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Speculaas

Speculaas are Dutch spiced shortbread cookies made with butter, brown sugar, spices, flour, and optional almonds.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Speculaas

Oven350°F
Time8 to 10 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the dough

  1. Beat margarine or butter with a mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds or by hand.

  2. Add brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.

  3. Beat in egg and flour.

  4. Add chopped almonds if using.

Shape and bake

  1. Roll dough to 1/8 inch thickness on a lightly floured board and cut into shapes (windmills and Sinterklaas/Santa shapes are traditional).

  2. Decorate with whole almonds if using.

  3. Place dough pieces one inch apart on lightly greased cookie sheets.

  4. Bake in a 350°F oven 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

  5. Cool for 1 minute, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

716Calories
20 gProtein
20 gFat
113 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12
Cloves1 tsp ground (2g)7
Almond1 almond (1.2g)7
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together11,917 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  3. Nutmeg + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,686 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  4. Cinnamon + almondtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,514 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  5. Nutmeg + almondtop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,115 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Margarine or butter
Creams with the sugar and carries fat, giving the cookies a tender, crumbly texture.
Brown sugar
Adds sweetness and molasses flavour, and helps the cookies brown.
Egg
Binds the dough together and adds richness to hold the shapes.
All-purpose flour
Provides the structure that holds the cut shapes together as they bake.
Baking powder
Releases gas during baking so the cookies rise slightly and stay light.

The step that matters

Rolling to 1/8 inch thickness. Thin, even dough bakes through and browns at the same rate. Thicker or uneven pieces stay doughy in the center or burn at the edges.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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