Tamarin Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Thursday, August 12, 2010 at 5:47PM in Giveaways, Product Reviews, baking, chocolate, cookies, desserts, opinion, recipes, snack, vegan Tamarin? What’s Tamarin? No, I’m not talking about Tamarind, the funny looking pods from Tamarind trees. I’m talking about Tamarin Spread!
It’s this amazingly different and delicious spread that’s an alternative to good old peanut butter. It’s creamy, slightly sweet, and cinnamony. The flavor is based on the traditional European Speculoos Wafer. Tamarin Spread was introduced to Europe in 2008 and has been very popular there, and guess what? Now it’s our turn to enjoy it, too, in the US!
What’s in it?
Our ingredient list is simple: flour, sugar, rapeseed oil, baking powder, soy lecithin (for smoothness), salt & spices.
Tamarin is 100% natural, and contains no eggs or dairy so an excellent choice for both vegans and vegetarians.
I was contacted by the folks at Tamarin Spread a little while ago, and they were wondering if I’d like to sample a jar.* I had a look at the site and immediately said yes when I saw that it was all natural, and good for vegetarians and vegans!
When it arrived in the mail, it was a Friday afternoon, and those can be busy around here. I’d decided to set the box aside and wait until Saturday morning to open it--but my husband** had other ideas! I let him open it, and oh my gosh, we were blown away by how good it was! Creamy, sort of sweet, hints of cinnamon and other things we couldn’t quite nail down--that would be “spices” portion of the label. All subtle, but deliciously subtle. This would be great on bagels, croissants, muffins, toast--anywhere you’d put peanut butter. And cooking with it? My mind was spinning in one hundred directions. I had to put it away before we ate all of it right out of the jar.
Fast forward to this past weekend. We went out to dinner, and skipped dessert. I know! What was I thinking? When we left the restaurant, all I could think of was a warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie. I had to have one. Or three. Seeing as it was kind of late, there were no bakeries open, and I was out of luck. B didn’t give up, though! We drove all over and racked our brains. I love that guy! I finally realized I’d just have to make my own.
Which reminds me--someone really needs to open a chain of quality, late night bakeries! I can’t be the only one that gets these cravings! We could have headed down to Boston--there are a million late night craving solutions there, but it was already late and we needed to be heading home.
So! Cookies it is, then. I couldn’t think of a better way to give the Tamarin Spread a try in baking. (Though I’m positive there are many.) Chocolate chip cookies, with cinnamony good Tamarin, and the kicker--candied pecans from Trader Joe’s. You don’t need to use candied pecans, but if you’re using regular pecans, it would be great to toast them first, for extra nuttiness.
Tamarin Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies
makes about 40 3" cookies
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup Tamarin Spread
1 cup chopped candied pecans (or regular toasted pecans)
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
Heat oven to 350°.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, and set aside.
Cream the butter and both sugars in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
Add eggs and vanilla, mix well, then mix in the Tamarin Spread.
Add the flour mixture in, about half at first, then the rest, and beat at low speed to mix well.
Mix in the nuts and chocolate chips.
To bake, I used a 2 inch cookie scoop to make large cookies--9 per sheet, baked for 18 minutes--makes about a 3" cookie.
You can also drop by a teaspoon on the sheet and bake for about 10-11 minutes.
Don’t over bake--just let the edges get a nice golden brown. The cookies will continue to cook as they cool for a couple of minutes on the baking sheet. They’ll be nice and chewy in the center this way. So--let the baked cookies sit on the sheet for a couple of minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
- The cookies are perfect by my standards. Crispy edges, chewy centers, and fully loaded with nuts and chocolate. Also a slight hint of cinnamon, but nothing overwhelming. More like a “mystery ingredient.”
- My kids love them. Yeah, I know-what kid doesn’t like cookies? You’d be surprised!
- The cookies themselves aren’t vegan, but that could easily be done with a switch to Earth Balance Sticks, egg replacer, and vegan chocolate. The Tamarin already is vegan, so no worries there.
As if cookies weren’t fun enough, there’s MORE!
