Bready or Not: Homemade Biscoff Cookies
This whole month has been about ways to use Biscoff spread, that magical cookie butter in a jar. However, the source of that magic is the Biscoff cookie. It's a basic shortbread cookie that is most famous for being available on airplane flights. I actually didn't try a Biscoff cookie until recently--Wal-mart sells them now! It's a very mild spice-shortbread cookie. Now, if I'm going to eat store-bought shortbread, I think I prefer the buttery style, like Walker's, but this Biscoff stuff isn't bad.
And you know what? Being a home baker, I can make it better.
"Gentlebakers, we can rebuild this cookie. We have the technology..."
I love good shortbread. So does my husband. The very first day I met him, I made him shortbread, and I think that kinda sealed the deal. Speaking of my husband, our 13th wedding anniversary is tomorrow. That shortbread was worth it, I think.
This recipe probably would have won him over, too--he loved it, and mightily praised how well it worked with coffee. His co-workers scarfed it up, and one was surprised at how it tasted like snickerdoodles, though it looks nothing like a snickerdoodle. Nope, this is a brown sugar and cinnamon shortbread. I think the heaping amount of cinnamon here is what makes these superior to the store-bought Biscoff; those might be just too mild.
The texture of these is ideal, too. They are crispy enough to stay intact for travel, but tender and chewy to bite.
One extra note here. I live in Arizona. It's dry. This means that when I chill roll-out dough, I almost always have to add water or it becomes a crumbly mess when I try to roll it out. That happened with this recipe, too. If the dough is too wet, add flour; if it's dry, add water by the tablespoon until it's a good texture. I don't find it necessary to chill it again after. You can cut the cookies into shapes or do the lazy thing like me and use a pizza cutter.
Homemade Biscoff Cookies
modified slightly from Blue Bonnets and Brownies
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
In a medium bowl add the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and baking soda together. Whisk together thoroughly to combine. Set aside.
In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter together with the sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and mix again.
With the mixer on slow, add the flour mixture a little bit at a time until the dough is fully combined. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl often.
Refrigerate the dough for at least half an hour. When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 350F.
Lightly flour a large surface and roll out the dough to 1/4″ thick as best you can. *Note that if you're in a dry climate, you may need to add water to make the dough cohesive; if it's too wet, add flour. Using a cookie cutter or pizza slicer, cut as many cookies as you can out of the rolled-out dough.
Combine the leftover dough into a ball again, and roll out again. Only do this once, as reworking the dough too many times will result in tough cookies.
Bake cookies for roughly 9-10 minutes. Watch the oven very closely after the 7 minute mark. Because of the thinness and high sugar content, the cookies are a lot like caramel and can go from perfect to burnt in a flash. It can also be hard to see if they are browning because they are already brown.
Eat as a snack, as a breakfast with coffee, with ice cream, dipped in milk... the possibilities are endless.
OM NOM NOM.
And you know what? Being a home baker, I can make it better.
"Gentlebakers, we can rebuild this cookie. We have the technology..."
I love good shortbread. So does my husband. The very first day I met him, I made him shortbread, and I think that kinda sealed the deal. Speaking of my husband, our 13th wedding anniversary is tomorrow. That shortbread was worth it, I think.
This recipe probably would have won him over, too--he loved it, and mightily praised how well it worked with coffee. His co-workers scarfed it up, and one was surprised at how it tasted like snickerdoodles, though it looks nothing like a snickerdoodle. Nope, this is a brown sugar and cinnamon shortbread. I think the heaping amount of cinnamon here is what makes these superior to the store-bought Biscoff; those might be just too mild.
The texture of these is ideal, too. They are crispy enough to stay intact for travel, but tender and chewy to bite.
One extra note here. I live in Arizona. It's dry. This means that when I chill roll-out dough, I almost always have to add water or it becomes a crumbly mess when I try to roll it out. That happened with this recipe, too. If the dough is too wet, add flour; if it's dry, add water by the tablespoon until it's a good texture. I don't find it necessary to chill it again after. You can cut the cookies into shapes or do the lazy thing like me and use a pizza cutter.
Homemade Biscoff Cookies
modified slightly from Blue Bonnets and Brownies
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
In a medium bowl add the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and baking soda together. Whisk together thoroughly to combine. Set aside.
In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter together with the sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and mix again.
With the mixer on slow, add the flour mixture a little bit at a time until the dough is fully combined. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl often.
Refrigerate the dough for at least half an hour. When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 350F.
Lightly flour a large surface and roll out the dough to 1/4″ thick as best you can. *Note that if you're in a dry climate, you may need to add water to make the dough cohesive; if it's too wet, add flour. Using a cookie cutter or pizza slicer, cut as many cookies as you can out of the rolled-out dough.
Combine the leftover dough into a ball again, and roll out again. Only do this once, as reworking the dough too many times will result in tough cookies.
Bake cookies for roughly 9-10 minutes. Watch the oven very closely after the 7 minute mark. Because of the thinness and high sugar content, the cookies are a lot like caramel and can go from perfect to burnt in a flash. It can also be hard to see if they are browning because they are already brown.
Eat as a snack, as a breakfast with coffee, with ice cream, dipped in milk... the possibilities are endless.
OM NOM NOM.
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