Tag: lotus cookies

Speculoos Puppy Chow


It’s been a while since I’ve blogged about my (not so) little obsession with speculoos. I first made Lotus cookie cinnamon buns with speculoos cream cheese frosting and then I moved on to speculoos pancakes. As the speculoos obsession began to die down, I nearly forgot about the fantastic spiced cookies, until my brother brought me back a few samples that he got on the plane to Israel. One bite and I was transported back to speculoos heaven. So…I decided to transport you all as well, with this amazing speculoos Chex party mix that I made back during my Lotus-cookie-addiction-days.

If you’re not familiar with speculoos, it’s a spiced shortcrust biscuit, or what Lotus (a popular manufacturer of speculoos cookies) calls, “The Original Caramelized Biscuit.” Speculoos cookies have been a popular treat in Belgium for years, and are sometimes referred to as Lotus or Biscoff cookies. Their popularity reached new heights, when a few years ago, a woman won a television contest for inventing a sweet spread made from the cookies. Speculoos spread went viral, with many companies, like Trader Joes, selling their own versions.

Have you ever had Chex Muddy Buddies (also known as puppy chow)? You know, that addictive cereal snack with chocolate and peanut butter that’s covered in powdered sugar? Well, I decided to create a speculoos-flavored version, coating the cereal in toffee and dusting it in ground up Lotus cookie powder. I don’t even have to tell you that it tastes even better than it sounds, because you can practically see for yourself.

If you’re drooling over the screen wondering, “How on earth does she expect me to make these if I can’t get my hands on kosher Lotus cookies?” I’ll tell you how. Because I feel for all you speculoos-deprived people, I asked my cousin in The Netherlands to send me over some kosher-certified speculoos goodies (thanks Chaya!) and I’m going to generously share them with you in my SPECULOOS GIVEAWAY!

You will win:

1 jar speculoos cookie butter
1 package Lotus cookies
1 jar speculoos spice mix

To enter:

1. Like Busy In Brooklyn on Facebook.
2. Leave a comment letting me know your favorite BIB recipe.

Giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Winner will be chosen at random at 10:00 AM EST on October 18th, 2013.


Speculoos Puppy Chow

3 cups corn Chex
4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
15 lotus cookies

Method:

In a large pot, melt the butter and brown sugar over low heat, whisking the mixture so that it combines into a caramel . Once it has begun boiling, let it bubble for approximately 3 minutes, until thickened. Remove from the heat and add the salt, cinnamon and vanilla. Pour the cereal into the pot and stir gently with a spatula to coat. Spread cereal out on a parchment-lined baking sheet to set.

In a food processor or blender, pulse the lotus cookies until crumby. Pour into a large Ziploc bag. Add caramel-coating Chex to Ziploc and shake to coat the cereal.

VARIATION: You may also use rice, wheat or multi-bran Chex varieties.

OPTIONAL ADD-INS: candied pecans, roasted almonds, pretzels, chocolate chips.

Post a Comment

Speculoos Pancakes

If you’ve read this post, you know all about my (not so) little obsession with speculoos cookies right now. My Lotus cookie cinnamon buns with speculoos cream cheese frosting were a huge hit, and I received several emails from readers who made them to rave reviews. After making 2 batches of speculoos chex party mix (recipe coming up soon!) I was running low on my spiced shortcrust biscuit stash, with only about 10 of them left (cookies, not packages…I’m not THAT crazy).

I pulsed the cookies into crumbs, leaving me with just about a half cup of golden delicious speculoos “flour”. It was Sunday morning, and what better way to use it, than in pancakes. The hint of speculoos spice paired so perfectly with butter and maple syrup that my kids kept asking for more. The pancakes were gone before you could say speculoos.

Forgive the load of pictures here, but do you see what I see? Butter. Pure Maple Syrup. Speculoos-scented pillows of fluff. I can drool over these all day.

What am I gonna do now that I’m out of speculoos cookies?!

P.S. If you live under a rock and you STILL don’t know what speculoos is, you can read all about it in this post.

Speculoos Pancakes

1/2 cup speculoos cookie crumbs (from approximately 8 cookies)
1/2 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of cinnamon
1 egg
1 cup milk
2 tbsp butter, melted
butter, for frying

Method:

Pulse speculoos cookies (I used Lotus caramelized biscuits) in a food processor or blender until crumby.

In a bowl, whisk the speculoos cookie crumbs, flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, light beat the eggs and add milk and butter, mixing lightly to incorporate. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together with a fork until the batter is slightly lumpy.

