Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons rum (optional)
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (if omitting rum, use 2 cups)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• Sliced almonds (optional)

Instructions

1. Cream butter or margarine with sugar on medium
2. speed until well blended and creamy. Beat in egg and rum. Whisk together flour,
3. baking powder, salt and spices. Stir into butter mixture to make a medium stiff
4. dough. Wrap dough in plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate for 30 to 40 minutes.
5. Dough should be smooth and pliable, neither soft and sticky nor too firm.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease or
7. spray cookie sheets. If using cookie molds, lightly oil or spray them.
8. Press dough into cookie molds or speculaas boards, preparing mold according to manufacturer's directions, and unmold onto
9. cookie sheets. Or, roll dough out on a lightly floured board or pastry cloth to
10. 1/8 inch thick, then cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Reroll
11. scraps.
12. If desired, top each cookie with several almond
13. slices, gently pressing almonds into dough.
14. Bake in the center of the oven for 9 to 11
15. minutes, or until edges of cookies are lightly browned. Let cool for a few
16. seconds on cookie sheets, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.