Antillean lèter di peanut (peanut letters / cookies) RECIPE

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Letter di peanut (in Papiamentu: lèter di peanut) are delicious Antillean peanut cookies. These letters made with peanuts and spices are perhaps the most famous cookie of the Antilles. They are easy to make, store well and simply taste great.

The cookies are always baked in the shape of the letter S. (but of course you are free to make your own name in peanut letters!)

It is an ideal recipe to make with children. You can let your imagination run wild by kneading them into a different shape. For example, it's great fun to use the first letter of the birthday boy's name for a birthday… ideal as a treat or part of a festive buffet!

Why are lèter di peanuts fried in S shape?

I often get the question why the lèter di peanut is always baked in the shape of the letter S. Why not a different letter, or just round?

There are several theories on this subject, but there is not really one answer that stands out clearly. It could be that it is 'normal', because this mold bakes more easily and ensures that the lèter di peanut is cooked evenly.

Another story is that a traditional harvest festival is celebrated on Easter Monday in the Antilles. This one is called Seú. This is translated from a West African language and means “heaven”. On Curaçao we celebrate the harvest that day and peanuts are of course also part of that.

For that reason, the 'letter di peanut', in honor of the Seú, is said to have been baked in the form of the first letter of the feast. This tradition would then have been passed on from generation to generation. Both stories are possible, which is why I call them both by default.

Ingredients:

300 g roasted peanuts* (unsalted)
400 gr wheat flour
½ sachet (8 gr) baking powder
2 tl Caribbean baking spice
(or use cinnamon)
½ tsp ground cloves
150 gr unsalted butter
225 gr granulated sugar
3 eggs
a pinch of salt
1 packet of vanilla-flavored sugar
a few drops of almond essence

*Don't feel like grinding your own peanuts? Then use a good peanut butter with at least 90% peanuts and keep about 30 grams of butter behind.

Prefer a video of the lèter di peanut?

In the video below you can see how I make the Antillean lèter di peanut in 47 seconds:

Preparation Lèter di peanut:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and then grind the peanuts finely in a food processor. (You can also use peanut butter with at least 90% peanuts for this)

Now line 2 baking trays with baking paper and preheat the oven to 180°C (170°C convection).

Then sift the flour together with the baking powder in a large bowl. Then add the spices and salt. Add the sugar and vanilla sugar and mix well.

Now add the chopped peanuts, the butter, the almond essence and the eggs. Then knead the whole into a firm dough.

Now take a ball of dough the size of a walnut. Then roll this ball out into a 'snake' of about 15 cm. Form the cookies on the baking tray. Support the dough well when moving, so that the cookies don't break!

TIP: To make the perfect letter di peanut it is important that you the warmth of your hands used to liquefy the oil from the peanuts. When the dough is at body temperature, it is much more flexible and prevents unsightly cracks in the cookies!

Bake the lèter di peanut for 20 to 25 minutes at 180°C, or until the biscuits are crisp and golden brown. Finally let them cool on a wire rack. Enjoy your dinner!

Recipe from our cookbook

This recipe can also be found in our cookbook 'De complete Antilliaanse keuken† Did you know that that book contains no fewer than 300 (!) recipes from the kitchen of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao?

It is the result of 7 years of research and we now finally dare to say that we have really “captured” Antillean cuisine in its entirety. Click on the image below to learn more about the book: