Vegan Speculoos Cookies (refined-sugar-free, oil-free)

What is Christmas without some delicious speculoos cookies?? These vegan speculoos cookies are great to enjoy with a cup of hot chocolate or coffee on a cold winter day. During Christmas time, we usually indulge more (or at least I am), so that's why I made these vegan speculoos cookies oil-free and refined-sugar-free to balance things out.

What are speculoos cookies?

Ever since they started selling speculoos cookies in the supermarket back in September, I had to force myself not to buy the entire supply of speculoos cookie packages. I love speculoos cookies! If you've never heard about them before: Speculoos (sometimes called Spekulatius or Speculaas cookies) are spiced shortcrust biscuits. They are traditionally baked for St Nicholas' day in the Netherlands and Belgium, and in Germany and Austria we eat them around Christmas and late autumn even.

There are different types of speculoos cookies - spiced speculoos, almond speculoos and butter speculoos. This recipe is a little bit of a blend between spiced and almond speculoos cookie since we are using almond butter but also a lot of spices!

What you need to make healthy vegan speculoos cookies

Here's what you need to make these easy, healthy vegan speculoos cookies:

• flour: I would recommend using whole-grain wheat flour, if you're gluten-free you can sub with buckwheat flour
• oats
• almonds, ground
• baking powder
• speculoos spice mix: you can either use a store-bought one or make your own with cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, ground ginger, ground aniseed and ground coriander
• pinch of salt
• orange zest
• ground flax seeds: to make a flax egg and help everything bind together
• agave syrup: for sweetness
• almond butter
• plant-based milk: like soy milk or almond milk

How to make these healthy vegan speculoos cookies

Step 1

First, make a flax egg by combing the ground flax seeds with 2 tablespoons of cold water.

Step 2

Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Step 3

Melt the almond butter and agave syrup in the microwave or on the stovetop over medium heat and add to the dry ingredients. Then, add the flax egg and plant-based milk and mix well to form a dough. Then, chill the dough in the fridge or 30 minutes to make it easier to work with.

Step 4

Preheat your oven to 180 C (350F). Roll out the dough until about 1 cm thick. It is easier if you put the dough in between a sheet of parchment paper and cling film. Cut out the cookies and put them on a baking tray lined with baking paper or a baking mat.

Step 5

Bake the cookies for roughly 10 minutes. They tend to burn easily so be careful not to burn them. Then, take them out of the oven and let them cool down.

These vegan speculoos cookies make a great Christmas DIY gift

Speculoos cookies typically have some form of image or figure on the front. Traditionally, these images told the story of St Nicholas if you brought them in the correct order. However, you will also find other images such as windmills or farmhouses.

I found some cute Christmas cookie stamps when I walked through town the other day and I instantly knew I just had to use them to make speculoos cookies. Don't they look adorable? I think these cookies would make a perfect DIY Christmas present. In fact, I think I'll bake some more for my grandparents as a gift.

Print Recipe

healthy vegan speculoos cookies

These healthy vegan speculoos cookies are oil-free, refined-sugar-free and super easy to make.

Prep Time40 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Total Time50 mins

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: Vegan

Diet: Vegan

Keyword: christmas cookies, cookies

Servings: 50 cookies

Ingredients

• 100 g whole-grain wheat flour
• 50 g oats
• 50 g almonds ground
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 4 tsp speculoos spice mix
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 1 tbsp ground flax seeds + 2 tbsp cold water to make a flax egg
• 80 g agave syrup
• 120 g almond butter sub tahini if you don't have almond butter
• 60 ml plant milk

for the speculoos spice mix

• 2 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• ¼ tsp ground aniseed
• ¼ tsp ground coriander

Instructions

• Start by making a flax egg. Combine the ground flax seed with cold water, stir and set aside.
• Add the dry ingredients (flour, oats, almonds, baking powder, speculoos spice mix, salt, orange zest) to a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.
• Melt the almond butter and agave syrup in the microwave or over medium heat. Then add to the dry ingredients. Add in the flax egg and plant-based milk and mix to form a dough. Using your hands might be easier here. Form a disc, wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F. Roll out the dough between parchment paper and cling film to about 1 cm thick. Cut out the cookies and place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
• Bake the speculoos cookies for ~10 minutes. Carefully watch them as they burn easily. Remove from the oven and let cool before serving.

Notes

Watch the cookies closely as they will burn easily. Rather take them out even if they look slightly undercooked – they will harden a little bit as you let them cook on the baking tray. 

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Did you make these vegan speculoos cookies?

Please leave a comment below, share or rate this recipe. You can also tag me on instagram – I would love to see your creations!