Vegan Kruidnoten Recipe (Dutch Spice Cookies)
Dec 04, 2020 • Updated Jun 20, 2023
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A traditional Dutch and Belgian holiday cookie-Kruidnoten! Made vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and oil-free. Made with simple ingredients and ready in under 30 minutes, these perfectly spiced cookies will be on your holiday baking list for years to come!
What Are Kruidnoten?
Kruidnoten are a Dutch spice cookie typically enjoyed during the holiday or Sinterklaas time. Kruid noten literally translates to spice nuts (kruid = spice, noten = nuts) which may also be why they’re smaller in size than your average cookie, kind of nut-like!
Side note: peppernoten and kruidnoten are often used interchangeably, but according to my boyfriend’s mum, peppernoten differ in shape (more organic and blob-like) and can be softer in texture.
What Makes This Recipe Great?
This year, I tried Kruidnoten for the first time and found a vegan and gluten-free version at the local health food store, but I knew I wanted to make a homemade version so that you could make your own too! I adapted one of my go-to cookie base recipes and added the classic spice blend. The result was a perfectly spiced bite, just like what I had enjoyed in Amsterdam.
Kruidnoten are more of a crunchy cookie, and because they’re smaller, each batch yields quite a few cookies. And yes, it does take a bit of time to roll them out, but I recommend recruiting a few friends or family members to lend a helping hand!
This easy recipe is vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and oil-free, and can be made nut-free.
Ingredient Notes
- Gluten-free oat flour: This is my preferred gluten-free flour blend for this recipe.
- Creamy roasted cashew butter: You’ll want to use a cashew butter than is nice and runny.
- Coconut sugar: I use this natural sugar alternative instead of brown sugar.
- Maple syrup or molasses: traditionally, dutch stroop is used which has a flavour more similar to molasses, but use what you can find. If using maple syrup, add 2 tbsp coconut sugar for more of a molasses, caramel-like flavour.
- Vanilla extract
- Speculaaskruiden (speculaas spices): You can also use a gingerbread spice mix for a similar flavour, or to make your own spice mix, combine 4 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground clove, 1 tsp ground nutmeg, 1 tsp ground coriander seeds, 1 tsp ground anise seed, 1 tsp ginger powder, 1/2 tsp ground cardamom and a teeny pinch of white pepper. Take 1 tsp of the final mixture to use in the recipe.
- Plant milk: Use your favorite vegan milk alternative.
- Pinch of salt
- Baking powder
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees and set aside a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.
- To prepare your batter, whisk together all ingredients except for the oat flour until smooth. Sift in oat flour and then stir to combine with a spatula until a dough forms. It should stick together easily and be workable by hand. If your dough is too dry, you can add a tablespoon of plant milk to adjust the texture.
- Using a teaspoon, scoop the batter and roll it tightly between your palms to form a small ball. Space out on the baking tray leaving at least 1/2” between each cookie.
- Bake the kruidnoten for 9-10 minutes until lightly golden brown, remove from the oven, and allow to cool. The cookies will firm up considerably and continue to bake while cooling so don’t worry if they don’t feel firm right away. You can always return to the oven, but you don’t want to burn these little ones!
Secrets to Success
- For perfect bite-sized and uniform cookies, I used a teaspoon to scoop the batter to roll. These cookies won’t spread too much, and I was able to fit roughly 40 on a baking sheet.
- Because we’re baking such small cookies, they will bake much faster and don’t require much time in the oven. I don’t recommend making them too large, because you won’t be able to achieve the same texture.
- As always, I recommend using a piece of parchment paper or a nonstick silicon baking mat for the best results. You should be able to just roll the cookies off after baking since they’re so petite! It also makes for minimal cleanup, and no cooking spray or greasing of the pan is required.
Storage Tips
- Store leftover kruidnoten in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Recipe FAQs
Kruid noten literally translates to spice nuts (kruid = spice, noten = nuts).
Kruidnoten is traditionally a crunchy cookie that has a delicious speculoos flavour. In America, that flavor is similar to “cookie butter” or “Biscoff” cookies.
While kruidnoten are mistakenly called pepernoten, that is actually incorrect. Peppernoten differs in shape (more organic and blob-like) and can be softer in texture.
More Vegan Cookie Recipes!
Best Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies
If you try this kruidnoten recipe out, tag me on Instagram @veggiekins so I can see your delicious re-creations and feature them! As always, I love when you share your reviews in the comments below, and if you make any fun substitutions, let me know how it worked out!
Vegan Kruidnoten Recipe (Dutch Spice Cookies!)
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cup gluten free oat flour
- 1/2 cup creamy roasted cashew butter should be nice and runny
- 1/3 cup maple syrup* or molasses traditionally, dutch stroop is used which has a flavour more similar to molasses, but use what you can find
- 1 tsp speculaaskruiden or homemade spice mix**
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- *If using maple syrup add 2 tbsp coconut sugar for more of a molasses, caramel-like flavour.
- **You can also use a gingerbread spice mix for a similar flavour or to make your own spice mix, combine 4 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground clove, 1 tsp ground nutmeg, 1 tsp ground coriander seeds, 1 tsp ground anise seed, 1 tsp ginger powder, 1/2 tsp ground cardamom and a teeny pinch of white pepper. Take 1 tsp of the final mixture to use in the recipe.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees and set aside a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.
- To prepare your batter, whisk together all ingredients except for the oat flour until smooth. Sift in oat flour and then stir to combine with a spatula until a dough forms. It should stick together easily and be workable by hand. If your dough is too dry, you can add a tablespoon of plant milk to adjust the texture.
- Using a teaspoon, scoop batter and roll tightly between your palms to form a small ball. Space out on the baking tray leaving at least 1/2” between each cookie.
- Bake for 9-10 minutes until lightly golden brown, remove from the oven and allow to cool. The cookies will firm up considerably and continue to bake while cooling so don’t worry if they don’t feel firm right away. You can always return to the oven, but you don’t want to burn these little ones!
Notes
Secrets to Success
- For perfect bite-sized and uniform cookies, I used a teaspoon to scoop the batter to roll. These cookies won’t spread too much, and I was able to fit roughly 40 on a baking sheet.
- Because we’re baking such small cookies, they will bake much faster and don’t require much time in the oven. I don’t recommend making them too large, because you won’t be able to achieve the same texture.
- As always, I recommend using a piece of parchment paper or a nonstick silicon baking mat for the best results. You should be able to just roll the cookies off after baking since they’re so petite! It also makes for minimal cleanup, and no cooking spray or greasing of the pan is required.
Storage Tips
- Store leftover kruidnoten in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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