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Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Speculoos Cookies - A'la Patty


This last month was a complete blur, beginning with packing up our house and moving.  On moving day I slipped out to attend a Jam Party hosted by the lovely Azmina, attended by Lisa, Stephanie, Jean, and Liren.  We had such a great time and made so many tasty jams, and it was probably a great thing I was there and not at my house with the movers because they brought too small of a truck and ended up leaving part of my belongings behind.  We have decided that the bad luck that is following us around is Rusty and I will have to elaborate more on what I plan on doing about that later.

In the midst of the chaos, I was asked by a friend who owns a local orchard to start supplying them with jams for sale.  I made 40 jars for him and they were gone in no time, so in the spring I will start again, and I'm thinking that is going to keep me pretty busy.

This month ended on a good note though, I dropped my daughter off this morning for her first day of high school.  It's been a much harder road with her than my older daughter, keeping her on the right path and steering her towards choices that will make her successful later in life.  But then again, I'm pretty sure it said nowhere in the parenting handbook that this was going to be an easy job.

One of the people who couldn't make it to the party was Patty, she has become a dear friend to me and while I was missing her I recalled the Speculoo Cookies with Nutella she gave me at Christmas time.  Spicy, crunchy and just try and stop yourself at one.  I was thinking of her when I wrote this recipe.

Speculoos Cookies - A'la Patty
1/2 cup Speculoos Cookie Butter
6 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1 egg
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 cup granulated sugar
Flake sea salt
6 ounces dark chocolate

Combine the cookie butter and shortening in the bowl of a mixer, mix for a few seconds until combined.  Add the egg, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, flour, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves and mix until combined.

Make balls with the dough using a rounded teaspoon full of dough.  Place the 1/4 cup of granulated sugar into a small bowl and roll the balls into the sugar and place the balls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or a silpat. I like to put one dozen per cookie sheet.


Bake the cookies at 350 degrees F for 9 minutes.  Cut a large bar of dark chocolate into small chunks, enough for each cookie.  Add a chunk of dark chocolate to the top of each cookie and press down a bit.  Return to the oven and cook for 3 more minutes.


When you remove the cookies from the oven sprinkle each one with a scant amount of sea salt.  5 or 6 pieces per cookie.  Let cookies cool on a rack.  You can omit the salt, but for me my favorite part of a chocolate chip cookie is when I get a hit of salt in a bite.


Makes 24-30 cookies, depending on the size of them.

Enjoy,

Gina

21 comments:

  1. Oh, it's so good to see you! I wish I could have been a part of your party so much. I'll bet it was a blast.

    There's a parenting handbook???? :)

    The cookies look fantastic. I would definitely use the sea salt!

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    1. What, you didn't get one he, he. I'll be sure and forward you one, but I'm warning you some of it's ugly. lol.

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  2. Gina - it was such a fun day making jam with everyone. I am currently enjoying the nectarine and blueberry jam. Your ratios are just perfect. I need to make about 40 jars of the balsamic fig jam to have for hostess gifts and the holidays. That is so cool that you made jam for your friend and I am not surprized that he sold out of it so quickly. This is your calling - you can be the jam lady. :-) Hope you are settled into the house and life is treating you well.

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  3. 40 jars of jam! wow...you are a super woman!
    These cookies look wonderful!

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  4. Congrats on the opportunity to sell your jam! Glad to see you are back. These cookies look amazing! Dark chocolate is my downfall...

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  5. Thanks Lisa, that's quite the compliment coming from a jam guru such as yourself. Thanks Angie and Ravishing, I appreciate your support.

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  6. Thanks Gina! You are so sweet to think of me while you were making these yummy cookies, I pinned them to try later;-)
    I like thinking of you as the jam lady, when will you come to my house so we can break in the big jam pot?
    Congrats on surviving a summer with a teenager,lol! Things will settle down and I have also misplaced my guide to raising kids, can't find it anywhere as I would have loved to pass it on to another parent in need;-)

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  7. Welcome back! Moving is the pits. Can't believe the movers didn't bring a big enough truck! Cookie look great - interesting idea to put a little bit of salt on top of each one. I'll definitely have to give that a try. Thanks.

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  8. Hi Gina-wow! gorgeous photos of these amazing cookies. Sounds like a fun jam making day. Too bad about the moving mess. We are in the midst of mango jam making here...messy, but worth it:)xx

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  9. Welcome Back Gina! And glad that you have managed to settle in ;). I read up on jam making all over the blogosphere, and have not tried it myself. I was drooling over the ingredients in your speculoos cookies. It's such a wonderful tea time snack.. take care now, and I am seriously itching to bake up a storm. Just dread the cleaning up, LOL. Huggsss, Jo

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  10. Gina,
    So glad that you are back. Your jam making party must have been so much fun! Hopefully, all of your moving woes are behind you and you can concentrate on more fun things like making jam and cookies:) Your cookies are amazing, and ahve to get some cookie butter.

    Have a great rest of the week! Hugs!

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  11. Oh, I would kill for one of these cookie right now! They look incredible!
    We just moved 2 1/2 weeks ago - serious chaos!!

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  12. This is such a sweet post, Gina. I love Patty too! :) I heard you about moving. It was a hassel to pack, move, and unpack. We didn't hire movers and did it ourselves with friends. Yeah. Hassel. That's so great that you can put your culinary skill to great use, Gina! I'm sure you can do more than jams!

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  13. That's a lot of jam! and more to come! Woohoo! you're the Jam maker of the year by far Gina!
    And these cookies, mmm, i love everything about them.

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  14. Yes, I missed Patty at the jam party, too, but it was so fun you and the girls. Congrats on selling your jam--I consider myself lucky to have learned from you. :)

    Now I'll have to try these absolutely yummy looking cookies!

    Have a great weekend, Gina!

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  15. Yes, I missed Patty at the jam party, too, but it was so fun you and the girls. Congrats on selling your jam--I consider myself lucky to have learned from you. :)

    Now I'll have to try these absolutely yummy looking cookies!

    Have a great weekend, Gina!

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  16. My God, you've been a busy woman! Good thing too, as it makes me feel less guilty for not visiting here more often, lol. Actually when I opened this post, my heart skipped a beat - speculoos, how serendipitous! Remember Lilly of Fuzz Free Food blog? Well, her husband's here right now and he brought along Lilly's kind gift to me, which is speculoos powdered spice mix for baking. So I may not have the butter version, but nothing's stopping me from making these cookies now! Miss you tons, Miss Gina...hope you are keeping well and having a fabulous summer. <3

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  17. Nice and I would never omit the salt, I look forward to the crunch and the slap in the tongue I get with sweet and salty.
    Mazing cookies...

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  18. Gina, even I think, the salt is very important for the overall taste! Wonderful cookies, dear!!

    http://cosmopolitancurrymania.blogspot.hk/

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  19. Hehe, Rusty is the bad luck following you around? Well, I want to know what that little guy has been up to:) Cookies make everything better.

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  20. These amazing cookies would not last long at all in our household. They are so pretty, with the chocolate piece in the middle, and very, very yummy!

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