Homemade Speculaas Spice Mix

Whether you call it speculaas, speculoos or speculaaskruiden, this spice mix is a quintessential part of the festive season in Europe. Homemade Speculaas Spice Mix is versatile too; enjoy it in winter with your hot chocolate and in summer with your ice cream!

Primarily used to make speculaas biscuits or cookies for St Nicholas’ Day, the spice mix is the perfect blend of sweet warming spices. It takes less than ten minutes to make and you probably have all the individual spices already in your pantry.

With your own homemade spice mix, you can make your own speculaas biscuits, try your hand at other Dutch baked goods, treat yourself to spiced breakfasts like granola and French toast, or make one of the best hot chocolates you’ll ever try!

Why you’ll Love this Homemade Speculaas Spice Mix Recipe

• Tailored taste. When you make a spice mix yourself, you can tweak it to your liking!
• Effortless. Takes less than ten minutes to make with spice you probably already have.
• Thoughtful. Homemade speculaas spice mix makes a unique and thoughtful gift for the holiday season.
• Versatile. This spice mix can be used for more than just baking speculaas biscuits! Use it in other baked goods, breakfasts and coffee and hot chocolate. You can even substitute it for pumpkin spice in a recipe to give it a bit of winter kick.

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What is Speculaas?

Speculaas spice mix is used to make speculaas biscuits – spiced, shortcrust biscuits that are slightly gingerbread-esque, and baked in November and December to celebrate St Nicholas’ Day and the holiday season. The biscuits are traditionally made using wooden moulds (speculaasplank) that leave an imprint on the biscuit dough, and come in popular shapes like Dutch windmills or St Nick himself.

Though nowadays, speculaas biscuits come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, including gingerbread men shapes!

The spice mix itself is thought to have come about in the 17^th century when spices were more affordable and therefore more widely available in the Netherlands thanks to the Dutch East India Company (learn more about nutmeg and why it was the cause of wars).

So, is it Speculaas or Speculoos?

Well, that all depends on where you are… If you’re in the Netherlands, they’re called speculaas, if you’re in Belgium, you’ll find them as speculoos, and in Germany, they’re called spekulatius!

It’s believed that speculAAS comes from the word latin speculum, meaning mirror, so named after the moulds used to create the biscuits. SpeculOOS, on the other hand, means without, so named for the apparent lack of spices found in the Belgian version.

At least originally.

Whatever you call it these days, you’re in for a tasty treat either way.

Homemade Speculaas Spice Mix Recipe Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this fragrant spice mix recipe:

• Cinnamon. The star of the show, bringing warmth and a comforting sweetness.
• Nutmeg. Adds a touch of nuttiness and depth to the blend.
• Clove. Infuses a warm, aromatic flavour with a hint of spice.
• Ginger. Provides a subtle zing.
• Cardamom. Elevates the blend with a floral and citrusy essence.
• Pepper. A surprising addition, pepper introduces a subtle kick, supporting the ginger and creating a well-rounded and flavourful SpeculaasSpice Mix.

Some other common spices include coriander and aniseed.

Find the exact quantities in the recipe card below.

How to Make this Homemeade Speculaas Spice Mix Recipe

You can use Speculaas Spice Mix to make speculass biscuits and pies, and Pepernoten as well. Or sprinkle it into your hot chocolate or cappuchino, use it flavour granola, oatmeal and rice puddings. Or sub it for cinnamon or pumpkin spice in any baked goods and most sweet breakfast foods

To make it, all you have to do is mix all the spices together in a jar with an airtight lid! That’s it! Use it immediately, bottle it for gifts, or keep it in your pantry to use whenever the mood takes you for the next six months.

Love to cook with spices? Try these recipes too:

• Homemade Za’atar Spice Blend
• Spiced Honey Glazed Walnuts
• Vegetable Soup with Za’atar and Goat’s Cheese
• Winter Citrus Salad with Cardamom Dressing
• Mandarin and Chickpea Salad with Halloumi
• Vegetable Pot Pie with Cacio e Pepe Filo Crust
• Spiced Chocolate Plum Cake

Have you made this Homemade Speculaas Spice Mix yet? Be sure to leave a comment and let me know. What did you make with the spice mix? Or take a pic and tag me over on Instagram, I love seeing what you guys are making from the blog!