Dutch Chocolate Covered 'Kruidnoten'

On the 5th of December The Netherlands celebrates Saint Nicolas Day. It's one of the most important holidays of the year. Saint Nicolas, like Santa, bring presents for children and adults. On this very traditional holiday we eat lots of very traditional sweets. One of my favorite sweets are these kruidnoten. 'Kruid' means spices, and 'noten' means nuts. They are tiny nut-like cookies made with spices and brown sugar. It's very nice to cover them in chocolate, so that's what I did. It's a yummy, chocolaty seasonal treat.

For about 100 kruidnoten, you will need:

125 g/4.5 oz unsalted butter, 250 g/9 oz flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 125 g/4.5 oz dark brown sugar, 2 tbs pumpkin pie spices (to make your own, see below), 2-3 tbs milk, 100 g/3.5 oz dark chocolate

Note: If you don't like dark chocolate you can use milk chocolate instead.

Of course, you can always buy pumpkin pie spices (speculaaskruiden in Dutch) from the store, but I decided to make my own. All you need is:

2 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp cardamom, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp cloves powder

1. If you are making your own pumpkin pie spices, just combine all the spices in a bowl.

2. Cut the butter in pieces. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, spices, and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Add the butter, and rub it with the tips of your fingers until it looks like fine bread crumbs.

3. Add the milk and kneed the dough until it becomes a ball. Wrap it in cling film and let it rest for 1 hr. in the fridge.

4. Preheat the oven to 350F/175C. Roll the dough into about 100 very little balls of approximately 1/2 inch (1,5 cm).

5. Put the kruidnoten on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake them in batches for 12-13 minutes. Take them out of the oven and let them cool completely. Now you can finally cover them with chocolate!!!

6. Break the chocolate in pieces and put them in a bowl that can be heated (or use a Bain-Marie pan, like we did). Put the bowl on a pan with boiling water in it. Make sure the water doesn't touch the bowl. Melt the chocolate slowly on a low temperature. Stir from time to time. Dip about 5 kruidnoten in the chocolate at a time. Take them out with a fork and put them on a board covered with parchment paper. You do not have to cover all of the kruidnoten, but you can if you want to.

7. Put the kruidnoten in the fridge until they are set. 

These kruidnoten taste delicious with hot chocolate!!!