Friday 7 July 2023

Weekend Treat

Coming back from Sheringham the other week, we stopped off in Holt and had a cup of tea in the Owl Tea Rooms. By the till was a basket of "Nutty Lotus Biscuits". Small,very regular in shape, a tiny dollop of jam in the centre. They were good.

'Proper' Lotus Biscuits are those individually wrapped ones you get in fancy coffee shops. Now you can buy the spread made with the same spiced flavour - called "Biscoff". Bob - and other Belgians - refer to these as Speculoos. When Lotus first marketed them under their traditional name, people were dubious, so they changed the name for US and UK customers to Biscoff.

I found the recipe for these 'thumbprint cookies' online, and Sainsburys happened to be selling the spread on special offer. Just four ingredients

  • 180g Biscoff Spread
  • one medium egg
  • 90g plain flour
  • jam for filling.
Preheat oven to 160° fan
Beat the spread and the egg together, beat in the flour [I used hand held mixer]
Measure out scant tablespoons of the mix [I used my mini 1" scoop]
Roll into a ball, place on lined baking sheet 
Press a hole into the centre of each with a wooden spoon
[the dough balls will flatten and crack a ittle]
Bake for 8 minutes till golden brown
Remove from over, and press spoon into holes again
Allow to cool, then place a tiny [¼ tsp] jam into each hole.
Enjoy!
This recipe made 17 cookies.Now I will admit to an error here - I wanted to make regular shaped ones like the Chef in The Owl. So I used my silicon mini muffin mould for 12 - and the remaining five went onto the baking sheet. The five cooked beautifully - but the ones in the moulds did not cook thoroughly - I had to take them out and cook them on a sheet for another two minutes. They taste OK tho
These were so easy, I may make some next time Rosie is here. [without the moulds] Cost wise, they work out at about 9p each. On a par with Jammie Dodgers. 
A rather nice weekend treat with a cup of tea or coffee.
Bob thinks it is very perverse that Lotus make the biscuits, then pulverise them to make the spread, then I turn the spread back into biscuits again. 
I think mine look more interesting!







16 comments:

  1. I agree that is rather perverse! I'm not the Biggest fan of Speculoos (I also call them by their trad name) but I will eat them-unlike Garibaldi, Nice, Squashed Fly and other staples! Kx

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  2. We love Biscoffs, and I think they are alright for vegetarians also. Also love Stroopwafels, if only for the name! Actually they are very good and I do buy the minis as a little treat with coffee.

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    Replies
    1. Aldi & Lidl are always good for European biscuits (lebkuchen at Christmas)

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  3. Gremlins have stopped my comments for a few days so here goes! The little biscuits look lovely and the smell from Biscoff is irresistible so they have to be eaten. Norrie feels the same about me cutting up fabric for quilting but it’s preloved and unwanted so I don’t mind. Catriona

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    1. Sorry about the gremlins👿 Using preloved fabric for patchwork is OK. It is buying new expensive cloth that seems wrong!

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  4. I've come to the conclusion that a baker I am not! Tried to make some
    Choc cookies yesterday for the grandchildren using M&S cookie 🍪 dough. Couldn't even get that right. Came out like frisbees and just as hard! Had to make do with the tin of choc digestives my son brought me back from Harrods at the weekend?!

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    Replies
    1. Oh dear! I find my oven runs a little hotter than the M&S stuff suggests - so I cook their frozen croissants 5/10 degrees lower etc and a few minutes shorter

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    2. Thanks Ang. I'll try that next time.

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  5. Those look very moreish. I love cinnamon, ginger and pretty much all sugary treats! Lidl at Christmas is like Aladdins cave for me - ooh, I left out marzipan, love that too!
    Alison in Wales x

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    Replies
    1. I love marzipan - well, I would, wouldn't I?, it's full of almonds!

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  6. I make Thumbprint cookies using All Purpose white flour.. Yum!

    Hugs!

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  7. We have Biscoff cookies and the spread in one of our stores. I haven't got around to buying the spread and didn't realize that people made cookies with it. We discovered Leibniz cookies in Hannover before the pandemic and they are good, but I haven't found them here.

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