Sinterklaas is coming to town - versie 1

‘Sinterklaas is coming to town’

Every year around the holiday season people going crazy in the Netherlands to celebrate Sinterklaas. Everyone knows who Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet are. Sinterklaas is actually kinda like the Dutch version of the American Santa. He looks like a bishop and holds a crosier. Together with his horse Americo and his helper Zwarte Piet he delivers presents and candy to the children. Although the feast is made up for children I have to admit I’m crazy about it too. However the kids get most of the presents so why would I celebrate the festival as well? Good question. It’s because the fun and especially the food.

Last St. Nicholas Eve

December 5^th of this year I was with my family to celebrate the feast. As usual actually, since my sister is the mother of two children. She bought a lot of candy and that’s what makes it even more fun. I think it ‘s just like Christmas. You love spending time with your family nevertheless, good food makes it even more fun right? Most of the ‘Sinterklaas candy’ isn’t for available in stores that aren’t near Holland. Therefore, I am going to describe how to make the candy by yourself.

Pepernoten recipe

The traditional pepernoten. In English it’s pretty much the same as ginger nuts. The St. Nicholas’s Day isn’t complete without pepernoten.  That’s why this is the recipe I’m going to describe for you. Hopefully you’re all going to make it, because I think they’re delicious. Furthermore, it is kind of easy.  But first you have to do some shopping. You got to have 200 g self rising flour,

100 g  Dark brown basterdsuiker or pure cane sugar (Demerara)100 g butter, 3 tablespoons milk, 3 teaspoons speculaaskruiden or pumpkin pie spice and 2 teaspoons baking soda. Oh almost forgot, you also need a some extra flour to dust the work surface.

Preheat the oven to 347 degrees Fahrenheit (or 175 degrees Celsius). Oil a baking sheet. When you did that, you should mix together all the ingredients in a bowl and knead it. Cover the dough with plastic and put it aside for an hour. Meanwhile, the spices can withdraw.

Flour your work surface and press your dough into a flat layer. You can use a cookie cutter to cut shapes from the dough. The pepernoot is traditionally a small ball. Hence, you could roll the dough in your hands as well. Place the balls (or figures) you made on the baking sheet. Brush with egg white and sprinkle some brown sugar on top of each cookie. Bake for about 25 minutes. After that, remove the balls or figures from the baking sheet and let them cool down for a few minutes.

And that’s all. Pretty simple if you ask me. I hope you enjoy the pepernoten. Perhaps it is nice as a Christmas treat for the upcoming dinner parties. Well maybe that’s a bit too much but I just can’t get enough of it haha. Anyways, enjoy the holiday and please leave a comment below.

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Basterdsuiker is a typical Dutch product. It helps to achieve certain textural structures and keeps baked goods moist. It’s easy available on the website of some Dutch groceries.

 Speculaaskruiden. This is the same as speculaas spices. Likewise, you can find them online but you also can use pumpkin pie spices.