Categories
foooood in germany in the netherlands

speculoos spread

ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to the best thing this side of nutella’s invention:

i wish blogs could convey the scent that emanates from this precious jar. it’s… indescribably mouth-watering. our friend isa showed it to us when we were staying with her, and in our excitement we almost forgot our manners and inhaled all of her precious stock! good lord, i could swear they lace it with crack…

speculoos are crunchy spiced (pepper, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom and nutmeg) cookies from the netherlands and belgium. they taste a bit like crispier gingerbread cookies… but better! it’s hard to explain, the flavour is so characteristic – and in my mind irrevocably connected to afternoons writing my master thesis in the netherlands, with a cup of tea by my side.

the spread tastes like the cookies, and has an interesting story too:

In the area of Europe centered on Eeklo, Belgium, where the speculoos cookie originated, local workers had long known that a sandwich made in the morning with butter and speculoos cookies would develop a spread-like consistency by lunchtime.
In 2008, two competitors entered a contest on the Belgian television show, The Inventors (de Bedenkers), with a spread made from speculoos cookies— Els Scheppers, who reached the semi finals, and the team of chef Danny De Mayer and Dirk De Smet, who weren’t selected as finalists. Spreads made from crushed Speculoos cookies would subsequently go into production by three separate companies, and by the time they arrived in Belgian supermarkets, Speculoos spread caused a sensation, taking the “Benelux market by storm.”

it’s still hard to find in germany, but we’ve spotted it at kaiser’s and have been sharing it with all our friends ever since. seriously, give it a go if you can get it! :D

Categories
foooood postcrossing

postcrossing cookies

(10 million cards is such a big number, i confess we still have a little trouble wrapping our heads around it… it feels strange to know that you are, in a way, responsible for all these postcards being purchased, written, stamped and delivered. 10 per minute, or so. yeah.)

we end up thinking about postcards (and postcrossing) all the time. that, and food.

so our friend c. surprised us by baking these cookies for us, a while back. she even did the icing with special sparkling dust!

we were so happy and surprised! aren’t they adorable? our friends know us so well! :D

Categories
foooood

there will be cookies

miau!

using supertatas super simple recipe for butter cookies:

– 150gr all purpose flour
– 100gr butter
– 50gr sugar
– a little bit of lemon
– use a cute cookie cutter for bonus points
– 10 minutes in the oven

et voilá! instant treat for your warm milk :)