Pepernoten: Dutch Spice Cookies for Sinterklaas
Pepernoten are the little spiced balls the Dutch eat by the handful through November, up to the Sinterklaas feast on 5 December — a holiday of its own, with its own baking. The two things that decide the outcome: the dough is made by hand and not with a mixer, because heat turns it chewy, and they only come out crisp if the balls are small and all the same size.
Ingredients
- 250 g plain flour
- 125 g dark brown sugar
- 100 g cold butter, cubed
- 3 tbsp milk
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- For the spice mix (speculaaskruiden): 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
Method
- 1
Mix the flour with the brown sugar, baking powder, salt and all the spices.
- 2
Add the cold cubed butter and rub it in with your fingers until crumbly. In a mixer it warms up and the dough turns chewy instead of crisp.
- 3
Add the milk a spoonful at a time and bring together into a firm dough that does not stick. If it still crumbles, half a spoon more.
- 4
Cover and rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
- 5
Roll hazelnut-sized balls, about 2 cm. Getting them all the same size matters more than it sounds: they are so small that a few millimetres means some burn while others stay raw.
- 6
Space them out on the tray —they spread little but they do run together— and flatten them slightly with a finger.
- 7
Bake at 160 °C for 12 to 15 minutes, until firm and evenly golden.
- 8
Cool completely on a rack: they only harden as they cool. In a tin they keep for up to three weeks.