Market Bakery · Almond Biscuit
Antwerpse Handjes
Photo: Ibu / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
The cookie's shape references a legend about a giant who chopped off travelers' hands and threw them in the river — two severed hands still appear on Antwerp's coat of arms.
A crisp, buttery shortbread shaped like a small hand, flavored with almond and dusted or dipped in chocolate. Sold from market stalls, chocolatiers and bakery windows across the old city as a portable souvenir snack.
Why it's made this way: The shape recalls the folk tale of the giant Druon Antigoon, defeated by the hero Brabo, who threw the giant's own severed hand into the Scheldt. A local pastry chef turned the legend into a biscuit in 1934.
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Part of World of Street Food — 690 dishes from 118 countries.
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