This is a simple and delicious recipe for speculoos gingerbread cookies! Topped with the most fingerlicking delicious brown butter maple glaze.
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It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! This is my favorite time of the year with all the delicious treats and cookies!
If you are searching for more cookie recipes visit my blog post Antonias all time favorite Christmas cookie Collection.
If you are searching for really special and unique Christmas cookies visit our recipe for fairy kisses, they are truly magical.
Searching for a boozy Christmas Cookie recipe than these baileys hazelnut chocolate shortbread cookies or my boozy chocolate cake moon cookies made with cherry rum!
Speculoos gingerbread cookies with brown butter maple glaze
How to make these speculoos gingerbread cookies:
First you need to make the spice blend, consisting of ground ginger, ground cardamom, Spekulatius spice (from stayspiced.com; or see recipe notes for substitute), salt and pepper with a stone mortar and pestle until everything is extra fine.
Add flour, sugar, baking powder and cocoa powder. In a measuring cup combine honey, maple syrup and oil. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients either by hand or stand mixer with the paddle attachment until dough holds together. If necessary add 1-2 tbsp water to bind the dough. Knead into a smooth ball. If it’s too sticky to touch add a small amount of flour. Press into a disc, wrap in cling foil and leave in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight. It’s easier to work with the dough after a longer resting time.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/3 inch (8mm) if you are using an embossed rolling bin and cookie stamps. If your are just using recular cookie cutter you can roll out the dough thinner. Put the cut out cookies onto prepared baking sheets (lined with parchment paper) and leave between each a 1cm (1/2inch) gap.
If using an embossed rolling pin or a cookie stamp I would recommend drying the cookies for 12-24 hours (or freeze them for 1-2hours, I’ve read that should help too) It helps the pattern to stay while baking and not to melt away.
If not using an embossed rolling pin or cookie stamp, you can bake the cookies right away.
Preheat the oven to 150°C. Bake the cookies for 12 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through.
Important tips for working with embossed rolling pins and cookie stamps:
- You need you brush flour onto the embossed rolling pins before each roll.
- The cookies need to rest for at least 12 hours before baking. I’ve read that freezing them for 1-2 hours helps too, but haven’t tried it yet. This will help to harden the cookie and helps the pattern to stay while baking and not to melt away. Cookie recipes which call for granulated sugar will need to dry because they expand more while baking than recipes which use confectioners sugar
- Be sure to press firmly to get a really defined design.
Next step making the brown butter maple glaze:
How to make brown butter? in a small pan melt the butter over medium heat. When melted turn the heat to medium high and cook until fragrant and golden. Be careful not to burn the butter, happens faster than you can think.
Speculoos gingerbread cookies with brown butter maple glaze
Combine the brown butter, icing sugar, maple syrup, vanilla extract and milk. I divided the glaze into two bowls to make one thinner for the cookies with the embossement and a thicker one. Brush or dab the speculoos gingerbread cookies with the glaze. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
Speculoos gingerbread cookies with brown butter maple glaze
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Love, Antonia
Speculoos Gingerbread Cookies with brown butter maple glaze
Ingredients
- 1 tsp ginger ground
- 1/4 tsp cardamom ground
- 1 1/2 tsp Spekulatius spice blend from stayspiced; for substitute read recipe notes
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp five pepper blend ground
- 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup honey
Brown butter glaze
- 1 tbsp brown butter 15 g
- 2/3 cup icing sugar 80 g (confectioners sugar)
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1-3 tbsp milk depends on the consistency
Instructions
- Blend togehter ground ginger, cardamom, Spekulatius spice, salt and the pepper blend with a stone mortar and pestle, until everything is extra fine.
- Add flour, sugar, baking powder and cocoa powder.
- In a measuring cup combine honey, maple syrup and oil.
- Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients either by hand or stand mixer with the paddle attachment until dough holds together. If necessary add 1-2 tbsp water to bind the dough. Knead into a smooth ball. If it's too sticky to touch add a small amount of flour. Press into a disc, wrap in cling foil and leave in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight. It's easier to work with the dough after a longer resting time.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/3 inch (8mm) if you are using an embossed rolling bin and cookie stamps. If your are just using recular cookie cutter you can roll out the dough thinner. Put the cut out cookies onto prepared baking sheets (lined with parchment paper) and leave between each a 1cm (1/2inch) gap.
- If using an embossed rolling pin or a cookie stamp I would recommend drying the cookies for 12-24 hours (or freeze them for 1-2hours, I’ve read that should help too) It helps the pattern to stay while baking and not to melt away.
- If not using an embossed rolling pin or cookie stamp than you can bake the cookies right away.
- Preheat the oven to 150°C. Bake the cookies for 12 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through.
Brown butter glaze
- For the brown butter: in a sauce pan over medium heat place your butter to melt. Once melted, kick the heat up to medium high and cook until fragrant and golden brown. Remove from heat, and transfer to a mixing bowl. Be careful not to burn the butter.
- Combine the brown butter, icing sugar, maple syrup, vanilla extract and milk. I divided the glaze into two bowls to make one thinner for the cookies with the embossement and a thicker one. Brush or dab the cookies with the glaze.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely
- Store the cookies in an airtight container
Notes
1/4tsp anise seeds, ground
1/tsp cloves, ground
1/8tsp nutmeg, ground
Nutrition
2 comments
Notes
Substitute for Spekulatius spice blend:
3/4tsp cinnamon, ground1/4tsp anise seeds, ground1/tsp cloves, ground1/8tsp nutmeg, groundtsp
What does 1/tsp cloves mean? 1 teaspoon or less?
Thank you.
Oh I am so sorry! It should mean:
1/8 tsp cloves