
For those of you who celebrate it, Happy St. Nicholas Day! Speaking of places where this is a major holiday, last weekend we were in Brussels, Belgium, visiting with family. During a stroll in the city Saturday afternoon, I decided to resume my search for a baking tool that has long eluded me but which I know to exist: a carved wooden St. Nicolas speculoos mold. Being the Christmas season and all, I figured that if ever there would be a time to find one, this was it.
Speculoos is a crunchy, stamped cookie made primarily of butter, flour, brown sugar and spices. They are perfect for dunking in coffee or milk, crushed over ice cream or just by themselves. You can enjoy speculoos year-round in Belgium, but they are especially popular on St. Nicolas Day.
Between last Saturday's jaunt and past visits to Brussels, I've searched high and low for a St. Nicolas mold, in kitchen supply stores and department stores, amongst the Christmas market stands and those at the Sablon Antiques Market. Unfortunately, it looks like the search will have to continue. I had no luck last weekend, but did chance upon one of wooden windmill mold and another with a ship and what I believe to be a rooster, which I used to make the speculoos pictured below (recipe at the end of this post).

I may not have found the speculoos mold, but I did take some pictures of the windowfront at Brussel's most well-know purveyor of speculoos, Dandoy. They had some amazing St. Nicolas speculoos on display, with one that must have been at least 3-4 feet tall.

And let us not forget Brussel's most appreciated export: chocolate. I just love looking at all the windowfronts at Christmastime.


And of course no trip to Brussels is complete without a visit to the breathtaking Grand Place. We arrived just in time to see the light and sound display on the Town Hall. I took a short video with my camera but am having trouble uploading it. Here is a link to a video of this year's show.
Spekulatius / Speculoos / Speculaas
Adapted from the 1997 version of the Joy of Cooking
Yield: 1-2 dozen cookies, depending on size
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoons ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon milk
2 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg in a medium-sized bowl. Beat the remaining ingredients on medium speed until well-blended. Stir in the flour mixture until well-blended and smooth. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or up to 3 days.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Shape the dough by either using a mold or by rolling it out and cutting with a knife or cookie cutters. If using a mold, be sure to dust it with flour between each impression. Space the cookies about 1 1/2 inches apart and bake, one sheet at a time on the center rack, for 15 to 25 minutes until the cookies are tinged with brown at the edges. Remove the sheet to a rack and let stand until the cookies firm slightly. Transfer the cookies to racks to cool.