TasteFood

Speculoos (or speculaas) is a Belgian and Dutch Christmas cookie. They are simple, crisp cookies, very spiced yet not overly sweet, and similar to a gingersnap. Traditionally, they are made with a special mold, called a springerle mold, in which the dough is placed and pressed, yielding quaint reliefs, such as windmills, angels, cottages and St. Nicholas. If you don’t have a mold, the dough can simply be shaped in balls and pressed with your fingers, or rolled thin and cut with a cookie cutter.

It’s the spice blend that sets these cookies apart. In Europe you can purchase pre-made speculoos spice blends, yet it’s very easy to make your own, as it’s essentially a laundry list of Asian and East Indian spices that you most likely have in your spice drawer. As with most blends, speculoos blends can vary slightly from baker to baker. The key is to not hold back on any of the spices and include a generous amount in the cookie batter, because it’s the kick of spice that distinguishes these fragrant cookies.

Speculoos Cookies

Active Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes, plus chilling time

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

Spice blend:

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup almond flour or finely ground almonds

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sliced almonds for garnish

Demerara sugar for sprinkling

Mix the spice blend ingredients in a bowl to blend. Add the flour, almonds, baking soda and salt, and stir to combine.

Cream the brown sugar and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix to combine. Add the dry ingredients and mix on medium-low speed until just combined, without overmixing. Gather the dough and flatten into a disk. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment.

Roll out the dough 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick and cut into desired shapes with a cookie cutter. (Alternatively, shape the dough into 1-inch balls and place on the prepared baking sheet, at least 2 inches apart. Flatten each ball with your fingers or the bottom of a water glass into 1 1/2-inch disks.) Press a few almonds into the top of each cookie and sprinkle with a pinch of demerara sugar.

Bake until light golden and firm, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. The cookies will harden as they cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.

CAPTIONS AND CREDITS

I am not a patient baker. My desserts tend to be free-form, which, in my case, is a polite way of saying messy and imprecise.

Fortunately for me, there is a place in the dessert world for my arguably “rustic” desserts. I call it my sweet spot (pun intended). This includes crisps, crumbles, cobblers, galettes and crostatas, which are a group of homey desserts that show off the season’s best fruit, usually in the company of some sort of pastry dough or streusel.

This galette is a perfect example -- it’s a free-form tart, which also goes by the name "crostata” in the Italian realm of desserts. Unlike a traditional tart or pie, a baking dish is not required. The spiced fruit filling is simply mounded into the center of the pastry dough, and then the pastry edges are gathered and folded around the filling, leaving the top exposed. The result is a golden crust cocooning a bubbling center of oozing fresh fruit.

Now, that’s my kind of dessert. Try this one on for your Thanksgiving holiday.

Pear and Cranberry Galette

Active Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, plus chilling time

Yield: Serves 6

Pastry dough:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/4 cup ice water

Filling:

4 ripe but not-too-soft pears, such as Anjou or Bartlett, peeled and cored, cut into 3/4-inch pieces

1 cup fresh cranberries

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

3 tablespoons almond meal, divided

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 egg, lightly whisked

Make the pastry dough: Place the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse once or twice to blend. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal and the butter is pea-sized. Add the water and pulse until the dough just comes together. Transfer the dough to a work surface and flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before rolling out.

Roll out the dough on a piece of parchment paper into a circle approximately 12 inches in diameter. (It does not have to be perfect!) Slide the dough onto a baking sheet and refrigerate while you prepare the filling.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Combine the pears, cranberries, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons almond meal, the lemon juice, orange zest, cardamom and cinnamon in a bowl. Stir to combine.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon almond meal over dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Mound the fruit over the almond meal. Fold the borders up and around the fruit. Lightly brush the dough with the egg and sprinkle the galette with the 1 tablespoon sugar.

Transfer the galette to the oven and bake until the crust is golden and the fruit is tender and bubbling, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

CAPTIONS AND CREDITS

Root vegetables are fall and winter’s best-kept secret. Packed with nutrients, natural sugars and starch, the humble root is a healthy and flavorful substitute for the ubiquitous russet potato and a superb way to get your vitamins and nutrients in the cold-weather season. A good peel of skin reveals a rainbow of antioxidant-rich colors ranging from magenta to ochre to buttery yellow, sure to brighten any gray day -- and your holiday table.

Feel free to mix and match roots, such as sweet potato, parsnip, rutabaga, carrot, celery root, and of course the dependable russet, to your taste and preference. Try to choose a balance of sweet and savory roots for even flavor, and mash them to your desired consistency. It’s OK if the mash is a little chunky -- it provides a nice rustic presentation.

This recipe calls for a combination of sour cream and Greek yogurt in the mash, which creates a balance of smooth richness and tangy lightness. So long as you use a combined amount of 1 cup, you can opt for all of one or the other.

Smashed Roots

Active Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Yield: Serves 4 to 6

3 pounds mixed roots (such as 1 pound each of sweet potato, celery root and rutabaga)

Salt

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup whole-milk plain Greek yogurt

Freshly ground black pepper

Peel the root vegetables and cut into 1-inch chunks. Place the vegetables in a large pot with 2 teaspoons salt and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the vegetables are very tender, about 20 minutes.

Drain the vegetables and return them to the pot; cool 5 minutes. Add the garlic and butter and mash with a potato masher until the butter is melted. Add the sour cream and yogurt and continue to mash until the ingredients are blended and the mash is to your desired consistency (I like mine a little chunky). Add 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, taste for seasoning, and add more if desired.

Spoon into a serving bowl and serve warm.

Prepare ahead:

The mash may be prepared up to 1 day in advance of serving. Cool completely and transfer to a buttered gratin dish. Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Remove from refrigerator 1 hour before serving.

To reheat, heat the oven to 325 degrees. Dot the top of the mash with about 1 tablespoon of finely diced butter and cover with foil. Bake in the oven until heated through, 30 to 40 minutes.

CAPTIONS AND CREDITS