Recipe: Spekkoek Cookies

When we think of Francis Kuijk, the first things that come to mind are Indonesian cuisine and Heel Holland Bakt. In her new baking book Manis, she brings the two together and shares recipes for sweet Indonesian treats such as these spekkoek cookies. Manis is a special baking book in which Francis explains all the techniques and specific Indonesian ingredients to you step by step.

Francis: “I came up with this cookie once when I was in the kitchen at Tijd voor MAX at Christmas. I thought, what kind of cookie could I make that would be just a little different? I made star-shaped spekkoek cookies. They were such a hit that I thought, this recipe is ‘a keeper’. I can’t even count how many times I’ve made this recipe.”

How to make the spekkoek cookies

• Mix the plain flour with the baking powder and salt in a bowl and set the bowl aside.
• Put the sugar and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix at medium speed. Add the egg, vanilla flavouring and almond flavouring and mix until everything is just incorporated (do not mix for too long). Add the flour mixture and mix it in.
• Divide the mixture into two parts and add the spekkoek spices to one part and mix well (but not for too long). Leave the other part plain.
• Knead each dough lightly and smooth it out. Roll each dough between two sheets of baking paper into a sheet 3 to 5 mm thick.
• Place a double layer of plastic wrap measuring approximately 50 x 50 cm on the work surface.
• Place the plain dough on the plastic wrap and place the sheet of dough with the spekkoek spices on top. Using the plastic wrap, tightly roll the sheet of dough into a roulade. Twist the ends of the wrap tightly closed. Leave the rolls of dough to firm up in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 175 °C (electric). Line a baking tray with a sheet of baking paper.
• Remove the roll of dough from the plastic wrap and cut it into slices approximately 1⁄2 cm thick. Place the cookies on the baking tray, leaving space between them. If the dough rounds get flattened on the cutting board, reshape them into rounds.
• Bake the cookies for approximately 15 to 20 minutes until lightly golden brown. Let the cookies cool on the baking tray for 10 minutes, then place them on a cooling rack to cool completely.

Title: Manis
Author: Francis Kuijk
Price: €25,95
Publisher: GoodCook

Also read:

• Recipe: Sauerkraut pie with Indonesian minced meat
• These 7 Indonesian recipes every home cook should know
• 7x our favourite Indonesian snacks