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Speculaas are spiced cookies mainly made in Belgium and the Netherlands, although they are also popular in Germany (Rhineland and Westphalia), Luxembourg and northern France. With an intense fragrance of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger, the cookies are traditionally baked on the eve of St Nicholas Day, celebrated on December 5 and December 6.
Before going to bed, the children put their shoes by the chimney, and if they behaved well, they are rewarded with speculaas in their shoes. There are a few theories on the origin of its name - one says it derives from the Latin word speculum, meaning a mirror, referring to the mirrored images that the cookies are decorated with.
MOST ICONIC Speculaas
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Antwerpse handjes are traditional Belgian hand-shaped cookies originating from Antwerp. The cookies date back to 1934 and they're made with a combination of flour, eggs, butter, sugar, and almonds. The dough is shaped into small hands and the cookies are then baked until golden.
Antwerpse handjes are a symbol of Antwerp and they're sold in bakeries across the city. The shape of a hand refers to the legend of Brabo, a Roman soldier who cut off the hand of the giant Antigoon who imposed a tax for each ship that wanted to enter the port.
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Couque de Dinant are traditional Belgian cookies, famous for their extra-hard texture, so much that they are traditionally given to babies to suck on while they are teething. Their tooth-cracking texture is achieved by baking the cookies at extremely high temperatures (300 °C).
These sweet biscuits consist of only two ingredients - wheat flour and honey in equal amounts. The honey caramelizes and hardens as the biscuits cool down, so it is not recommended to bite into them - they should be broken into pieces and allowed to melt in the mouth.
Brugse mokken are traditional cookies from Bruges, Belgium, with a rich history and a unique preparation method. They have been made according to a recipe dating back to 1880, attributed to Stefanie Vervarcke, the founder of the pharmacy bakery now known as Oud Huis Deman.
These round cookies are made using wheat flour, rye flour, cinnamon, salt, rock sugar, butter, margarine, spices, and bicarbonate as a raising agent. The combination of these ingredients gives the cookies a distinctive flavor and texture, characterized by their spiciness and the crunch from the rock sugar.
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