Rye Biscoff Cookies

Photo by Michael Piazza / Styled by Catrine Kelty

Biscoff—or speculoos—cookies are a highly spiced Belgian classic. Cinnamon is the predominant flavor here, but it gets extra complexity from an array of other aromatic spices. This recipe works best with sifted (medium or light) rye flour. If all you have is whole (dark) rye, pass it through a fine-mesh sieve to remove some of the bran before measuring it out. For the proper biscoff caramel flavor, use muscovado sugar (or finely textured turbinado sugar), if available. If not, light brown sugar will make an acceptable substitute. The parchment “envelope” helps you easily form the dough into a 10-inch by 8-inch rectangle for uniform cookies. It’s hard to tell when brown-toned cookies like these are fully cooked; the best way to be sure is to flip one over and check to see if it’s golden brown on the underside. As always, using a kitchen scale to measure the weights of your ingredients will lead to a more precise bake, but I have included volume measures here as well.

Makes 24 cookies

282g (2½ cups) medium or light rye flour
16g (2 tablespoons) ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon sea salt
148g (packed ¾ cup) muscovado sugar
113g (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces and chilled
1 large egg

To make the parchment envelope: Fold short end of 18-inch by 12-inch sheet of parchment paper toward center to form 12-inch square. Starting with the side opposite the fold, fold remaining 3 edges toward the center to form 10¼- by 8¼-inch envelope (flaps will not quite overlap entirely). Crease folds crisply, then unfold. Set aside.

To make the cookies: Whisk rye flour, cinnamon, cardamom, coriander, cloves, nutmeg, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl. Process sugar and butter in a food processor until uniform mass forms and no large pieces of butter are visible, about 30 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add egg and process until mixture is smooth and paste-like, about 10 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

Add the flour mixture and process until no dry flour remains but the mixture remains crumbly, about 30 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Transfer dough to bowl and knead gently with a spatula until uniform and smooth, about 10 seconds. Place dough in the center of the unfolded parchment envelope and, using a rolling pin, press dough toward creases as evenly as possible. Fold flaps over dough to enclose, then cover the exposed area with a second short strip of parchment. Using a smearing and pushing motion, use the rolling pin to form dough into a rectangle of even thickness. Transfer parchment-wrapped dough to a rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate until dough is firm, at least 1½ hours (or freeze for 30 minutes). (Dough can be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 5 days.)

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 300°F. Line rimless baking sheet with parchment. Place chilled dough directly on the countertop. Gently peel off the strip of parchment from dough, then unfold flaps of envelope. Using a fluted pastry wheel (or a pizza cutter) and ruler, trim off ¼ inch inch from each edge of dough to form a 10-inch by 8-inch rectangle. Cut dough lengthwise into 8 equal strips about 1 inch wide. Cut each strip crosswise into 4 equal pieces about 2½ inches long. Using the narrow end of a chopstick, gently press 2 equally spaced holes along the centerline of each strip, pushing nearly through the dough. Transfer cookies to the prepared baking sheet, spacing them at least ½ inch apart.

Bake until cookies are lightly browned on their edges and golden brown on underside, 32 to 34 minutes. Let cookies cool completely on sheet, about 20 minutes. (Cookies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.)

This recipe appeared in the Winter 2022 issue as part of a larger story on rye flour cookies.