Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (2024)

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Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (1)

Speculaas Cookies, also known as Speculoos or Dutch Windmill Cookies are a traditional Dutch cookie. A favorite of many, including myself. I’ve made speculaas cookies numerous times but never mastered the art of baking these cookies in a cookie mold. I set out the to put an old speculaas mold to good use and make my own Dutch windmill cookies.

Mastering The Speculaas Cookie – Dough And Mold

I have to say, it was harder than I thought. For some reason I just couldn’t get the dough to come out of the mold and when I did manage to get them out of the mold the cookies would spread too much and lose too much of their details for me to consider them proper speculaas cookies. I tried everything, used different types and mixes of sugar, used honey, but nothing worked. Or, in all honesty, using part honey did work but I really didn’t like the taste of it, it didn’t taste like a proper speculaas cookie.

After many, and I mean MANY attempts I finally figured out the secret to getting the cookies out of the mold easily. It’s rice flour! Sprinkle some rice flour on your mold before putting the dough in and they should come out relatively easily. I also came up with a recipe for the dough that worked for me to keep as much detail as possible to the cookies without losing the flavor of the cookie. I’m excited to share the recipe with you, I hope it works just as good for you as it does for me.

How To Make Speculaas Cookies

To make the speculaas cookies you’ll need speculaas spice mix. You can make it yourself by following the recipe for speculaas spice on the website. Alternatively, you can substitute with pumpkin pie spice, which is a similar blend of spices.

Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (2)

For the speculaas cookies you’ll need flour, butter, milk, dark brown sugar, salt, baking powder and speculaas spice.(The full list of ingredients including measurements can be found in the recipe card below.)

Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (3)

Put the flour and baking powder on your work surface or in a bowl and make a little well in the middle.

Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (4)

In the middle of the well, add the remaining ingredients, salt, dark brown sugar, speculaas spice mix, butter and milk.

Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (5)

Using your hands combine all ingredients.

Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (6)

And knead it into a dough. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and leave to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (7)

When the dough is ready you can roll out the dough on a floured work surface and use a cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. Or, if you have a speculaas cookie mold, you can take your mold and dust it with rice flour.

Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (8)

Press the speculaas dough into the mold. Make sure you firmly press it to ensure all the details will be copied to the cookie.

Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (9)

Trim off the edges.

Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (10)

Take a piece of sewing thread or other thin piece of string, I used a piece of fishing wire, and use it to scrape off the excess dough. Make sure you have the string running tightly against the wood, underneath the excess dough on top.

Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (11)

Roll off the excess dough. You’ll be left with a cookie mold that’s filled with cookie dough.

Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (12)

Turn the mold over and give it one, or more firm taps to let the cookies fall out of the mold. It took me a few times to get this to work, but practice makes perfect, and using the rice flour helps a lot.

Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (13)

You’ll end up with cookies like this. If needed you can use a soft brush to brush off some of the rice flour. Put the cookie on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake for about 15 minutes.

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If all goes well they will look a little like this. Don’t they look cute??

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The windmill is my favorite one 🙂

Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (16)

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Speculaas Cookies

Speculaas Cookies, also known as Speculoos or Dutch Windmill Cookies are a traditional Dutch cookie. Make the cookies with a speculaas mold or cookie cutter

Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (17)

Votes: 46
Rating: 4.15
You:

Rate this recipe!

Type Cookies
CuisineDutch
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Passive Time30 minutes
Servings

cookies

Ingredients

Speculaas Dough

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour 250 g
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tbsp Speculaas Spice Mix
  • pinch of salt
  • 3/4 cup dark brown sugar 150 g
  • 2/3 cup butter 150 g
  • 3 tbsp milk lukewarm
Type Cookies
CuisineDutch
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Passive Time30 minutes
Servings

cookies

Ingredients

Speculaas Dough

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour 250 g
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tbsp Speculaas Spice Mix
  • pinch of salt
  • 3/4 cup dark brown sugar 150 g
  • 2/3 cup butter 150 g
  • 3 tbsp milk lukewarm

Tools for using a speculaas mold

  • speculaas mold
  • rice flour
  • piece of sewing thread

Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (18)

Votes: 46
Rating: 4.15
You:

Rate this recipe!

Instructions

  1. Put the flour and baking powder on your work surface or in a bowl and make a little well in the middle.In the middle of the well, add the remaining ingredients, salt, dark brown sugar, speculaas spice mix, butter and milk.

