Dutch Mini Spice Cookies (Kruidnoten)

Information

Small, crunchy Dutch spice cookies flavored with cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cardamom. These homemade kruidnoten are a festive Sinterklaas treat, delicious with coffee, tea, or a glass of milk.

Ingredients

• 250 g self-raising flour
• 125 g dark brown sugar
• 100 g unsalted butter, softened
• 3 tbsp whole milk, plus a little more if needed
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/4 tsp salt

Preparation

1. Mix the self-raising flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, and salt in a bowl.
2. Rub in the softened butter. Add the milk and knead briefly into a firm dough. If it remains crumbly, add extra milk only a teaspoon at a time.
3. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. This chilling time is additional to the preparation time listed.
4. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
5. Divide the dough into about 80 small pieces and roll into balls approximately 1.5-2 cm across. Arrange on the trays with space between them and flatten slightly.
6. Bake one tray at a time for 15-18 minutes, until lightly browned underneath. Keep the remaining tray cool while the first batch bakes. If using two oven racks, rotate and swap the trays halfway through and check for even baking.
7. Let the cookies cool completely on the trays. They become crunchy as they cool.
8. Store fully cooled cookies in an airtight container. The recipe makes approximately 80 small cookies, or 10 servings of about 8 cookies.