The origin of these traditional treats is intricately linked with the history of the Netherlands. The Dutch controlled the spice trade with the East in the 17th century, making the use of spices more accessible to ordinary Dutch people. The Sinterklaas tradition sees the strewing of kruidnoten or pepernoten and candy around the room for the children to pick up on Sinterklaas Eve (this supposedly suggested fertility, like a farmer sowing his seeds).
Ingredients:
- 1 3/4 cups self-rising flour (200 g)
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar (100 g)
- 7 tbsp butter (100 g)
- 2-3 tbsp milk
- 4 tsp speculaaskruiden (or pumpkin pie spice)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- The finely grated zest of half an orange
- 1 egg white, beaten
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 347 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius). Grease a cookie sheet. Mix together all the ingredients in a large bowl and knead (you may use a mixer with a dough hook attachment). You should be able to shape the dough into a ball without it sticking to your hands. Cover the dough ball with plastic wrap and set aside for an hour. This allows the spices to work their magic.Wet your hands and roll little marble-sized balls of dough (of approx. 1/2 inch/12 mm). Place dough balls on the cookie sheet. Using your thumb, gently press down on each cookie to flatten slightly. Brush with egg white. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the cookies puff up and turn a slightly darker shade of brown. Allow to cool.
Makes about 100 kruidnoten.
TIPS:
You can order little sachets of speculaas spices (known as speculaaskruiden) online. But you can easily substitute pumpkin pie spices. You can also make your own speculaaskruiden.
Kruidnoten make a great gift. Simply wrap up in some cellophane and tie with a ribbon.
For chocoholics: dip the (cooled) kruidnoten in some melted chocolate and allow to harden on parchment paper.
