This weekend, the town where I live will keep Dutch tradition alive with a parade and activities for children to celebrate Sinterklaas Day. I remember as a college student at Northwestern in Orange City many years ago, going down town to help pass out chocolate candies wrapped in gold foil to look like coins. We gave them to the children waiting on the sidewalk for Sinterklaas to appear.
Sinterklaas is the Dutch version of the American Santa Klaus, and of the English St. Nicholas. The original Saint Nicholas lived in Turkey in the twelfth century and was the patron saint for children.
On December 6, Sinterklaas arrives from Spain in a large Spanish galleon ship with his helpers, among whom is a distinctive young man by the name of Zwarte Piet, or Black Pete, who is actually a black child. He helps Sinterklaas carry gifts for all the children who have been good over the past year, and coal for those who have been bad.
When he arrives on land, Sinterklaas rides a white horse named Amerigo and goes through town giving candy to children. His white horse carries him from rooftop to rooftop at night while Zwarte Piet goes down the chimney to leave candy in the wooden shoes the Dutch children have left beside the fireplace. In the morning, the children awaken to find that Sinterklaas had indeed visited their house.
The Dutch wait until after Sinterklaas Day has passed to put up their Christmas trees. The season lasts through Christmas Day and extends to Epiphany on January 6 when the decorations are finally taken down. I remember my grandmother keeping her Christmas tree up until Epiphany. It was important to mark the season by the Church’s observance of the first Sunday of Advent in early December until the end of the season one week into January.
In Pella, our tulip festival in May includes a parade in which Sinterklaas, Zwarte Piet, Amerigo, and many school-aged helpers ride the Spanish galleon down the street as one of the parade entries. Sinterklaas is dressed in a rich red robe with white trim and a tall, pointed hat like a Catholic bishop would wear. He also holds a long staff like a shepherd would use.
Sinterklaas has the appearance of clergy from the pre-reformation era, and yet in addition to the sobriety of his outfit, he has a whimsical charm. All the way down to his long white beard, he looks like someone you would want to receive candy from. He has an air of cheer and of festivity about him that ushers in the celebratory season.
Associated with Sinterklaas Day is klaaskoek, or St. Nicholas cake. It’s a dessert eaten on December 6 in observance of Sinterklaas Day. Over time, the cakes changed to become more like cookies and took the name speculaas. They originated in the Netherlands and Belgium during the Middle Ages when exotic spices arrived as a result of expanding trade routes. Once a luxury treat, speculaas became associated with Sinterklaas festivities, often featuring the figures of the Saint or of festive symbols. As the Dutch spice trade grew in the 17th century, speculaas became more accessible.
The dough for speculaas, or St. Nick cookies, is firm enough to press into molds. Each St. Nick cookie at our local bakery is in the shape of a windmill. During this first week of December, the cookies are also shaped into large forms of Sinterklaas.
Here is a photo of a cookie mold that I have to make them into windmill shapes. The mold must be well greased so that after the dough has been pressed into it, the cookie will easily release onto the baking sheet. The cookies bake up in the shape of the mold and with faint imprints of the design on their surfaces.
St. Nick cookies are my favorite kind of cookie, better even than a chocolate chip cookie or peanut butter. Here is a recipe I have from my grandmother for St. Nick, or Speculaas, or Dutch Spice Cookies. They are all the same. I love these and will make up a large batch to keep on hand over the holidays. They work really well to share with coworkers, at family gatherings, or just to snack on at home with a nice, hot cup of tea. (That’s my favorite way to eat them).
Grandma’s Dutch Spice Cookies
1 cup brown sugar 1 egg
1 cup while sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup butter ½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ cup vegetable shortening or lard ½ teaspoon cloves
3 cups flour ½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon vanilla
Cream the sugars, butter, and shortening together. Add the egg and slowly add the flour with the mixer turned down. Then add the spices and vanilla. Form the dough into small balls and place on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Press with a fork, a cookie stamp, or a meat tenderizer.
Follow the recipe to this point to make round cookies. For making cookies in a mold, grease the mold, and press a portion of dough into the mold. Release the cookie onto the baking sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until nicely brown.
This recipe makes 90 round cookies, and will make about 2 dozen molded cookies, depending on the size of the mold.
Store in an airtight container to share with friends for the holidays or make ahead and freeze.
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