! Thanks for sharing this recipe. I only recently heard about Speculaas – very interesting!
Thanks Kay!! I had the thought a few weeks ago to try a Speculaas recipe for the holidays… when are you posting yours??
Thank you for this! I have purchased speculaas cookies almost everytime I go to Amsterdam (8 trips down) and always believed a homemade cookie would be better. Now I have what I need to get baking…
Jenn
Thanks for sharing your homemade version of this spice mix. Homemade mixes are always so much better than the store bought mass produced and always so much fresher. This will be great in a variety of baked goods.
Ohh..thank you for this Kaye! I adore cookies made with this (can buy them at Ikea LOL). I was a nanny in Germany for two years and discovered this spice and can’t stop eating anything made with it.
I am definitely going to make this and use it for my Christmas Baking!