Speculaas

Lately I have been completely obsessed with speculaas, Belgian spice cookies.  The cookie is utter perfection: crispy, lightly sweetened, delicately spiced, nutty.  I first made these cookies was a freshman in high school using the recipe that my great grandmother brought from Belgium when she immigrated.  Initially I did not like them much--didn't like the spices, didn't think they were sweet enough, did not bake them thin and crispy.  I suppose my tastes have changed--because I just ate about 12 of them.  Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/4 teaspoon clove
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup pecans, finely chopped 

 Directions:

1. Cream together the first four ingredients.
2. Sift together dry ingredients, pour into creamed ingredients.
3. Stir until blended, add pecans.
4. Form the dough into a long roll on wax paper and chill overnight.
5. Slice very thin.  I like them to be about 1/8 inch thick, maybe a little thinner.  They will only rise slightly in the oven.
6. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

If you are totally impatient and cannot wait overnight, I recommend that you bake just a few immediately on the cookie sheet and press them very thin.  Roll the rest and have a sweet treat the next day--these cookies are wonderful with coffee or tea (and probably beer...the Belgians love their beer).  The above recipe makes about 3 dozen cookies.