Thyme, Orange, Almond and Chocolate Biscotti

In attempt to fully indulge myself in American culture this year, I have acquired the habit of drinking coffee everyday. I always like to accompany my daily brew with something sweet on which to nibble. Back in England, I would always have a stash of chocolate digestives, chocolate bunnies (around Easter time) and other chocolate treats to consume with my daily cup of Earl Grey. I believe that it is only fair that my coffee has a sweet companion too!

I decided to stay away from the giant cakes and muffins (as I would like to return back to England a similar size to that which I was when I left), and found out that Americans enjoy a nice chunk of biscotti with their coffee. That sounded like the perfectly-sized treat for my coffee!

Needless to say, a student life isn't the most affluent of lifestyles. I decided that by making my own biscotti, I am not only saving money, but have the ability to choose the exact flavours I like!

I decided to try out the combination of thyme, orange and dark chocolate. I was toying with the idea of dipping the biscotti in chocolate instead of adding chocolate chips but actually decided to keep the chips in the mixture. I love it when chocolate chips melt in my mouth with hot coffee... bliss!

As for the flavours, I think that they all go very well together. The thyme and orange add a refreshing aroma to the biscotti, the almonds add the perfect crunch and I have already mentioned the chocolate, above.

The beauty of biscotti is that you can add practically anything to it! Cranberries, figs, cinnamon, anise, rosemary, walnuts, lemon, pistachios, pumpkin, pecans, coffee, brazil nuts, ginger, macadamia nuts, honey, poppy seeds, coconut, raisins and the list goes on and on!

The only issue with these delighful chunks of biscuit is the unfortunate fact that they leave crumbs absolutely everywhere! I guess that'll teach me to use a plate for once...

Speculoos Millionaire's shortbread

Here is another recipe using the divine spreadable biscuit. Please excuse my language, but holy crap these things taste amazing! The recipe here is very simple - shortbread base, a can of dulce de leche mixed with a jar of Speculoos spread and then a layer of your choice of chocolate.

I made half with milk chocolate and the other half with dark chocolate. In my opinion, the dark is by far the best. I have given out samples of these delicous chunks and had great feedback. If you have a jar of Speculoos lying around, I could not recommend a better way to use it! The dulce de leche marries so well with it. The Speculoos taste gives the treat a massive boost.

Yummmm!!!

Speculoos and lemon cheesecake

So......here is another delicious treat I have produced using some of my 300 Speculoos biscuits.

I chose a lemon cheesecake body to go with the spiced caramel biscuits.

The cheesecake body was made with lemon zest, lemon juice, creme fraiche, sugar, eggs and cream cheese. The base was made simply of butter and crushed Speculoos biscuits.

I completed the cheesecake with a dollop of Speculoos spread, a couple of fresh raspberries and a sprinkle of cocoa.

The buttery biscuit base was soft, but still had some crunchy parts. The lemon body was creamy and zesty. The Speculoos spread and raspberry completed the cheesecake, it would not have been as good without them! I also enjoyed the hint of chocolate from the cocoa. A delicate collection of flavours.

Speculoos and Kahlua tiramisu

As I said I would, in my previous post, I have began experimenting with my large number of Speculoos biscuits.

My first experiment consists of Speculoos tiramisus. I have Kahlua in the cupboard, and I thought this would be perfect for this recipe.

I have consumed a fair amount of my Speculoos biscuits dipped in strong hot coffee. The caramelised spicey biscuit soaked in coffee provides a delicious wet crunch and powerful flavour, so I knew these would go well in a tiramisu.

The spiciness of the biscuits gave the tiramisu a twist to it's usual flavours. The moussey part was very light in order to smoothen the pungency of the espresso, and take the edge off of the sweetness of the biscuits and Kahlua.

I think I may make a bigger batch of these again soon as they proved to be a... grrrrreat success!


Yum!

Lots and lots and LOTS of biscuits

300 to be exact, although far less now! My very kind and generous friend Ant(honey) surprised me with yet another gift, the evening I returned home to Woking, after completion of my second year of university.

This gift was not the Speculoos spread Anthony had previously given me, but the biscuits Speculoos spread is made from!

I must now conjure some Speculoos-biscuit-containing recipes. Firstly, I'm thinking of making a cheesecake with a Speculoos biscuit base. Perhaps these would go down well in a tiramisu? Sit tight and the future shall reveal!