Speculoos spread

"An optimist is something that doesn't exist, isn't it true, mommy?"
My little daughter is trying to connect the world of fantasy, fairy tales and video games to the real one. Everything she's never heard of makes her wonder if that really exists.
The song she was listening in the car made her think an optimist is one of those bad, scary characters that she couldn't stand meeting in the street.
Had to explain of course that an optimist is something she doesn't have to be afraid because it has to do with being happy and seing everything pink (her favourite colour). That put a smile back on her face.
I'm neither pessimist nor optimist, I like to have my feet firmly on the ground and judge the facts, swinging sometimes more this or that way. But when things happen in a bad series I start wondering, too.
A computer that breaks all of a sudden when you have finally received some work to do and have to quit it? An oven that breaks for the third time in a year just a week from Christmas? Some idiot that scratches your new car? How many things can happen in just two days and yet not ruin your balance?
If things like that happen to you, too, you need something to pull you out of bad mood and help you not move over to the dark side. Think pink, think pink, think pink!!!

Or... think spices, think Chiristmas, think something like speculoos!
I so love these thin, crisp cookies, in fact I made them myself last year, and this year I couldn't wait to use them in this Speculoos spread recipe that comes from the same author.
So lovely, not perfectly smooth, but that little crunch gives it something special as well, spiced to the right point. It is hard to make it get further from the spoon-mouth route, but if you resist, and if you make a double or triple quantity you may discover it's great in some other things as well.
Sooner or later, I'll find time to give you a recipe for Speculoos parfait that I made with it, but till then prepare a couple jars, one for you, and others perhap as a last minute Christmas gift for a friend or family.

Speculoos spread
(from Regali golosi, by Sigrid Verbert)

* 150 g speculoos cookies
* 90 g white chocolate
* 60 g honey
* 30 g brown sugar
* 100 ml milk
*  50 ml vegetable oil

Preheat the oven to 150°C.
Place the speculoos cookies on a baking tray and warm them up in the oven for 10 minutes.
Put them in the bowl of a food processor and reduce into fine crumbs.
Mix the cookies with finely chopped or grated chocolate in a mixing bowl.
Warm up the milk with the sugar and honey.
Pour the hot liquid over the cookies and chocolate and stir well until the chocolate's melted. If necessary, use an immersion blender in order to get a smooth mixture.
Stir in the oil and pour the spread into glass jars. Wait until it's cooled down, then close and keep in a cool place (I keep it in the fridge).
Use: you may spread it on a slice of bread, sandwich cookies with it or in many other delicious desserts.

Pasta di speculoos
(da Regali golosi, di Sigrid Verbert)

* 150 g biscotti speculoos
* 90 g cioccolato bianco
* 60 g miele
* 30 g zucchero di canna
* 100 ml latte
*  50 ml olio

Scaldate il forno a 150°C.
Mettete i biscotti su una placca da forno e infornateli per 10 minuti.
Frullateli nel mixer per ridurli in polvere. Mescolate i biscotti con il cioccolato tagliato a scaglie fini o grattugiato in una ciotola.
Scaldate il latte con lo zucchero e il miele. Versate il liquido molto caldo nella ciotola con i biscotti e cioccolato e mescolate bene finché il cioccolato non si sia sciolto (se necessario frullate un po' con un frullatore a immersione).
Alla fine unite l'olio, mescolate bene per ottenere una crema omogenea e versatela nel baratolo di vetro. 
Lasciatela raffreddare e conservate la crema al fresco.
Uso: spalmata sul pane, per unire i biscotti e tante altre delizie.

Speculoos namaz

* 150 g speculoos keksa
* 90 g bijele čokolade
* 60 g meda
* 30 g smeđeg šećera
* 100 ml mlijeka
*  50 ml ulja

Zagrijte pećnicu na 150°C.
Rasporedite kekse na pleh i stavite ih u pećnicu 10 minuta.
Sameljite kekse, stavite ih u zdjelu i pomiješajte s naribanom ili sitno nasjeckanom bijelom čokoladom.
Zagrijte mlijeko zajedno s medom i šećerom.
Vruće mlijeko prelijte preko keksa i čokolade.
Miješajte da se čokolada istopi i sve sjedini u kremu.
Ako vam smjesa nije dovoljno glatka, nakratko sve izmiksajte štapnim mikserom.
Na kraju umiješajte ulje.
Sipajte kremu u staklenke i ostavite da se ohladi na sobnoj temperaturi.
Čuvajte je na hladnom.
Dobiju se dvije manje staklenke.
Upotreba: možete je mazati na kruh, spajati njome kekse i za pripremu raznih drugih delicija.