As the Dutch would say: Sinterklaas is weer in 't land!
Sinterklaas is a Dutch holiday, you can't find anything more Dutch than Sinterklaas. And although I'm more of a Christmas-kinda gal (even though Santa is based on our Sint), I still love Sinterklaas. I thought about explaining this holiday, but there are so many rituals and festivities to explain.. Ok, I'll give it a go. So basically, there's this old man, Saint Nicholas (Sinterklaas), and he lives in Spain with his chimney sweeping (average sized) helpers. Every year he visits the NL for a couple of weeks and during this time children will sing lots of Sinterklaas related songs and receive presents in their shoes (like sock presents). On 5 december we celebrate Saint Nicholas' birthday and children now get their real presents. So it's all kinda like christmas, only without the tree and with longer festivities. Oh, and if you're naughty, instead of getting presents, the Sint will take you to Spain. And as nice as that may seem considering the weather, he will also probably spank you with his birch rod.
Aaaannyyyway, this holiday also comes with all sorts of yummy treats that are only eaten around this time of year. Like schuimpjes, chocolate letters or speculaas. Anddd of course, kruidnoten! :D
Aaaannyyyway, this holiday also comes with all sorts of yummy treats that are only eaten around this time of year. Like schuimpjes, chocolate letters or speculaas. Anddd of course, kruidnoten! :D
Kruidnoten are such nice little treats, like small little cookies but crunchier. They are sweet and taste like cinnamon and spices and are so easy to make. Kruidnoot means something like 'spice nut', because spices are key my friend.
So the most important ingredient is something called 'speculaas spices', which is a mix of spices. I'm pretty sure that at this point I have few foreign readers, but if you for some reason can't get your hands on speculaas spices, you can make it yourself. You can add speculaas spices to many things, like cakes or cookies or even (beef) stews.
Speculaas spices ingredients
30 gr ground cinnamon
5 gr ground nutmeg
5 gr ground cloves
3 gr ground white pepper
2 gr ground ginger
1 gr ground cardamom
5 gr ground coriander seeds
5 gr ground mace
Orange zest from half an orange
Mix all the spices well, you can use a blender to do this.
Now that you have your speculaas spices, we're ready to start making those kruidnoten! Heat your oven to 150 degrees Celsius and mix into a bowl: 80 gr unsalted butter, 125 gr self-raising flour, 65 gr dark brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of milk, a pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon (I prefer 2 tablespoons actually) of those delicious speculaas spices. (makes about 45 kruidnoten)
Speculaas spices ingredients
30 gr ground cinnamon
5 gr ground nutmeg
5 gr ground cloves
3 gr ground white pepper
2 gr ground ginger
1 gr ground cardamom
5 gr ground coriander seeds
5 gr ground mace
Orange zest from half an orange
Mix all the spices well, you can use a blender to do this.
Now that you have your speculaas spices, we're ready to start making those kruidnoten! Heat your oven to 150 degrees Celsius and mix into a bowl: 80 gr unsalted butter, 125 gr self-raising flour, 65 gr dark brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of milk, a pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon (I prefer 2 tablespoons actually) of those delicious speculaas spices. (makes about 45 kruidnoten)
Now it's time to get your hands messy and mix and knead the whole lot until you have a nice firm dough. If the mixture is too wet or sticky, add some flour. If it is too dry and falls apart when you try to make a dough ball, add some more butter. The dough should feel a littly greasy.
Now that you have a firm dough, roll it into marble sized dough balls. I made mine slightly bigger than they're supposed to, because I'm lazy.
Place on a parchment lined baking sheet, then flatten it slightly with your thumb. Put in the oven for about 20 minutes and let your house be filled with this wonderful smell of speculaas spices. I love that smell. It smells like holiday season.
Et voilà! Let them cool before you eat them, although it's really hard to resist eating those little suckers immediately.
Now, if you're feeling a bit naughty, you can also melt some dark chocolate at this point. Cover your kruidnoten in chocolate, and let them cool completely on some parchment paper. Then, like a chocolate truffle, cover the kruidnoten in cocoa.
Not everyone cares for 'truffle' kruidnoten(whyyyy not I ask them), but I love 'em. They're a bit fancier than plain kruidnoten, so you could also put these in a small bag, tie it up nicely with a bow and give it to someone as a gift.
Anyway, enjoy these little Dutch treats! x
Anyway, enjoy these little Dutch treats! x