Today, I am the rogue baker. According to the recipe schedule for Baked Sunday Mornings, I should be making these. Alas, no one home to eat them, besides the fact that I am missing so many of the ingredients and was nowhere near the mood to go out and get them (like when else will I use a bottle of whiskey?!)
Since I joined this group of bakers after they had completed many of the recipes in the book Baked Explorations, I decided to go back and make one of recipes I’ve had my eye on for a while (one they’d already done).
This cookie, called speculaas or speculoos depending on where you look, has it’s origins in Holland or Belgium and is a type of shortbread flavored with warm, delicious spices. I first encountered them years ago when flying and remember them being served as a snack after take off. They are made by the Biscoff Company, come individually wrapped, ( although now you can get them in a bulk type package- easier to eat the whole pack!!!) and as far as I’m concerned , one of the best tasting cookies I’ve ever had. The newest rage is this spread they’ve come out with- undoubtedly the most incredible, addicting, amazing thing in this world. The possibilities for using it are endless ( I’ll have a few recipes coming up in future posts), but frankly, I’m happy licking it off the spoon while hiding in my closet so no one can see me devouring half a jar.
OK, back to the cookies. These are the “Baked” version of speculaas. They say it was the closest they could come to the original and I agree. Mine turned out a bit crispier than the original, but crispy is fine with me. There was a bit stronger presence of ginger, whereas the original seemed to have more of a stronger cinnamon taste. Doesn’t really matter, because they are scrumptious. Great with a cup of coffee, tea or a nice cold glass of milk. Yum! Dipping them in the milk and having the milk taste like the cookies in the end! Trust me, try it.
One thing I loved about this cookie is how easy it is to make. No mixer required!