I believe another name for Windmill Cookies is Speculaas. The spices "speculaaskruiden" make this cookie so distinctive and were imported centuries ago from the far east.
I made these cookies for my family, and they devoured them. I do not have a windmill mold, so I divided the dough in half, made rectangles out it and chilled it in saran wrap. Actually, in the freezer! Then I sliced it into 1/8'slices and baked them for 12 minutes. So crispy and crunchy, these went like wild fire. I found them to be extremely easy. I plan to make these a part of my Christmas cookies!! Thanks for such a great recipe!
Read MoreThis cookie was ok. It was a little bland. My husband's family is Dutch and he said that this cookie was not much like the original windmill ones. The spices are off and the texture is too cakey. It does taste nice for a lite snack but not much like real speculass.
Read More I made these cookies for my family, and they devoured them. I do not have a windmill mold, so I divided the dough in half, made rectangles out it and chilled it in saran wrap. Actually, in the freezer! Then I sliced it into 1/8'slices and baked them for 12 minutes. So crispy and crunchy, these went like wild fire. I found them to be extremely easy. I plan to make these a part of my Christmas cookies!! Thanks for such a great recipe!
This cookie was ok. It was a little bland. My husband's family is Dutch and he said that this cookie was not much like the original windmill ones. The spices are off and the texture is too cakey. It does taste nice for a lite snack but not much like real speculass.
The "speculaasjes" are originally from the Netherlands. I was looking all over to find them in the stores. Now I can make them myself, thanks to your recipe. Thanks.
These did not taste like speculaas at all to me, and I was born and raised into a dutch family, so I definitely have a lot of personal experience!! They tasted like a bland sugar cookie to me, with a hint of spice. They definitely need more zip and perhaps some molasses as well to intensify the flavour. Just throwing ideas out there. Not sure if I will bother trying to make these again, even with alterations, sorry. My kids ate one and didn't ask for more, which is a pretty strong statement.
This recipe is great. I made them for the New Year's Eve and my friends were delighted. They're much better then the ones I used to buy in the shop. The only thing I changed is that I used 1 cup of grind almonds instead of 1/2 cup of sliced almonds. I'm very grateful for this recipe.
One of my co-workers requested these for her last day of work with us, but I had never heard of them. I wasn't sure of what to expect but the cookies turned out delicious. They are just sweet enough and would be perfect with tea. I left the dough in the fridge for about 3 1/2 hours and it was so cold I couldn't work with it. I would chill it for about 2 hours next time. I found the recipe to be very easy and very good. I would highly recommend it. Thanks Laura!
If you think this cookie is bland...try adding a bit more spice of something you like. I think the cloves are too much and switched out some of it for nutmeg instead. Adding a Tb. of molasses was another flavor booster. Would have been 5 stars without all the cloves. A drizzle of glaze is wonderful and don't forget a cup of hot coffee to go along with them (if you like.)
My Dutch husband likes more spice so I found a recipe for the speculaas spice which includes (in addition to ground cloves, ground ginger and cinnamon) nutmeg, white pepper, and cardamom. I also turned this into 'speculaasbrokken' and put the almonds on top (see attached picture).
