I wanted to give a shout out to two fairly recent Trader Joe's sweets I've been enjoying.
Trader Jacques' Fleur de Sel Caramel Sauce is a fantastic caramel topping for ice cream. This purports to be salted caramel (I should note that the idea of using fleur de sel for this is just silly, since it's a finishing salt valued for its texture - when used in cooking, it's no different than any other salt). In truth, it's not very salty. What it is though, is excellent caramel topping for ice cream or whatever else you think should be topped in caramel. It's rich, not overly sweet (for caramel) and has a wonderfully smooth texture. It's one of the best store-bought caramel toppings I've had.
It looks like peanut butter and sounds like a medical implement of some sort, but Speculoos Cookie Butter is a creamy cookie paste. It tastes like mashed up gingersnaps but with the consistency of creamy peanut butter. It's tasty, though I find the ultra-creamy texture a bit creepy, and the ingredient list reveals that it is indeed achieved with a combination of oils and emulsifiers. Dip pretzels in it, spread it on a PB&Speculoos sandwich or just scoop some from the jar, but not too much.
I've been enjoying the Speculoos. It's the perfect topping for my home made liege waffles. I agree, you are much better off not reading the list of ingredients.
ReplyDeleteHomemade liege waffles? Please expound.
Deletei grew up on this (http://www.bonnemaman.ca/en/products/preserves/caramel-spread/) + unsalted butter + bread dipped in coffee.
ReplyDeleteworth a try.
Have you visited Shaky Alibi on Beverly before? If you haven't had a liege waffle before you should sample one there. I think my waffles are pretty close to theirs. Their crunchy speculoos kills the TJ's though! (Word or warning if you go- Don't order a coffee, it's terrible)
ReplyDeleteI've been having a lot of success with the recipe I'm linking at the end here, about 1/4 of the way down the page. It's a lot simpler than some of the others and I can't taste anything off about them.
http://www.squidoo.com/the-best-waffles-ever
Since I don't have pearl sugar I substitute turbinado sugar with the largest crystals I can find. You don't get the big sugar lumps like the true liege waffle, but the sweetness is right and it will caramelize on the crust of the waffle the right way.
Shaky Alibi is great. You gotta check it out Sku, and let the owner tell you about the liege waffles.
ReplyDeleteI've also been enjoying TJ's take on Nuettela as well. "Trader Joe's Cocoa Almond Spread" Also great!
I'm a big fan of liege waffles so I'll try Shaky Alibi.
ReplyDeleteFussyChicken, you're absolutely right about the Cocoa Almond spread. I like it better than Nutella. I actually considered including it in the post but decided against it.