Squidgy Chocolate Brownie Cookies – Dairy Free

These cookies are fabulous. They are quick and easy to make, chocolaty, squidgy, soft, rich, dairy-free and absolutely scrummy. Did I mention they are only around 100 calories each? I think they went down a treat at work.

I needed to create a cookie platter (along with 5-6 other platters) for a recent wine tasting event, where I was donating the catering. Since my cookie recipe repertoire isn’t very big, I scoured the internet for something quick and easy. This platter alone consisted of chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, lemon bars and these brownie cookies.

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Gevulde Speculaas – Dutch Spiced Biscuit (Cookie) Filled with Almond Paste

These are my favorite Dutch specialties. They bring wonderful warm memories of December and Christmas. I daren’t even think about the sugar, fat or calories in these things. However, they do have a redeeming feature – they contain almonds, although I doubt this counteracts the naughtiness of them. They are definitely worth the splurge once in a while.

I find these the perfect. Why? I love the Dutch spiced biscuits (cookies), speculaas, and I also love almond paste. When you get layers of speculaas wrapped around a thick layer of almond paste, what is there not to love? It’s like heaven for me. I would gladly work out for a longer amount of time just to enjoy these goodies!

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Taai-Taai – Dutch Chewy Spiced Honey Cake Dolls

It’s closing in on December 5^th, and it’s this time of year when there are normally gifts and wonderful Dutch goodies in the house. Only this year, there are none. It was J who introduced me to these wonderful culinary delights, and for 10.5 years we had been together, I had never made taai-taai, speculaas or gevulde speculaas. This was because my mother-in-law would furnish us with a food parcel at this time of year.

Taai-taai aren’t exactly cookies, they are closer to gingerbread. They are spiced differently too, similar to that you would find in Dutch spiced biscuits (cookies), speculaas. They are soft, tough, chewy and incredibly moreish, made to be enjoyed with a cup of tea or coffee,

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