The generous folks at Tamarin Speculoos Spread were very cool and offered to send TEN of you each a jar of Tamarin to try!
There is one catch: you must be willing to use the jar to create a recipe using the Tamarin Spread. Get your thinking caps on!
##Since I've reached 10 willing participants, I've decidede to end the giveaway today, Monday the 16th. That way none of them get left out. So the giveaway is now officially closed> Thanks for entering!
The recipes will be added to their blog, and one winner will be chosen to receive a case full (that’s 12 jars!) of Tamarin Spread!
That’s 12 jars to bake and cook with, eat right out of the jar, or share with friends and family if you like.
*I did receive a free jar, but my opinion is not in any way influenced by this. I am not receiving any compensation for my post or opinion.
**Who shall now be referred to as “B” on my blog. I feel way too formal typing out “my husband,” and really cannot stomach calling him “hubbie.” His name is Billy, if you’re wondering. Or Bill, to everyone else. ;)
Reader Comments (17)
ooooohh my goooddddnesss!!! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE pecans!!! and this looks soooooo goood!! Am definitely going to add this on my recipe book! keep it up!!!
Your cookies look fabulous .. I've never seen or heard of tamarin - I'm going to have to keep my eyes open for some ... I'm not a recipe developer - but I'm guessing (from your desc of the spices) that tamarin would be a fabulous addition to some oatmeal cookies... Yumm!
Please sign me up for the recipe contest!
I went to the site, and they don't yet have a store in my area, so this would be my only way to try it!
Thanks! :)
Oops - forgot to leave my email (bostongaljm@gmail.com)
Well, I am definitely in! This stuff sounds so good, I'd love to play with it in the kitchen. Your cookies look and sound delicious. I only hope I'd be able to come up with something even close!
And Tamarin doesn't seem to have made it down to stores in my area, yet (I think their map said the closest store to me would be 654 miles away - LOL!), so I hope I'll be able to try it through you. Very excited!
P.S. - I'll be looking through my bromeliads to see if any Tamarin monkeys are hiding there! :-D
If the cute factor of the label doesn't win you over, your description of what's inside the jar should. Gonna have to stalk this.
I'd be up for a recipe contest, I'm imaging some sort of savory sauce. I went to the site & learned all about the golden lion monkey.
I'd love to enter! My boyfriend and I are always looking for new flavors to incorporate into our cooking, and this one sounds fantastic!
I have to admit, I was expecting this product to be tamarind-flavored, or meant for spreading on tamarind or something, but there's no mention of that on the website. I wonder how they got the name.
Anyhow, I'm intrigued! You can email me at lwehrmey@jhsph.edu.
i want this, i need this, i shan't rest until i've tried this. i had no idea i could form an obsession so quickly! :) yes, enter me!!!
I'd love to participate in the recipe contest. I read about Tamarin spread not too long ago and it piqued my interest, so I already had a recipe idea brewing in case I stumbled upon a jar! It's going to involve fresh fruit and nuts and mmmmmmmm.
A fact I learned from the site: according to their store locator, the nearest shop selling Tamarin spread is ~500 miles from me... but when I go to Local Fancy Cooking Shop this week, I'll ask them whether they plan to stock it!
I have a great recipe in mind for Tamarin spread - sign me up!
Thanks for the chance and have a great week-end.
goofy6820@yahoo.com
Ha Ha Ha you are my kinda girl!
After you kindly pointed out that this was not Tamarind spread I was intrigued! I'll bet these cookies taste as great as they look! Oh, don't enter me in the draw as I can easily by Speculoos Spread here in France. Have bought a jar thought haven't made anything with it yet but you've given me a great idea now!
I am game, if it is anything like PNB, just give me a spoon! LOL!!
This sounds really good. I would love to try a cheesecake and granola bars with it. Yum!
April824@comcast.net
Oh sorry, I would love to create a recipe using this. Can I come up with more then one?
Count me in ... I got a couple tricks up my sleeve. shelleybakes@gmail.com
Yum! I want to try one! You should give these cookies a shot- they're white chocolate raspberry macadamia cookies and they're amazing!