Windmill Cookies aka Speculoos Cookies (nut free option)

At a glance

What stands out: Full of delightfully warm spices, these slice and bake windmill cookies are made the straightforward way, without a mold or stamp. Windmill cookies go evenly with a cup of tea or coffee.

How long it takes: 20 minutes to make the dough, overnight chilling time, and 10 minutes per batch to bake
Equipment you’ll need: mixing bowl, parchment or waxed paper, baking sheets
Servings: makes 4 dozen

A Family Tradition

Every Christmas, our family baked dozens of cookies to deliver to friends and relatives. These windmill cookies were always included. Sweet and warmly spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice, they are reliable with a cup of tea or coffee. They have just the right amount of buttery crunchiness.

Even though windmill cookies are traditionally made just before St. Nicholas Day (December 6) in the Netherlands, we enjoy them all year round. In fact, we served them at our annual Harvest Party this year. We think they’re reliable with a mug of steaming spiced cider, don’t you? Or maybe even better, with an apple cider mule or an apple cider mocktail!

Windmill Cookies

Traditional pressed cookies. You may know these windmill cookies by a different name: Speculaas (Dutch), Speculoos (Flemish or Belgian), St. Nicholas cookies, or even the brand names Steenstra’s, Voortman’s, or Archway. Windmill cookies are traditionally made with a mold or stamp that presses a fancy image of a windmill, Dutch boy or girl, or St. Nicholas into the cookie dough. They often include sliced almonds.

Straightforward slice and bake cookies. This recipe for windmill cookies is so much easier to make because it’s a slice and bake recipe (more about that later!). Granted, they aren’t as fancy as traditional windmill cookies but we guarantee they are just as tasty and no one will miss the fancy designs as they’re helping themselves to a second and third cookie.

Nut free. Those of you who already are familiar with our family know that we have nut allergies here at the Gurk household so we leave the sliced almonds out. We would encourage you to add them if you love almonds but these cookies have so much flavor, the almonds aren’t missed.

Slice and Bake Cookies

Slice and bake cookies are similar to the rolls of cookie dough you buy at the grocery store. To make your own, simply make the dough, form it into 2 logs, and refrigerate it. When you’re ready to bake cookies, cut slices off the roll of cookie dough, and bake!

More Recipes

Straightforward Recipe Variations

• Add almonds. Feel free to add a half cup of sliced almonds. You could even press the almonds into the tops of the sliced cookies before they’re baked for a decorative effect.
• Decorate. Sprinkle sanding sugar on the tops of the cookies before baking, or roll the sides of the dough logs with sugar before you cut them. Another option is to drizzle chocolate or icing on the tops of the cookies after they’ve been baked and cooled.
• Change the spice blend. We love the spice blend in this recipe but if you want, experiment with other spices such as ginger, cardamon, white pepper, or mace.
• Flour options. We use 1 cup of whole wheat flour in these windmill cookies for a heartier cookie but you could also use all all-purpose white flour, or all whole wheat flour.
• Make cut-out cookies. Chill the dough in 2 large balls. Roll the chilled dough out on a lightly floured surface and use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes.
• More Archway-style cookies: Try our iced oatmeal cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies, and gingersnaps.

Keeping leftovers

Cookies: Make sure the cookies are completely cool before storing them. They keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for at least a week. Windmill cookies can be frozen in an airtight container for a month or more.

Cookie dough: An alternative is to freeze the dough logs, wrapped well, for a month. Thaw the dough overnight in the refrigerator before slicing and baking.

• Yield: 48
• Prep: 20 minutes
• Cook: 10 minutes
• Total: 12 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

• ½ cup shortening
• ½ cup unsalted butter ( 1 stick)
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour (see note 1)
• 1 ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup sliced almonds (optional)

Method

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream together shortening, butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat to combine.
2. Add flour, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, baking soda and salt. Stir to combine. Stir in almonds, if using. Divide dough in half.
3. Place half of dough onto a sheet of parchment or waxed paper. Roll into a log about 2 inches in diameter (see note 2). Repeat with the other half of the dough.
4. Wrap rolls separately in the parchment paper and refrigerate overnight (see note 3). Dough can also be frozen at this point for up to 1 month. Thaw before using.
5. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350ºF. Cut dough rolls into ¼ inch slices and place 2 inches apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. If you want, you can press additional almond slices in the tops of the cookies before they're baked.
6. Bake for 10 minutes or until just golden brown..
7. Cool for 2 to 3 minutes on baking sheet before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container.

Notes

Flour: If you would rather omit the whole wheat flour, you can use all-purpose flour instead (2¼ cups total).

Smaller cookies: Make your dough logs longer and thinner. Cut into ¼-inch slices.

Chilling note: To keep cookies round, put the dough logs into two glasses on their sides, open end to open end, in the refrigerator. This will keep the dough from flattening on one side as it chills. If you happen to have a couple of empty paper towel tubes, they work great, too.

Nut-free: Traditional windmill cookies have sliced almonds. We leave them out of our cookies because of nut allergies in our family.