I love that Saint Nicholas arrives in the Netherlands earlier than in the UK. The main celebration for children is on December 5th, but the Saint arrives in mid-November, and the holiday cookies and treats begin appearing in supermarkets as early as late September or early October.
Several Dutch sweets are sold only during the run-up to Saint Nicholas’ Day, so if you don’t act quickly they’ll be swept off the shelves and replaced by Christmas chocolates. Alongside speculaas, one of my favourite seasonal treats is kruidnoten.
Kruidnoten are small, crunchy spiced cookies similar in texture to ginger nut biscuits but made with a more complex spice mix that gives them a distinctive flavour. They can be eaten plain, covered in dark or milk chocolate, dipped in white chocolate, coated in creamy yogurt, or rolled in cocoa powder to make rich truffles.
In the Netherlands, kruidnoten are traditionally given to children by Saint Nicholas’ helpers and often appear in children’s shoes throughout the holiday season. At this time of year you’ll find them in bakeries, supermarkets and even drugstores nationwide.
The only problem with these tiny treats is how easy they are to eat. I can polish off handfuls in seconds—half a bag disappears before my partner has his tea. That said, they’re irresistible.
My favourite kruidnoten are the chocolate-covered kind, so for this batch I dipped half in melted white chocolate. You can use milk or dark chocolate, mix all three chocolates for variety, or dip and then roll the cookies in cocoa powder before the chocolate sets to make kruidnoten truffles.
Shop-bought kruidnoten are usually very small—about the size of a penny—but I prefer making mine slightly larger. Larger cookies are easier to dip and, perhaps, slower to eat.
Once you try these spiced cookies, you might not want to go back to plain gingerbread. They’re crunchy, warmly spiced, and perfect for sharing during the holiday season.
Kruidnoten – Dutch Spiced Holiday Cookies
Recipe by Julia
50
servings
15
minutes
45
minutes
Ingredients
-
1 1/2 cups (200g) self-raising flour
-
1/2 cup (100g) demarara sugar (or brown raw cane sugar)
-
1/2 cup (100g) unsalted butter
-
2–3 tbsp milk
-
1/2 tsp baking powder
-
Grated zest of half an orange
-
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
-
1/2 tsp ground cloves
-
1/2 tsp nutmeg (powder or grated)
-
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
-
1/2 tsp ground ginger
-
Melted chocolate for dipping (optional)
Directions
- Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a dough hook, or knead by hand, until fully combined. Shape the dough into a ball, wrap and chill for about 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C and grease a large baking sheet.
- Roll the dough into small balls (about 1/2 inch, the size of a marble) and arrange in rows on the sheet with a little space between each. Press the top of each ball down lightly with a finger.
- Bake for about 15 minutes, until the cookies have hardened and turned a slightly darker golden brown. Cool completely. If desired, melt chocolate over a pan of warm water and dip half the cookies, letting the chocolate set before serving.
Notes
- If you don’t have all the spices, substitute 4 tsp pumpkin spice powder for the listed spices (the flavour will differ slightly).
- Roll the dough into smaller balls for about 100 cookies.