Spekulatius (speculoos cookies) with wholemeal rye and honey

Spekulatius (speculoos cookies) made with wholemeal rye flour and spelt flour, butter, honey and speculoos spice, rolled out on flaked almonds. Family-friendly Christmas cookies for snacking.

At a glance

• Serves 12
• Prep time: 30 min
• Cooking time: 20 min
• Total time: 50 min
• Calories: 190 kcal per serving
• Protein: 4 g
• Fat: 11 g
• Carbs: 19 g

Ingredients

• 150g wholemeal rye flour
• 40g flaked almonds
• 120g butter
• 100g honey
• 100g spelt flour
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp speculoos spice
• 1 pinch of salt

Method

You’ll need: oven · cookie cutters

1. Mix the wholemeal rye flour, spelt flour, baking powder, speculoos spice and salt. Knead the mixture with the cold butter in pieces, the honey and the egg into a dough.
2. Wrap the dough in cling film and leave it to rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.
3. Preheat the oven to 180 °C (160 °C fan). Scatter the flaked almonds over the work surface, roll the dough out on top 3 mm thick and cut out shapes.
4. Place the cookies almond side down on baking trays lined with baking paper and bake them one tray at a time for 10 min each at 180 °C, until the edges darken.
5. Leave the Spekulatius to cool on a wire rack; they turn crisp as they cool.

Good to know

Wholemeal rye suits Spekulatius better than you'd think: it brings the dark, spiced note you know from shop-bought ones. Honey makes the dough soft, so it needs a long rest in the fridge. A wooden mould is lovely, but cookie cutters work just as well.

Swaps

Wholemeal rye flour → wholemeal spelt flour. Honey → maple syrup. Butter → ghee. Speculoos spice → a mix of cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg and ginger.

Cooking tips

Roll the dough out straight from the fridge; when warm it sticks. For a wooden mould, dust it with flour and cut off any excess dough with a knife.

Storage

Keeps for 4 weeks in a cookie tin.

Allergens

Contains gluten (rye, spelt), almonds, milk and egg. Because of the honey, not for babies under 1 year old. Suitable in pregnancy.