Cook along with Jesse Szewczyk to make these crunchy, perfectly spiced, and understated shortbread cookies that are as delicious dunked into hot coffee as they are eaten all on their own.

Recipe
Makes 24 bars

Shortbread Base

• 1 2/3 cups (214g) all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks/170g) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Salted Speculoos Caramel

• 3/4 cup (175 grams) packed light brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick/57g) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup (59 ml) light corn syrup
• 1 14-ounce can (414 ml) sweetened condensed milk
• 1/3 cup (90 grams) speculoos cookie butter (see Note)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Topping

• 1/2 cup (about 3 ounces/85 grams) semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup (about 3 ounces/85 grams) white chocolate chips
• 4 tablespoons (59 ml) whole milk, divided
• 2 tablespoons (36 grams) speculoos cookie butter, divided
• Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling

1. Make the shortbread base: Heat the oven 325°F. Grease an 8- by 8-inch baking pan with nonstick pan spray and line with parchment paper, leaving overhang on all four sides. In a large bowl combine the flour, granulated sugar, and salt. Add the melted butter, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and stir together until a soft dough forms. Transfer the dough into the lined baking pan and press into an even layer. Prick the top several times with a fork and bake until the shortbread is slightly puffed and golden brown in the center, 33 to 38 minutes. Remove from the oven and use the bottom of a measuring cup or a metal spatula to press down on the shortbread to compact it slightly. (This will prevent the bars from crumbling when sliced.) Let the shortbread cool for 30 minutes.
2. While the shortbread is cooling, make the caramel: In a medium saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer, combine the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, sweetened condensed milk, speculoos cookie butter, vanilla, and salt. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often to prevent burning, until the mixture is smooth, glossy, and registers 240°F on the candy thermometer, about 8 to 11 mins. Pour over the shortbread base, spread into an even layer, and transfer into the fridge. Let cool for 1 hour.
3. As the caramel is cooling, make the topping: Place both the white and semisweet chocolate chips in two separate medium, microwave-safe bowls. Add 2 tablespoons whole milk and 1 tablespoon cookie butter to each bowl. Microwave each bowl on high power in 10 second increments, stirring between each, until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth, about 30 seconds total. Transfer the white chocolate ganache into a piping bag or zip-top baggie.
4. Working quickly, pour the dark chocolate ganache over top of the caramel and spread into an even layer. Pipe thin, straight lines of the white chocolate ganache all going the same way. (You might not need all of the ganache.) Use a toothpick to drag it through the lines, alternating the direction you go each time to create a rough chevron pattern. Transfer the bars into the fridge and let set for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. Sprinkle the top of the bars with flaky sea salt and cut into a 3 by 8 grid to make 24 bars. (For cleaner edges, feel free to trim off the border of the pan before slicing.) Serve chilled or at room temperature.

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Lobby Time Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

On Play Me a Recipe, your favorite cooks will walk you through their most treasured recipes, offering all the insider tips, stories, and tricks you won't get from a written recipe—and you'll be right alongside them, every step of the way.

Is there a recipe you'd like to hear us make? Tell us all about it at podcasts@food52.com!

Ingredients

• 3/4 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
• 3/4 ounce gin
• 3/4 ounce green Chartreuse
• 3/4 ounce Luxardo maraschino liqueur
• Maraschino cherry, for garnish (optional)
• Lime peel, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Chill glassware (such as a coupe or a Nick & Nora glass).
2. Using a fine mesh strainer, strain the lime juice. Place all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake until tin frosts over.
3. Fine strain into the chilled glassware. Garnish as desired.

On Play Me a Recipe, your favorite cooks will walk you through their most treasured recipes, offering all the insider tips, stories, and tricks you won't get from a written recipe—and you'll be right alongside them, every step of the way.

If you're cooking along, here's the recipe we're making today. Go ahead and grab the ingredients below before starting the episode.

Recipe
Serves 2

Peanut chutney

• 1 cup unsalted, unroasted peanuts
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/2 teaspoon red chile powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Indian peanutty noodles

• 6 ounces udon or soba noodles
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup broccoli florets, chopped into 1-inch pieces
• 1 cup red bell pepper, chopped into 1-inch pieces
• 3/4 cup thinly sliced scallions, divided
• 2 tablespoons peanut chutney, prepared above
• 1 to 2 tablespoons light soy sauce, to taste

Peanut chutney

1. Roast the peanuts in a 350°F oven (or toaster oven, like I do) for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the nuts have turned dark brown, a shade darker than golden brown. Keep an eye on them! (After 3 minutes, turn the pan in such a way that the peanuts in the back come to the front.) Turn the oven off, take the peanuts out, and let cool.
2. In a food processor or blender, blitz all of the chutney ingredients (cumin powder, red chile powder, and salt) along with the peanuts into a coarse powder. Keep in a zip-top bag or tightly sealed jar.

Indian peanutty noodles

1. Cook the noodles according to the instructions on their packet and set aside. Keep half a cup of water in which you boiled the noodles.
2. Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet. Add half of the scallions and let cook for a minute. Add broccoli and sauté for 5 minutes. Feel free to add broccoli stems too. Follow with red bell pepper for about 3 to 4 minutes. (We want both these vegetables to lose their raw flavor, yet still have a bite.) Feel free to substitute with vegetables of your choice as long as the vegetables retain some bite, shape and do not become mushy. Carrots, red onions, snap peas, zucchini, water chestnuts, baby corn, mushrooms, French beans are great substitutes.
3. Add peanut chutney and mix well, followed by the soy sauce, and sauté till the sauce coats all of the vegetables.
4. Add boiled noodles and mix till the noodles are coated evenly with the soy sauce/peanut chutney mixture. Pour some of the starchy noodle water if you like your noodles wetter.
5. Garnish with rest of the scallions and serve hot with fresh red pepper chile garlic sauce on the side.

Is there a recipe you'd like to hear us make? Tell us all about it at podcasts@food52.com!

Lobby Time Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/