  2. Using your hands combine all ingredients and knead it into a dough. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and leave to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

  3. Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.

  4. When the dough is ready you can roll out the dough on a floured work surface and use a cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. Or, if you have a speculaas cookie mold, you can take your mold and dust it with rice flour.Press the speculaas dough into the mold. Make sure you firmly press it to ensure all the details will be copied to the cookie. Trim off the edges.

  5. Take a piece of sewing thread or other thin piece of string and use it to scrape off the excess dough. Make sure you have the string running tightly against the wood, underneath the excess dough on top.Roll off the excess dough. You'll be left with a cookie mold that's filled with cookie dough.

  6. Turn the mold over and give it one, or more firm taps to let the cookies fall out of the mold. If needed you can use a soft brush to brush off some of the rice flour.

  7. Place the speculaas cookies on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake for 10-15 minutes.

Recipe Notes

Please note that the cup measurements in this recipe are approximate. I have added cups for those that prefer using cups. The recipe is most accurate using weights measurements.

  • You can substitute speculaas spice with pumpkin pie spice
  • You can make your own Speculaas spice mix following the recipe on this site.

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22 comments

  1. Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (19)

    Luc

    29 January 2023

    I have read your recipe with great interest, as an amateur collector of speculaas molds and baker of speculaas I had some comments. It is better to let the dough rest for at least 24 hours, especially if you want to make large figures. Using rice flour is ok but rice semolina is even better, you fill the figures with rice semolina, turn the mold over and tap it with a rolling pin, there will be a very thin layer that prevents the dough from sticking. You also have no flour traces on the speculaas. You can reuse the rice semolina as long as it contains enough fine ingredients. I also use much less butter in proportion, almost 1/2 less, but that is of course specific to the recipe. Experience has shown that making large figures with a lot of butter is very difficult, and my specialty is baking large figures. You can find my molds and baking on Pinterest

    Reply

  2. Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (20)

    Hendrik Huyser

    14 December 2021

    A postscript, Rachel:

    I DID make my own speculaaskruiden (speculaas spice) mix after much research from other Dutch-American and Dutch language sites, analyzing the ratios and kinds of spices combined. Then, on excel spreadsheet, I converted what I had to convert for uniform measure and used multipliers to come up with a jar of the mix (rather than a few teaspoons)…

    So, I got THAT far into this process. I just need to know how to handle that cookie mold!

    Dank u…

    Henk

    Reply

  3. Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (21)

    Hendrik Huyser

    14 December 2021

    Hallo Rachel:

    Ik ben een Amerikaan ven geboorte, maar van Nederlandse (Rotterdam) ouders, dus hier op van nu aan, tekst ik hier in engels, oké? In English, I am an American by birth, but from Dutch (Rotterdam) parents, therefore from now on I will text here in English, okay?

    I finally found, a year to a year and a half ago, two speculaas molds. I tried using them, but was very frustrated witht he fragile outcome of the dough from the molds. Yes, they’re floured up. Even if they “pop out” from bagning the mold on the table so hard (I afraid of breaking either the table or the mold), I can’t pick then up to transfer to the cookie sheet…EVEN WITH A FISH SPATULA! How can i make this easier and “funner” to do? I found myself using just a round cookie cutter. But, of course, that is not the authentic windmill look or shape for thse who want to “ooh and aah” at the cookies when presented. So, how to do that please without the aggravation and feeling of defeat?

    Dankuwel in voorraad voor het antwoord (Thank you in adavnce for the answer)

    Henk…

    Reply

    1. Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (22)

      Rachel (Cakies)

      15 December 2021

      Hi Henk,
      I understand your frustration completely. It took me many times as well before I figured out what works for me as well. For me the game changer was using rice flour to dust the cookie molds with. Since I’ve been using this I’ve had no trouble getting the dough out. Another tip I got from a baker was to make the dough a few days in advance, he said that that would help the dough get out easier as well. He never dusts his molds but he also uses his molds often so they’re ‘worked in’.

      1. Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (23)

        Hendrik (Henk) Huyser

        24 December 2021

        Dankuwel, Rachel…

        I will try the rice flour…

        BTW, the speculaasbrokken recipe is great!!! Found that one, too!

        (Anyone who might read this, here’s that recipe from Rachel):

        https://cakieshq.com/recipe/dutch-speculaasbrokken/

        Reply

        1. Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (24)

          Rachel (Cakies)

          27 December 2021

          Hi Henk, thanks for letting me know you enjoyed the Speculaasbrokken recipe. I hope the rice flour works for you as well!

