By Helen van der Nagel: A 'beschuit" or rusk is a hard, dry biscuit or a twice-baked bread. Beschuit, also known as Dutch rusks, are light, rather crumbly, rusks as eaten in the Netherlands and Belgium. When a baby is born in The Netherlands, it is customary to serve beschuit met muisjes (with "little mice", which are aniseeds covered in a white and pink or blue sugar layer, depending on the newborn's gender). Beschuiten are also eaten as a breakfast food with a variety of toppings, most commonly butter and sprinkles in flavours such as chocolate (chocoladehagel or chocoladevlokken), jam or cheese. Beschuiten are made by first baking a flat round bread, slicing it in half, and then baking each half again, usually at a lower heat. |