Heat a nonstick skillet and grease lightly with melted butter or oil. Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of batter into the skillet and cook until bubbles appear. Flip the pancake and cook on the other side, until golden. Repeat with remaining batter.

Yields approximately 12 pancakes.

1 year ago: kid-friendly dirty rice
2 years ago: quick, easy & tasty chicken

Post a Comment

Lotus Cookie Cinnamon Buns with
Speculoos Cream Cheese Frosting


Every since Trader Joe’s introduced their cookie butter, speculoos has been flying off the shelves faster than their pareve chocolate chips disappeared. If you live under a rock, and you still haven’t heard about speculoos, let me fill you in. Speculoos is a spiced shortcrust biscuit, or what Lotus (a popular manufacturer of speculoos cookies) calls, “The Original Caramelized Biscuit.” 

Speculoos cookies have been a popular treat in Belgium for years, and are sometimes referred to as Lotus or Biscoff cookies. Their popularity reached new heights, when a few years ago, a woman won a television contest for inventing a sweet spread made from the cookies. Speculoos spread went viral, with many companies, like Trader Joes, selling their own versions.

With TJ’s nonkosher cookie butter’s popularity rising, kosher foodies everywhere were left out in the dark. My fellow kosher food bloggers TheKosherFoodies and KitchenTested wanted a taste so badly, they made their own cookies just so they could crush them up into spread afterward.

But if you know me, the nonbaker, I was not about to follow suit. Slave over homemade biscuits and crush em up into crumbs? What am I, crazy? So I went the easy route…I bought them. And how, might you ask, did I find kosher Lotus cookies? Well it just so happens that I live in Brooklyn, where Pomegranate, the most awesome kosher supermarket in the world, is located. Pomegranate pretty much carries every kosher item available under the sun, from mundane to gourmet. If they don’t have it, it’s probably not kosher. And since Lotus Cookies are manufactured in Israel with a kosher symbol, Pomegranate imports them, so all their kosher consumers can enjoy “The Original Caramelized Biscuit.”

We spoke a lot about Speculoos’ origin, but what about the taste? Well when I first bit into these cookies, I immediately thought of ginger snaps, but without the ginger. They have more of a faint cinnamon & brown sugar taste, and they practically melt on your tongue when you eat them. Basically, they’re insanely delicious.

After picking up a package (ok, maybe 2), I thought about how I could turn these caramelized biscuits into something truly extraordinary. Since they’re reminiscent of cinnamon and brown sugar, I figured I would pulverize them into cookie crumbs, and use them inside, and outside, of cinnamon buns. Instead of a traditional speculoos spread, I did a play on cream cheese frosting, just like you’d spread over traditional cinnamon buns. The results were out-of-this-world amazing. If the picture doesn’t speak louder than words here, I don’t know what will.

Do me a favor. If you live in New York (or Israel for that matter) and you can get your hands on a package of these melt-in-your-mouth cookies, MAKE THIS. Better yet, if you’re up for the challenge, and you can’t get a hold of these cookies. Make your own. And then make this. You can thank me later.

Lotus Cookie Cinnamon Buns with Speculoos Cream Cheese Frosting

1 package Lotus biscuits (250 grams)
3 c. flour, divided
1/4 c. sugar
1 packet quick rise yeast
1 tsp salt
1 c. warm water
6 tbsp butter, softened, divided
1 egg at room temperature
1/3 cup brown sugar

Method:

Grease a 9×13 pan and set aside. Add Lotus cookies (about 30) to a food processor or blender and process into crumbs. Divide into 2 cups.

Add 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt to a large bowl and whisk to combine. Stir in water, 2 tbsp butter and egg. Mix (by hand or with a mixer) until smooth. Gradually add in remaining flour until soft dough forms. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 12×15 inch rectangle. Spread with remaining butter. Mix brown sugar with 1 cup of Lotus cookie crumbs. Sprinkle over surface. Starting with 12″ side, roll the dough up tightly.

Cut roll into 12 slices and place in the pan. Cover and put in a warm place (I like to turn my oven on and place it on top) until buns double in size, about 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Uncover the buns and bake until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes.

Frosting:

1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese
2 tbsp butter, softened
1 cup lotus cookie crumbs
3-4 tbsp milk

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until smooth and creamy.

Spread frosting on buns and serve.

1 year ago: pesto pinwheels
2 years ago: 6-spice Morrocan stew

Post a Comment