Hand-shaped butter cookies topped with sliced almonds, in three sizes and an optional chocolate-shell variant. The official biscuit of Antwerp since 1934.

Pastry chef Jos Hakker created the Antwerpse handje in 1934 as a tribute to the Brabo legend. The Roman soldier Silvius Brabo cut off the giant Druon Antigoon's hand and threw it into the Schelde; the act of hand-throwing in Dutch, hand werpen, gave the city its name. The biscuit was declared Antwerp's official cookie. Hakker's granddaughter still endorses Philip's Biscuits as closest to the original recipe.

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Make it at home

Serves 242 hrIntermediate

Ingredients

  • 250g unsalted butter, softened
  • 200g caster sugar
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 400g plain flour
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 100g sliced almonds
  • 1 egg yolk for brushing
  • Pinch of salt

Method

  1. Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
  2. Beat in the egg and vanilla until combined.
  3. Fold in the flour and salt to form a soft dough. Chill 1 hour wrapped in cling film.
  4. Roll the dough out to 6mm thick on a floured surface.
  5. Cut hand shapes using a stencil or shaped cutter (about 8cm tall).
  6. Brush each hand with egg yolk and press sliced almonds onto the surface.
  7. Bake at 175C for 12 to 14 minutes until pale golden at the edges.
  8. Cool on a wire rack before storing in an airtight tin.

Editor tip. For the chocolate-shell version, dip the cooled cookies in tempered Belgian dark chocolate and let set on parchment.

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Tree nuts (almonds).