Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Chocolate Covered Speculoos Spread Pretzels

Photo and recipe by: Keepitsweetdesserts

There is always something new and fun to do in the kitchen, this lovely Chocolate covered Speculoos spread pretzel will surely grab your attention. These pretzels are not only delicious it is also easy to make. Please follow recipe below:

Makes 2 dozen
Ingredients:
  • 2 dozen short salted pretzel rods
  • 2/3 cup Speculoos spread
  • 6 ounces dark chocolate, roughly chopped
  • Sea salt, to taste

Directions:
  • Line a baking sheet with wax paper and set aside
  • Dip pretzels into speculoos spread and place on lined baking sheet; freeze for thirty minutes or until cookie butter is firm
  • Melt chocolate in the microwave in 30-second increments, stirring in-between
  • Dip pretzels in chocolate and immediately sprinkle wish sea salt
  • Allow pretzels to cool before serving ( put them in the refrigerator to speed up the process)


Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Moist White Chocolate Chip with Speculoos Spread



Photo and recipe by: two peas and their pod

Cookies are the best comfort food! Want to try this delicious recipe? Follow the instructions below.
Yield: Serves 12
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup Speculoos Spread
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8x8 pan and set aside.
2. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and brown sugar, stirring constantly until smooth. Remove from the heat, and stir in the Speculoos Spread, stir until creamy and combined. Set mixture aside to cool.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
4. Add the egg to the Speculoos mixture and stir until smooth. Add the vanilla extract and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into the prepared dry ingredients, and stir until batter is smooth. Fold in white chocolate chips.
5. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, spreading the batter evenly to the edges of the pan. Bake for 25 minutes or until the top is golden and the edges are slightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove blondies from oven and place them on a wire rack to cool. Once cooled, cut into squares and serve.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Lemon Speculoos Layer Cake with Chocolate Sprinkles

Photo and recipe from Dessert for breakfast


Wanting to bake a cake for special someone? This ultra delicious cake is not only mouthwatering but also healthy.  Follow recipe below.

Makes one 6-inch, 3 layer cake

For lemon cake:

1 1/4 cups + 2 Tbspn (192.5 gr) whole wheat pastry flour
1 tspn baking powder
1/8 tspn salt
1 stick (8 Tbspn) butter, at room temperature
1 cup (200 gr) sugar
1 tspn fresh lemon zest
2 eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup + 2 Tbspn whole milk
2 Tbspn freshly squeezed lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour three 6 x 2 inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment rounds and grease again. If desired, line the cake pans with bake-even-strips. Set aside.
2. In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a mixer bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and lemon zest together until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes on medium.
4. Add the eggs to the creamed butter one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Add the flour in three additions, alternating each with milk and lemon juice.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes come out cleanly. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before turning out of the pans and cooling completely.

For speculoos frosting:

1 1/2 sticks (12 Tbpsn) butter, at room temperature
1 cup speculoos spread
3 cups sifted powdered sugar
6 oz. cream cheese, cold
dark chocolate sprinkles

1. Beat the butter until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
2. Add the speculoos spread and beat until well-combined.
3. Gradually beat in the sifted powdered sugar.
4. Gradually add small chunks of the cold cream cheese, beating well after each addition.
5. Frost cake, adding chocolate sprinkles between each layer and on top.

Note: I've been told that the Trader Joe's version of speculoos spread is less sweet that the versions available in Europe, so this frosting was just the right sweetness for me. If you happen to try out this recipe with non-TJ's speculoos, I'd be very curious to know what you think. To kick up the sophistication a bit more, you could also sprinkle the frosting with a small pinch of flaked sea salt.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

No Bake Truffles with Speculoos Spread



An easy homemade dessert that you can try to satisfy your sweet tooth, these truffles only require four ingredients and make a great go-to treat straight from the freezer.

Ingredients
  • 3 Tablespoon unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
  • 1 Cup Speculoos Spread
  • 2/3 Cup finely ground gingersnap crumbs (~11 cookies)
  • 4 Ounce semi-sweet or dark chocolate finely chopped
Directions
1: Beat butter and Speculoos spread with an electric mixer on high speed until light and creamy. Add cookie crumbs and combine on high speed until thoroughly mixed. Refrigerate mixture for at least two hours.
2: Once chilled, scoop mixture by the teaspoon and roll each scoop into a ball. Keep dough in refrigerator while scooping individual truffles.
3: Once all balls are rolled, place them back in refrigerator or freezer.
4: Melt chocolate: place chocolate in a microwaveable bowl and place in microwave for thirty second increments stirring in-between until chocolate is melted and smooth. Drizzle melted chocolate over chilled balls and freeze until ready to serve.