Chocolate Chip Speculoos Cookies

Day 1:  25 Days of Christmas – Cookie Style

If you know what Speculoos is, you will LOVE this cookie.   After seeing it at my local Trader Joe’s and hearing the workers rave about this product, I knew I had to make the purchase.  I am now a fan, as is my husband!  My husband loves it directly out of the jar or even over ice cream.  When it came time to baking, I thought to myself – I wonder if I can just replace this for peanut butter in a recipe?  After searching thru some recipes via Pinterest, it looks like I wasn’t the only one who thought the same thing.  Thanks to Chef In Training for the recipe inspiration!

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MAKES 4 DOZEN.

Tip #1:  Highly recommend lining your cookie sheets with parchment paper.  (This was the first year I used parchment paper and after my first batch of cookies I said, “where has this been all my life?”)

What is parchment paper?

It’s a heavy-duty paper that is sold on a roll, similar to aluminum foil, plastic wrap, and wax paper.  However, parchment paper is moisture-resistant and grease-resistant, and has several uses in the kitchen.  Typically, parchment is used for lining baking pans to eliminate greasing, so there is virtually no clean-up.  By using parchment paper on your cookie sheets, you can literally pick up an entire batch of cookies from the baking sheet and transfer them to your wire rack to cool without messing with hot pans and spatulas.

Tip #2:  Roll your cookies in white sugar before placing on your cookie sheet.  It doesn’t really alter the taste, but will alter the appearance of your cookies.  (see picture above – cookies on left are non-sugar coated, cookies on right are sugar coated)

Tip#3:  What is Speculoos? It’s a cookie that was (and still is) popular in parts of Holland and Belgium.  It’s a type of spiced biscuit that was traditionally eaten on St. Nicholas Day in Belgium.  The cookies are very thin, and crunchy.  They have spices of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cardamom, and white pepper.  Speculoos Cookie Butter is basically a spread made from these crushed up cookies (consistency similar to peanut butter).  Speculoos is great on toast, bagels, or even on ice cream. 

Tip #4:  Don’t have a Trader Joe’s near you?  You can also use Biscoff brand – Creamy Spread.  Should be able to find in your local grocery stores.

Tip #5:  This cookie can also be made without the chocolate chips.  The cookie base has so much tasty flavor on its own. 

Tip #6:  If you do a lot of baking and want an easy way to measure “sticky” ingredients like peanut butter, butter, honey, and Speculoos Cookie Butter, definitely recommend the Measure-All Cup from Pampered Chef (shown in pictures above).  It measures liquids and solids in a unique adjustable plunger design, which easily removes the solid ingredients without leaving some still in your measuring cup to scrape up.  Price:  $10.50.

Tip #7:  Definitely invest in a cookie scoop!  Saves you from rolling out cookies to a particular size!  The cookie scoop definitely comes in handy since some doughs can be sticky to work with.

What is a cookie scoop?

It’s a great baking tool for many reasons!  It allows you to get consistently sized cookies each time.  Simply scoop up cookie dough, squeeze and release.  Cookies that are uniform in size will bake more evenly.

Offered in 3 sizes:  small, medium, and large.  Easy to clean and dishwasher safe!  Ranges from $13-$17.  Recommended Brand:  Pampered Chef