Kletskoppen

Some days I just crave for sweet. Often something in particular and once I’ve figured out what exactly, I just want to get a move on and make it as soon as I can. (or simply buy it of course…)
Well, last weekend I had this distinct urge for kletskoppen. Kletskoppen are caramelized peanut biscuits and beloved old-Dutch cookies.
Although you can buy them in every supermarket and almost every bakery sells them fresh, I decided to make them myself. I found many, many recipes on the net, all quite similar, so I just merged a few different ones, added to taste some more peanuts and finally ended up with this.

Figurative is a kletskop in Dutch someone who talks a lot and superficial, but this biscuit got its peculiar name - literally translated means it smack head - as a result of the preparation; when you put the dough on the baking sheets, you have to klets (smack) the tops with the back of a spoon and make them as thin as you can. This way you will get a lovely crispy cookie.

A kletskop is made of almost only sugar and will melt in the oven to a delicious crispy biscuit with little holes in it. They are sweet and crunchy, great to nibble on or served with dessert. ice cream for example.

Kletskoppen (makes 20 if you don’t snack to much of the dough…)

- 50 g peanuts, finely chopped
- 125 g brown castor sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- 55 g butter, melted
- 50 g all-purpose flour

1. Preheat the oven to 200 ° C and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Mix in a standard mixing bowl castor sugar, cinnamon powder and salt. Add the melted butter and mix until well blended. Add in parts the flour and chopped peanuts and mix until you’ll have a compact dough.

3. Shape little balls, about a tablespoon full, and place them with 10 cm space between them on the baking sheets. Smack them with the back of a spoon out as thinly as you can. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes until melted, paper-thin and golden brown. Leave them to cool and harden on the baking sheets and keep in an airtight box.