Speculoos (Don’t Forget the Egg!)

French Fridays with Dorie

Speculoos

french fridays with dorie art by rachel alvarez-thumb-330x267-1352 For someone who didn’t grow up with any “cookie traditions” I sure seem to baking up quite a few batches this week. I wasn’t in search of new traditions with that post but they do seem to be finding me. This cookie probably won’t become one, however as I just found it to be somewhat of a pain in the ass. Its my fault though. This particular batch had to be whipped up twice. Yup, I forgot the egg on the first batch. I did. Of course, I had some help in that omission. The egg was actually left out of the recipe by the publisher. I wonder if editors get fired for that kind of thing? Do you suppose the editor really loved that cookie and didn’t want the world to have the real recipe she he or she left out an ingredient? (Like my grandmother who never revealed the sugar she put in her spaghetti sauce.) You might be inclined to feel sorry for me here but the truth is that the publisher caught their own mistake and included a leaflet in the book calling attention to the error. My leaflet long ago went missing and even though our FFwD group leaders reminded us of the egg, I dutifully forgot it.

As I was making the cookie dough I wondered why it was so dry and mealy. Like crust. I thought I was being quite smart and clever to recall that my flour could have been dry and so I added about 1/4 cup cold water to make the dough. That is a bit much for just dry flour and that should have been my tip off but I kept going, rolled it out and had it chilling in the refrigerator when it suddenly dawned on me: The egg!!! Damn. I tossed the rolled out dough and started over. Poor me. Upon reflection I wish I hadn’t done that as I do think this dough, minus the egg, would make a delicious crust of some sort for some sort of custard pie or cheesecake of some sort.

Speculoos

Speculoos

Although delicious, this cookie is not my cup of tea even though it does go lovely with one. I don’t much like rolling out dough and using a cookie cutter is sort of a pain in the ass. Then there is the rerolling the scraps, chilling again, and re-cutting until the dough is used up. It is something of a pain in the ass and quite a bit time consuming. That said, they are incredibly delicious. If this sort of thing is the thing you like then you will like this sort of thing. My husband didn’t so I tried to entice him with Dorie’s idea of augmenting them with dulce la leche but that just made them ‘too sweet’. I thought they were incredible.

The turbinado sugar garnish was Greg’s idea. The dulce le leche was Dorie’s. It makes an already delicious cookie truly decadent.

Speculoos

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About Trevor Kensey

I don't know what “Sis. Boom. [blog!]" means either. But, if a post makes even a small 'boom' in your day, I would be happy. Please don't call me a "foodie", or even a food blogger. I prefer "food raconteur" thank you very much.
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  1. I forgot the egg too – but didn’t realize until a couple of weeks passed and I was reading another blog! Both versions of your cookie look amazing!

  2. You are so right: using a cookie cutter IS a pain in the ass. Futzy putzy. And I think you’re right about the the dough making a good crust. Please report back if you ever do it. Your blog makes me laugh. Thanks and Merry Christmas!

  3. Your photos are so lovely! Wish mine were quite as nice. Glad to hear the dulce de leche worked out (mine unfortunately was spoiled, but the other fillings I used were great). Bummer about the eggless first batch, but I bet you’re right that the dough would make a great crust. Merry Christmas!!

  4. Even though you didn’t particularly like the cookies, your photos indicate otherwise! Great job!

  5. I love dulce de leche. I think I need to try these again with that addition!

    I enjoy rolling out cookies. Something calming about it for me – maybe memories of my grandmother?

    Love your pictures!

  6. Oh sure. Add the dulce de leche AFTER I leave.
    They were DELISH!

  7. For hating the entire process, they sure look “speculicious”. I love making dough – but lose interest after it’s chilling in the fridge. I have to roll immediately after or it’s lost its luster. Love the filling – that is serious filling. And keep that turbinado on hand – I use it a lot for baked goods (now that you will be baking more often????). A beautiful batch of specol..speckula…spe…. gingersnaps my friend!

  8. They look so pretty with the turbinado sugar. I know what you mean about the rolling and cutting. I don’t often do these types of cookies because of that and the chilling was what was driving me crazy with this recipe, but after reading that some of the other members froze the dough I think I will have to try them again. I loved them with the nutella, but my husband also thought they were too sweet that way. Perfect with tea, though!

  9. You threatened to use turbinado and you did!! Beautiful. GREG

  10. They turned out beautifully, even if you didn’t care for them. I enjoyed rolling the dough out between waxed paper – no mess! You do have to work quickly with the cutters, though, before the dough warms up.

    I like your idea of using the eggless dough for a crust of some kind. The scent alone could make a dessert successful.

  11. I did not refrigerate the scrapes..I just re-rolled. I also did not use wax paper to roll. I found this dough to be quite pliable and not at all sticky as others have said. The one thing I did do was refrigerate over night. Even though you had some trouble, your cookies came out beautiful!!!

  12. I could make these again and again. Cookie cutter or not. I want them for breakfast!

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