There was always one treat that my brother and I enjoyed exclusively at my maternal grandparents house.  I can still remember grandma getting them down from the cupboard.  Every once in a while they’d be in the cookie jar. That treat was windmill cookies.

I would always see them when we went to Frankenmuth.  (For those who don’t know, Frankenmuth is often called Little Bavaria.  It features many German foods, treats, shops, etc…) They weren’t exclusive to Frankenmuth and you could get them at the grocery store.  The bit of German I have in me stems from my mom and my grandma. 

Apparently, they come from the Netherlands and Belgium. it is also well known in adjacent areas in Luxembourg, northern France, and in the west of Germany. They are sometimes called speculoos.

They are baked with “speculaas spices”, which is a mix of cinnamon, and sometimes other spices like nutmeg, ginger, cardamom, clove and pepper. sometimes other spices. The actual spice mix will vary by the region and the manufacturer. They were traditionally eaten around the Feast of St. Nicholas (in early December), but also popular at weddings and local fairs.

In the 1920’s, the Steenstra family would immigrate from the Netherlands to my home state of Michigan. In 1947, the family established a bakery.  It was here that they baked and sold these treats, calling them “windmill cookies.” They gained popularity in the United States thanks to the Steenstra family.

I tell you all of that to share a recent discovery. While shopping for some stuff I needed for Christmas dinner, I spotted this on the coffee shelf:

Naturally, I had to pick up a bag.  The next morning, I brewed a pot and it smelled amazing!  I put Italian Sweet Cream creamer in my cup and poured the coffee.  It was delicious!  It truly tasted like those cookies!  To say that I savored each sip of that cup is an understatement. 

I will admit that it was a bit pricey, but it was worth it.  It is actually cheaper to get it on the company’s (Ferris Coffee) website:

https://share.google/YwOsFNA2h0o3aAVP5

Do let me know if you try it and tell me what you think.

(Ferris Coffee Company is NOT paying me to talk about this product.  This blog expresses my true feelings about it)