James & Leona’s “Kruidnoten Cookies” are Tiny Dutch Spiced Cookies. This recipe is sure to be a hit this holiday season.
James & Leona’s Kruidnoten Ingredients
- 2 cups self-rising flour
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¾ cup butter
- Pinch salt
- 4 Tbsp. milk
- cloves ½ tsp.
- ½ tsp. nutmeg
- cardamom ½ tsp.
- 1 Tbsp. cinnamon
- ½ tsp. ginger
How to make Kruidnoten Cookies
Place flour, sugar, milk, salt, and spices into large bowl and mix until combined.
Add butter, and knead until you’ve got a nice soft dough, which is slightly sticky.
Preheat oven to 345* F or 175* C.
Roll dough into little balls of about 0.5”.
Place balls on baking sheet and make sure you give them a soft press.
Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in preheated oven.
Remove from oven and let cool before eating. If you can wait that long?
Enjoy!
WHAT ARE KRUIDNOTEN COOKIES?
“Traditional Dutch and Belgian Gingerbread Buttons”
Kruidnoten are small crispy round shape cookies, which are associated with Sinterklaas, that is to say the holiday of Saint Nicholas in Belgium and the Netherlands. When children come to witness Sinterklaas’ arrival to the country, it’s normal to receive a handful of Kruidnoten from one of his helpers.
At home, during Sinterklaas eve, Kruidnoten and other candies are thrown around. Children consider it a form of entertainment to go around and collect the dropped candies. In earlier days it was habit to throw around Kruidnoten on the pavement and at schools during visits of Sinterklaas, too. At a certain moment, maybe because of hygiene concerns, this became less common. At school, visiting Piets now tend to lay down a pile or small bag on the student’s desk or directly in the child’s hand. Although some guess this throwing around has a deeper meaning, comparable to the throwing of rice at weddings it is most likely a symbol of Sinterklaas’ generosity. Some schools and supermarkets organize make-them-yourself sessions. Children are given pre-made dough and are tasked to shape them into Kruidnoten. Source-Wikipedia
Printable Copy of James & Leona’s Kruidnoten Cookie Recipe
Now, while enjoying James & Leona’s Kruidnoten Cookies lets try your hand at some traditional Christmas Trivia.
Question: What are the two other most popular names for Santa Claus?
Question: Which Christmas song contains the lyric “Everyone dancing merrily in the new old-fashioned way?”
Question: Which one of Santa’s reindeer has the same name as another holiday mascot?
Question: Which country started the tradition of putting up a Christmas tree?
Question: In the song “Winter Wonderland,” what do we call the snowman?
