In Belgium and The Netherlands, today is a very special day, or at least for children. It is the day that Sinterklaas comes! I think it is safe to compare Sinterklaas to what Santa Claus is in the United States. The night of 5 december, children put their shoe in front of the fire place before going to bed with a letter and carrots and sugar for the horse of Sinterklaas, hoping that he will bring them something in the night...

Even though I am 18, I still look forward to Sinterklaas each year. And yes, he still brings me something (I must be a very good girl). It is amazing to see how children react and each year, the child in me awakens during this period. When I was little, I used to cut out thousands of pictures of toys. I glued them onto a paper and voila, my wishlist was ready! Right now, it's not the same anymore, but we still get chocolate and mandarins... And kruidnoten.


The translation of them is quite weird, but it refers to the fact that you use speculoos spices to make them. It are little cookies, about the size of a marble and they are delicious! Each year, I stuff my face with them. It's a wonder I never got sick of them. Last year, I first made them myself. They were so delicious and so easy that I wanted to do it again this year! So here you go...


Even though Sinterklaas is today, it's not too late yet! Believe me, you won't regret being able to eat these for a longer period, they are rather addicting! I'm not even sure whether they'll survive this day.. And honestly, no one really needs an excuse for eating these as long as they are available. So make a good bunch and make sure to hide enough before anyone else discovers them.

Ingredients
for  approximately 30 - 40 kruidnoten

• 100 grams all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 50 grams brown sugar
• 40 grams butter
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon speculoos spices
• dash of salt

Preheat your oven to 175°C/350°F. Cut the butter in smaller pieces and put all the ingredients in one bowl.

Start kneading until it becomes a flexible dough. Once that is done, start rolling balls about the shape of a marble.

Put them on a greased baking sheet and press them down a little bit. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Let cool completely, brew a cup of tea in the mean time and enjoy! Oh, and make sure you don't eat all of them in 5 minutes..