Speculaas with a Cookie Press
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becs-table.com.auI love Speculaas at Christmas. They have all the flavours of Christmas rolled into one little biscuit. This recipe is intended for use with a cookie press, but you could roll them into balls and lightly flatten if you don't own a press.
Equipment
- Cookie Press
- Food processor or Thermomix
Ingredients
- 375 g plain flour
- 250 g brown sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground aniseed or Star Anise
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 250 g unsalted & chilled butter cut into small cubes
- 45 g brandy or rum
Instructions
- Set your oven to 160°C and get 3 flat trays ready. I used USA cookie sheets, they're the best
- Weigh the flour, sugar, baking powder, spices and salt into the food processor. Mix for a few seconds to sift and combine. (TM: MC in 3 sec/speed 4)
- Add the small cold cubes of butter to the processor and blitz until the mix looks like fine breadcrumbs. (TM: MC in 10sec/speed 5)
- Add in the brandy and mix again until the mix starts to come together. (TM: 5 seconds/speed 5) Stop when it's almost done, tip the contents out onto a clean bench and bring it together by hand. (I do this because it's easier to get out of the processor while it’s crumbly before it turns to paste.)
- Divide the dough into sausage shapes to fit into a cookie press (I got 4 portions from this mix)
- Pick a die, assemble and stamp them out using a cookie press. Bake them for around 10-15 mins remove them when you see the first signs of colour.
Notes
Bec’s Tips:
When using a cookie press, don’t use baking paper. If you try to extrude your cookie onto baking paper as you lift your press the cookie will stay stuck to the unit rather than down on the paper. There’s enough butter in these cookies for them to not stick to your tray so extrude away straight onto the cookie sheet, bake, and allow them to cool before removing them. Your dough should be soft, but not so soft it sticks to your hands. If it is too soft you will need to cool or chill it. Warning, if you're going to chill the dough, you need to leave it in the fridge long enough for the whole mix to be the same texture. For example, If you roll it into tubes, place it in the fridge for 10 minutes, your dough will be hard on the outside of the tube and still soft in the centre. This can cause misshaping when they’re extruded through the press. Your dough should be the same texture all the way through, if it’s too soft to work with, place it in clingfilm in a flattened disc and leave it in the fridge for 30 minutes or longer. Then remove it and shape into sausages to fit into the extruder.
Using a food processor with cold butter should solve all the above issues.
Changing the die mid pressing is easy, unscrew the end and replace the die then screw back on and continue.
When using a cookie press, don’t use baking paper. If you try to extrude your cookie onto baking paper as you lift your press the cookie will stay stuck to the unit rather than down on the paper. There’s enough butter in these cookies for them to not stick to your tray so extrude away straight onto the cookie sheet, bake, and allow them to cool before removing them. Your dough should be soft, but not so soft it sticks to your hands. If it is too soft you will need to cool or chill it. Warning, if you're going to chill the dough, you need to leave it in the fridge long enough for the whole mix to be the same texture. For example, If you roll it into tubes, place it in the fridge for 10 minutes, your dough will be hard on the outside of the tube and still soft in the centre. This can cause misshaping when they’re extruded through the press. Your dough should be the same texture all the way through, if it’s too soft to work with, place it in clingfilm in a flattened disc and leave it in the fridge for 30 minutes or longer. Then remove it and shape into sausages to fit into the extruder.
Using a food processor with cold butter should solve all the above issues.
Changing the die mid pressing is easy, unscrew the end and replace the die then screw back on and continue.