          Reply

  4. Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (25)

    Maria McCallum

    1 December 2020

    cant wait to try these!
    Maria

    Reply

  5. Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (26)

    Mary Lou Hefling

    5 November 2020

    I have trouble keeping the design. It spreads and looses the detail. I tried everything and even called some Dutch bakeries in Holland. Mich and Pella, Iowa. Finally. I saw Martha Stewart’s recipe. She gets them out of the molds, puts them on a cookie sheet and freezes them for 30 min., then bakes. Works great…if you have that kind of room in your freezer. I have very limited freezer space.

    Reply

    1. Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (27)

      Rachel (Cakies)

      6 November 2020

      Keeping the design is always hard with these cookies. That’s the reason why I like to chill my dough in the fridge. When I do that I notice that the detail still fades a bit but it’s very similar to the cookies I buy at the store, they don’t have a super crisp design either.
      You can indeed also put them in the freezer for a bit, but like you, I don’t always have the space for that. You can also use honey instead of sugar but I find the taste just isn’t like a proper Speculaas cookie should be.

      Reply

    2. Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (28)

      Rafiq

      8 April 2021

      You need ‘weak’ flour with low ash and low protein. Weath grown in cold rainy climates like Holland are less quality than durum , hard weaths . Not good for bread but ideal for cookies . All Purpose can be used but not ideal. You need Pastry flower, AKA 404 or 45 or 00 or ‘Zeeuwsed Bloem” is the one you need.

      Reply

  6. Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (29)

    Anonymous

    6 July 2020

    I have read that, in order for the cookies to keep their details, the baking sheet should be put into the fridge for a while, so that the dough is really cold before it is put into the oven. Did you try this?

    Reply

    1. Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (30)

      Rachel (Cakies)

      6 July 2020

      I always chill my dough at least 30 minutes before rolling for that same reason. I’ve also put the baking sheet in the fridge as well before baking which helps a bit with keeping the shape. I usually do that when it’s really warm and the dough is getting soft quickly. I chill them again if needed.

      Reply

  7. Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (31)

    Kathy

    5 December 2019

    Where can you buy the cookie mold ?

    Reply

    1. Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (32)

      Rachel (Cakies)

      6 December 2019

      I found mine on a Dutch flea market. You can try and check Amazon for cookie molds https://www.amazon.com/s?k=speculaas+mold&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

      Reply

    2. Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (33)

      Monique

      23 December 2019

      weekendbakery.com is where I bought mine.

      Reply

  8. Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (34)

    Jess

    4 December 2018

    Absolutely beautiful! I made these tonight and they taste exactly like the speculaas I’ve had before. Thank you for posting this recipe up! 🙂

    Reply

    1. Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (35)

      Rachel (Cakies)

      7 December 2018

      You’re welcome 🙂 I’m happy to hear the recipe worked out for you 😀

      Reply

      1. Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (36)

        Giselle

        13 July 2019

        Hi! Do you know how many cookies approximately come out with this amount of ingredients? Thanks! ?

        Reply

  9. Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (37)

    Charl

    12 November 2018

    Use confectioner’s sugar to stop cookies from sticking to the mold in stead of the rice flour.

    Reply

    1. Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (38)

      Rachel (Cakies)

      14 November 2018

      Thanks for the tip. Unfortunately, confectioners’ sugar didn’t work for me, but if it works for you, you should definitely continue using it 🙂

      Reply

    2. Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (39)

      Giselle

      13 July 2019

      Sorry, I read again and found out that the answer is 40 ?

      Reply

      1. Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (40)

        Rachel (Cakies)

        13 July 2019

        Glad to hear that you found the answer ?

        Reply

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Speculaas Cookies Recipe | Dutch Windmill Cookies (2024)

FAQs

What does speculaas mean in dutch? ›

Speculaas (Dutch: speculaas, French: spéculoos, [spekylos], German: Spekulatius) is a type of spiced shortcrust biscuit baked with speculaas spices originated from the County of Flanders territory in present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands.

What is the difference between speculoos and speculaas? ›

Speculaas and speculoos are 2 different biscuits. Speculaas is typical cookie from the Netherlands based on the specific flavour of "speculaas"herbs. At Lotus Bakeries, we produce Speculoos, a biscuit that obtains it taste by the special production proces of the karamelisation of sugar in the biscuit.

