Cream softened butter and sugar until the mixture is a pale white. Add the spice and salt and fold through. Mix in the almond extract and milk a little bit at a time and stir once more.
Sift in the flour and baking powder and mix well until all ingredients are evenly distributed and the dough is quite firm.
With floured hands, shape the mixture into a ball, place it into a reusable ziplock bag or silicone bag, seal and rest it in the fridge for approximately 1 hour.
Take the dough out of the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature before baking. Prepare a work surface and rolling pin by flouring them. Also prepare a baking tray, lined with a baking mat.
Pre-heat oven to 180°C.
Roll the dough out thinly (about 5mm) and press into your chosen mould, ensuring to cut the excess dough off around the edges. Alternatively, cookie cutters and biscuit stamps also work.
Place the biscuits on the prepared baking tray and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes.
9 Comments
Lovely warm and complex spice! The first time I’ve made these biscuits and I think I’ll make them a personal tradition from here on! A bit too sweet for me,even though I used less than the recipe. I did use brown sugar, not sure if that had a bearing. A friend in Sweden makes them to eat with blue cheese- one to try! Seasons Greetings people! Xx
Very tasty, I used the moulds from the shop recommended by Bernadette, and it turned out fantastic. I just had to bake it on 200+ celsius fan forced, so the biscuits kept their details. When I tried 180, it just melted away a bit. I also put the cut out biscuits into the fridge before baking, which also helped to preserve the details.
Robyn you can get the moulds, which are called Springerle, from the Cookie Cutter Shop online. Its an Australian company so you should get your moulds quite quickly.
A tip a German lady gave me was to leave the cookies out on the baking tray over night once pressed with the moulds. This causes the surface of the cookie to dry out a little and so when you cook them the next day, the design is retained more clearly.
Do you know where to get the speculaa moulds in Victoria or who to contact to get in Netherlands or Germany ? Thanks for any intel