Sinterklaas & Pakjesavond!

December 5th, Pakjesavond in the Netherlands!

A couple of weeks ago, Sinterklaas was welcomed by Dutch children. Most of them have placed their shoe in front of the fireplace (or somewhere else), have sung Sinterklaas songs like “Sinterklaas Kapoentje”, found yummy treats and little gifts in their shoes the next morning and are now full of anticipation for December 5^th; Pakjesavond!



Pakjesavond is when Sinterklaas and his helpers come by to bring gifts, sometimes in person, sometimes sneakily by placing a bag full of gifts at the front door and then ring the doorbell or knock on a window.
“Pakjesavond” freely translates into “night of gifts”.

It’s really a night for family, fun and warmth.
Children get to unpack presents, and eat Sinterklaas treats, such as Kruidnoten!
Kruidnoten and Pepernoten are very different, but most Dutch people have grown accustomed to calling Kruidnoten, Pepernoten.

 

Of course it’s possible to buy Kruidnoten or Pepernoten. But why not baking them yourself? It’s super easy and fun to do!
Children love kneading the dough and making little balls out of it. In this blog we have included a recipe for Kruidnoten:
 
Ingredients

• 2 cups of selfraising flour
• 1 cup of brown sugar
• ¾ cup of butter
• pinch of salt
• 4 Tbsp milk (or water)
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• ½ tsp ground cardamom
• ½ tsp ground ginger

Instructions

1. Put the flour, sugar, milk, salt and the spices into a bowl and mix until combined.
2. Add the butter and knead until you've got a nice soft dough, which is slightly sticky.
3. Preheat the oven to 345°F (175°C)
4. Roll the dough into little balls of about 0.5"
5. Place the balls on the baking sheet and make sure you give them a soft press
6. Bake the kruinoten for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven.
7. Take the kruidnoten from the oven and let them cool before eating.
8. Enjoy!

(Source recipe: Have Another Bite.com)

(No time to bake? Yummy Dutch offers a large selection of Kruidnoten/Pepernoten!)

Yummy Dutch wishes you a fantastic Pakjesavond!

 
 

Tags: sint, sinterklaas, zwarte piet, piet, pepernoten, pepernoot, kruidnoten, kruidnoot, recept, recipe, lekker, strooigoed, snoep, snoepgoed, koek, koekjes, cookies, biscuits, spice, spices, baking, bakken, pakjesavond, cadeautjes, schoen zetten, traditie, tr