What are windmill cookies made of? ›

Enriched flour (wheat, malted barley, niacin, iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), sugar, vegetable oil (canola, palm, palm kernel), sliced almond, water, interesterified soybean oil, invert sugar, spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, coriander, mace, cloves, allspice, ginger, cardamom), baking powder (baking soda, ...

What is the cookie in shape of a windmill? ›

Also spelled speculoos, these spiced cookies are associated with December holidays in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Are speculoos Belgian or Dutch? ›

Speculoos (French: spéculoos, German: Karamellgebäck) is a biscuit, originally manufactured in Belgium, made from wheat flour, candy syrup (from beet sugar), fat, and sometimes cinnamon.

What do Dutch people call cookies? ›

A Sweet History: Where Did Cookies Originate? (

Across the world, cookies are now known by several names. The word originally came from the Dutch word keojke, which means "little cakes." The Scottish now know them as sweet buns, and the English call them biscuits.

Who made the original windmill cookies? ›

Nicholas Day, molded in the shapes of a boy and girl, St. Nicholas, a windmill, rooster and owl that together tell the legend of St. Nicholas. The Steenstra family arrived in Grand Rapids in 1926 and opened their first bakery in Wyoming in 1947, where they established the iconic “windmill cookie” brand.

Is Biscoff the same as speculaas? ›

Yes! Biscoff is just a branded commercial name for speculoos flavour. However, some biscoff flavour biscuits can be more chewy or cookie-like than the traditional, crispy speculoos biscuit.

Are Biscoff cookies the same as speculoos? ›

Speculoos, the cookie family to which Biscoff belong, are often described as a type of gingerbread, but that's a little misleading. Aside from their use of caramel sugar, speculoos don't have quite the same bite; their spice blend tends toward aroma rather than heat.

Are windmill cookies German? ›

Spekulatius cookies are traditional Christmas spice cookies in Germany, although in the Netherlands (where they are known as spekulaas) and the U.S., they are available all year long as "Dutch Windmill Cookies."

Are biscoff cookies the same as windmill cookies? ›

You might know these traditional Northern European Sinterklaas treats as windmill cookies, Biscoff cookies, or speculaas (their Dutch name), but we assure you that this is the only speculoos recipe you will ever need. You will be rewarded with a heady spice-market aroma as these cookies bake.

How old are windmill cookies? ›

The Steenstra family immigrated from the Netherlands to Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1920. In 1947 they built a bakery to make their family's delicious speculaas cookie recipe. Dutch speculaas cookies became known as "Windmill Cookies" in the US.

Are windmill cookies a Michigan thing? ›

"It started with the Steenstras coming to Grand Rapids in 1925." The family brought their recipe from the Netherlands and began making Dutch Windmill Cookies on a press invented in Grand Rapids. There are five different shapes: Santa on a horse, a boy and a girl, a rooster, owl, and windmill.

What do Archway Windmill cookies taste like? ›

Windmills are based on a spiced Dutch cookie called speculaas. These are soft big cookies with a lingering molasses flavor and a bit of crunch from the decorative sugar crystals. Perfect with a mug of black tea and milk.

How do you get a windmill in cookie run? ›

The Windmill is the building for milling Biscuit Flour. The first mill is available to be build upon upgrading the Castle to level 3, the second becomes available from the Build list for Buildings upon reaching castle level 7. The building starts with 3 queue slots.

Why is it called speculaas? ›

One is that it comes from “speculum” being Latin for mirror-image because the finished printed koek is the mirror image of the carved speculaas mold (koekplank), which of course makes sense and explains why the word appears not just in Dutch but also in German texts.

What does speculoos stand for? ›

The biscuits are therefore typically shaped into figures of Sinterklaas (or his helper Zwarte Piet) using wooden moulds. The word 'Speculoos' supposedly derives from the Latin speculum (mirror): it is the mirror image of the wooden mould in which it has been made. Sinterklaas in Speculoos form.

What's the difference between speculaas and gingerbread? ›

This is a Dutch spice shortcrust cookie. In German they are called Spekulatius. The spices are very similar to gingerbread, but the ginger isn't the predominant flavour. Also white pepper and anise seed are included.

What is the history of Dutch speculaas? ›

Dutch people believe that speculaas was created in the Netherlands in the 17th century. It was the time when the Dutch East India Company brought spices to Europe and were more widely available. The primary spices used at that time were cinnamon, cloves, mace and ginger.

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