Nothing says “winter holiday” like gingerbread. The smell alone puts us mentally in front of a roar fire, mug of hot cider in hand, munching on a delicious treat. When we mentioned our nostalgia for gingerbread, our friends at Mediterra smiled knowingly. “There’s a recipe for that,” they said. And here it is.
What Is the History of Speculaas Gingerbread?
Speculaas: A Spiced Biscuit with a Story
Speculaas is more than just a cookie: it’s a window into centuries of European culinary tradition. Since their first appearance in the Netherlands during the late Middle Ages, these spiced biscuits have risen in popularity thanks, in part, to the Dutch East India Company’s lucrative spice trade. Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, and white pepper—precious imports at the time—were blended into the signature speculaaskruiden, giving the cookies their unmistakably warm flavors.
Speculaas became especially tied to the feast of Saint Nicholas, celebrated on December 5–6 in the Netherlands and Belgium. Bakers pressed the dough into intricately carved wooden molds, producing detailed images of the saint, biblical stories, or folkloric figures. The result was both sweet treat and edible artwork, a centerpiece of holiday festivities.
Unlike the thicker, chewy gingerbread of Germany or England, speculaas is thin, crisp, and deeply spiced. Its influence spread widely: in Germany it became Spekulatius, in Indonesia it mingled with local flavors, and in the 20th century Belgium’s Lotus brand transformed it into the globally beloved “Biscoff.”
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Speculaas Gingerbread Cookies
Description
These classic holiday cookies are made with a blend of warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves, giving them a rich, fragrant flavor. The dough is chilled, pressed into molds or cut into shapes, then baked until golden brown for a crisp, spiced treat that’s perfect for the winter season.
Ingredients
- 3 cups KA flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1 ½ sticks of unsalted butter (12 T)
- ¾ cups packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup honey
- ⅓ cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, coriander, ginger, cloves, baking soda, salt, and white pepper. In the bowl of the stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until it’s light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl, and slowly add honey. Scrape the bowl again and add half the flour mixture and mix until incorporated, then add the milk and repeat with flour mixture. Divide the dough and shape it into 2 disks. Cover in plastic and chill for at least 1 hour.
- Flour cookie molds. Working with 1 disk at a time, break off small chunks of dough and press into a floured cookie mold. The dough should fill the mold area and there might be a little sticking up the mold, which is ok, just press lightly against a flat surface to smooth it. Tap the long edge of the mold on the counter to loosen the cookies. Transfer the shaped dough pieces to the prepared baking sheets, spacing the pieces 2 inches apart. Chill cookies in pan.
- No mold, no problem. Roll the dough out like a sugar cookie and use a cookie cutter. If you have a glass with a crystal bottom, you can press that into the cookie to make a pretty design.
- Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 16–18 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking pan for a couple minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
Notes
Tips:
- For a softer cookie, modify your sugars to the following quantity: ½ cup brown sugar, ½ cup honey.
- If you would like a sweeter cookie without spice, omit white pepper.
- Freeze the cookies again for another few minutes before putting in the oven, this helps the cookies from spreading while baking.
Visit Mediterra Cafe at their Sewickley and Mount Lebanon locations.
Recipe by Mediterra
Photography by Adam Milliron
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