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Flavors · Antuérpia
Buttery cookie with almond slices, or a chocolate bonbon shaped like a hand. It recalls the legend of the hero Brabo and the giant Antigoon, which explains the name Antwerpen, and has been a city specialty since 1934.
Traditional sweet from Antuérpia, Antuérpia
Also known as: Antwerps handje
Click a photo to enlarge it.
Antwerpse handjes — Antuérpia, Belgium
The hand is the symbol of Antwerp, and the Antwerpse handjes turn it into a sweet. There are two main versions: the buttery cookie covered with almond slices, and the chocolate bonbon shaped like a hand, with or without marzipan filling. Some chocolate versions include liqueur.
The shape comes from the best-known legend about the city’s name. According to tradition, the giant Druon Antigoon charged tolls to those who crossed the River Scheldt and cut off the hand of anyone who did not pay. The Roman soldier Silvius Brabo defeated the giant, cut off his hand and threw it into the river. Antwerpen would come from hand werpen, to throw the hand. The scene is depicted in the Brabo fountain on the Grote Markt.
The hand has appeared on Antwerp’s coat of arms since the 16th century, but the sweet dates from the 20th century. In 1934, the city’s confectioners’ association opened a contest to give Antwerp its own specialty. The confectioner Jos Hakker won with a butter-and-almond cookie shaped like a hand.
Production stopped during World War II and resumed in the 1950s, when confectioners began to protect the recipe, mold, name and packaging. Only authorized producers may sell them under that name. The chocolate version appeared later, from 1971 onwards.
In Antwerp, chocolate handjes fill the shop windows of downtown chocolatiers, and the cookie ones are sold in tins and boxes. Both travel well and are also sold at the visitor centre as city souvenirs.
Antuérpia, Antuérpia
Created in 1934 by Antwerp confectioners as a city specialty, in homage to the legend that explains the name Antwerpen.
Cookie: wheat flour, butter, sugar, eggs and almond slices. Bonbon: chocolate, sometimes filled with marzipan or liqueur.
The cookie accompanies coffee or tea; the bonbon is eaten as a treat or dessert. Both are sold in boxes and tins and travel well.
Your questions
They are buttery almond cookies, or chocolate bonbons shaped like a hand. They have been Antwerp’s specialty since 1934 and recall the legend that explains the city’s name.
According to tradition, the soldier Silvius Brabo defeated the giant Druon Antigoon, who cut off the hand of anyone who wouldn’t pay toll on the River Scheldt, and threw the giant’s hand into the river. Hand werpen, to throw the hand, is said to have given the name Antwerpen.
They have the same shape and the same origin, but they are different sweets. The cookie, made with butter and almonds, is the 1934 version; the chocolate bonbon came later.
Flavors of Belgium
Round tartlet from Lier, in the province of Antwerp, with a crunchy sugar-free pastry and a dark filling of breadcrumbs, cane sugar syrup and spices. The name is protected by a European geographical indication.
Savory pie from Nivelles, in Walloon Brabant, made with fermented fresh cheese, chard, eggs and plenty of butter, served very hot. A local brotherhood evaluates producers and awards quality seals every year.
Rectangular waffle, light and crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, served dusted with confectioners' sugar. It is the first specialty presented by Brussels official tourism and appears in Flemish paintings related to festive celebrations.
Very hard biscuit, made only of honey and wheat flour, pressed in wooden molds carved with animals, figures and views of the city. A tradition of Dinant, in the Meuse valley, it should be softened in the mouth, not bitten.
Small tart of puff pastry filled with matten, the curd of raw cow's milk, eggs and sugar. It is made in Geraardsbergen and Lierde, in the province of East Flanders, and has a protected geographical indication by the European Union.
Creamy stew from Ghent, with a broth thickened with cream, vegetables such as carrot, leek and celery, potato and chicken. The earliest versions were made with river fish, and fish still appears in some kitchens of the city.
Cooked fish, served cold in a vinegar jelly with onion, traditionally in a stoneware jar. It has a European geographical indication, produced in Chimay and in neighboring municipalities of the provinces of Hainaut and Namur.
Cereal distillate flavored with juniper and herbs, milder and sweeter than other jenever. It has a European geographical indication: it must be distilled in Hasselt, Zonhoven or Diepenbeek. The city maintains a museum of the drink in a former distillery.
Dense waffle, made from a brioche-like dough with pieces of pearl sugar that caramelize on the griddle. Rounded and without corners, it is eaten hot and without topping. According to tradition, it was created in Liège in the 18th century.
Open tart of creamy rice pudding on a thin crust, typical of Verviers in the province of Liège. Eaten warm or cold, at any time of day, often with coffee.
Round tart of thin fermented dough with a generous filling of fruit, rice pudding or cream. It is made in Belgian Limburg and Dutch Limburg, and the name is protected by a European geographical indication.
Croquette of creamy sauce with North Sea grey shrimp, breaded and fried, served with fried parsley and lemon. The Ostend version is recognized as a Flemish regional product, with rules about the shrimp’s origin and the filling.
Rabbit slowly cooked with onion, black plum and raisins, served with potato. It is the dish of the Lundi perdu dinner, the Monday after Epiphany, a Tournai tradition recognized as intangible heritage by the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles.
