Kruidnoten recipe: crunchy Dutch Sinterklaas spice nuts
With Sinterklaas arriving, bake them yourself: small, crunchy kruidnoten made with butter, dark brown sugar and speculaas spice, following master baker Robèrt van Beckhoven's method.
This kruidnoten recipe makes the small, crunchy spice nuts that colour every Dutch Sinterklaas celebration: butter, dark brown sugar and a generous spoonful of speculaas spice. The technical key lies in three things: resting the dough, baking at a moderate oven temperature and letting the nuts cool completely, because only then do they turn properly crisp.
Master baker Robèrt van Beckhoven, a judge on Heel Holland Bakt (the Dutch Great British Bake Off) and owner of the bakery bij Robèrt in Oisterwijk, shared a base dough on MAX Vandaag that makes both speculaas and kruidnoten: butter, soft brown sugar, flour, buttermilk, egg and speculaas spice. He also points out that the round, crunchy nuts are properly called kruidnoten. This kruidnoten recipe is our own version, with our own quantities and no egg, for a firmer snap.
Ingredients
Only once they are completely cold do kruidnoten turn properly crunchy.
- 250 g plain flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 125 g dark soft brown sugar
- 110 g butter, at room temperature
- 12 g speculaas spice (a heaped tablespoon)
- 1 generous pinch of salt
- 4 tablespoons whole milk
Method
- Beat the butter and sugar briefly into a smooth paste. Beating too long adds air and makes the nuts crumbly rather than crunchy.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, speculaas spice and salt over the top and add the milk. Knead into a smooth ball; the dough should not be sticky.
- Wrap the dough and rest it in the fridge for at least an hour, ideally overnight. The butter firms up and the spices release their aroma into the fat.
- Heat the oven to 170 °C (150 °C fan). Roll balls of 5 to 6 grams, the size of a marble, and place them on baking paper. They barely spread, so they can sit close together.
- Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until the undersides are golden brown. A moderate heat dries out the centre before the outside burns.
- Let the kruidnoten cool completely on a rack. Warm, they are still soft; as they cool the last moisture evaporates and they turn hard and crunchy.
Variation: chocolate kruidnoten
Melt 150 g dark chocolate over a bain-marie, toss the cold kruidnoten through it and let them set on baking paper. For more Dutch baking classics, read our Dutch apple pie recipe or the story of the Bossche bol as intangible heritage.
Frequently asked questions about this kruidnoten recipe
What is the difference between kruidnoten and pepernoten? Kruidnoten are the round, crunchy nuts made from a speculaas-style dough. Real pepernoten, according to Van Beckhoven, are made from taai-taai dough with rye flour and anise: chewier, irregular and cut into cubes.
Can you freeze kruidnoten? The raw dough, yes, for up to three months. Baked kruidnoten are better kept for two to three weeks in an airtight tin.
Why do my kruidnoten go soft? They were underbaked or packed while still warm. Bake them two minutes longer and only close the tin once they are completely cold.
