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Home Zachte pepernoten

Sinterklaas Baking Vegetarian Kids Dutch Cookies Holidays

Soft pepernoten are a completely different story from the hard little nuggets you buy at the supermarket. They're soft inside, full of speculaas spices and a touch chewier than an ordinary cookie. You can make them surprisingly quickly and all you need is a good mixing bowl to bring the dough together. The recipe works for everyone: from families cooking together to anyone who just likes to know what's in their pepernoot.

x_ckl_recipe_markerSoft pepernoten These soft pepernoten are wonderfully spiced and almost melt on your tongue. Perfect for Sinterklaas, but honestly great all year round. How to make soft pepernoten? Snack Dutch 40 pepernoten 15 min 13 min 30 min 58 min

Preheat the oven to 170°C (conventional/top-and-bottom heat). A slightly lower temperature than you might expect — this keeps the inside soft and prevents the outside from drying out too quickly.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat and let it cool slightly. Pour it into the mixing bowl together with the soft brown sugar and the apple syrup, then stir until smooth.
Add the flour, speculaas spice blend, baking powder and a pinch of salt. Mix everything with a wooden spoon or your hands until you have a cohesive, not-sticky dough. If the dough feels too dry, add a teaspoon of milk and knead briefly.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap or place it in a freezer bag and chill for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. This makes it easier to roll and lets the spices infuse.
Roll small balls from the dough the size of a marble, about 8 to 10 grams each. Place them with some space on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. They spread slightly in the oven, so leave at least 3 cm between them.
Bake the pepernoten for 12 to 14 minutes in the middle of the oven. They will still feel soft when you take them out but will firm up as they cool. Take them out a little early and they'll stay nicely soft inside.
Let the pepernoten cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before moving them. During that time they continue cooking a bit. Store them afterwards in an airtight tin.

Sinterklaas Baking Vegetarian Kids Dutch Cookies Holidays 200 g self-raising flour 75 g butter 75 g soft brown sugar 2 tbsp apple syrup 2 tsp speculaas spice blend 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 pinch salt 1 tsp milk (optional extra) Mixing bowl Small saucepan Wooden spoon Baking sheet Parchment paper Plastic wrap or freezer bag Kitchen scale Baking Mixing Bowl baking-mixing-bowl Baking utensils baking-utensils Baking trays baking-sheets Baking bakken Cookinglife Baking bowl / Mixing Bowl Stainless Steel ø 19 cm Cookinglife Mengkom Birkmann Mixing Bowl / Baking Bowl Colour bowls - Cool Grey - 1.5 Liter Birkmann Beslagkom Birkmann Mixing Bowl / Baking Bowl Colour bowls - White - 3 Liters Birkmann Beslagkom Cookinglife Baking bowl / Mixing bowl - Stainless steel - ø 24 cm Cookinglife ["Baking bowl"] Filled speculaas with almond paste foodies-gevulde-speculaas-met-amandelspijs Savory muffins with gruyere, broccoli and spinach foodies-hartige-muffins-met-gruyere-broccoli-en-spinazie Oat cookies with chocolate foodies-haverkoekjes-met-chocolade Sugar-free Cinnamon Buns foodies-kaneelbroodjes

Recipe

Soft pepernoten

These soft pepernoten are wonderfully spiced and almost melt on your tongue. Perfect for Sinterklaas, but honestly great all year round.

Course	Snack
Kitchen	Dutch
Servings	40 pepernoten

Preparation time

Preparation time	15 min
Time in oven	13 min
Cooling time	30 min
Total	58 min

Equipment

Mixing bowl
Small saucepan
Wooden spoon
Baking sheet
Parchment paper
Plastic wrap or freezer bag
Kitchen scale

Ingredients

200 g self-raising flour
75 g butter
75 g soft brown sugar
2 tbsp apple syrup
2 tsp speculaas spice blend
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 pinch salt
1 tsp milk (optional extra)

How to make soft pepernoten?

Preheat the oven to 170°C (conventional/top-and-bottom heat). A slightly lower temperature than you might expect — this keeps the inside soft and prevents the outside from drying out too quickly.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat and let it cool slightly. Pour it into the mixing bowl together with the soft brown sugar and the apple syrup, then stir until smooth.
Add the flour, speculaas spice blend, baking powder and a pinch of salt. Mix everything with a wooden spoon or your hands until you have a cohesive, not-sticky dough. If the dough feels too dry, add a teaspoon of milk and knead briefly.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap or place it in a freezer bag and chill for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. This makes it easier to roll and lets the spices infuse.
Roll small balls from the dough the size of a marble, about 8 to 10 grams each. Place them with some space on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. They spread slightly in the oven, so leave at least 3 cm between them.
Bake the pepernoten for 12 to 14 minutes in the middle of the oven. They will still feel soft when you take them out but will firm up as they cool. Take them out a little early and they'll stay nicely soft inside.
Let the pepernoten cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before moving them. During that time they continue cooking a bit. Store them afterwards in an airtight tin.

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The trick for truly soft pepernoten lies in two things: the baking time and the cooling. Take them out of the oven when they still feel just a bit too soft, because they continue to cook for a few minutes on the hot baking sheet. If you store them in an open dish they'll get harder after a day. A well-sealed cookie tin or a glass jar will keep them soft for at least a week. Want more depth of flavor? Add half a teaspoon of finely ground black pepper to the dough. It gives a pleasant warmth without overpowering.

You can replace the apple syrup with honey or ordinary dark syrup if you have that at home. The taste differs slightly, but the texture stays good. For a chocolate version, dip the cooled pepernoten halfway in melted dark chocolate and let them set on parchment paper. If you want them gluten-free, swap the self-raising flour for a gluten-free blend and add a little extra baking powder. Bear in mind the dough can be a bit crumblier, but after the 15-minute stint in the fridge it's easy to roll.