Speculoos & Chocolate Button Cookies for Santa

I have a Christmastime confession for you. Are you ready?

Many years ago when I was selling cookies, I was so exhausted from making Christmas cookies for other people that we set out a store-bought cookie assortment for Santa at our house.  How terrible is that?  A cookie maker feeding store-bought cookies to Santa?

I remember it clearly because as kiddo took each cookie from the package to place on Santa's plate, he took a bite out of each one. ;)  (He is his mother's child.)

This year Santa is getting these: Speculoos & Chocolate Button Cookies.  
(That is if I don't eat them all first.)

They feature my all-time favorite bittersweet chocolate for eating straight: Lindt Dark Swiss Bittersweet Chocolate Bar.  I keep it in my "chocolate basket" in the pantry at all times.  The size of the pieces just happen to be perfect for the cookies.

Speculoos:  I know it sounds funny, but I bet you've eaten it before.  You know those crunchy cinnamon cookies they serve on Delta Airlines?  Those are Speculoos cookies; the brand is Biscoff.  You can also buy Speculoos spread....which is like peanut butter MADE FROM COOKIES.  Look for Biscoff brand or Trader Joe's Cookie Butter.

The cookies are a little crispy around the edges, chewy in the center, covered in cinnamon-sugar, and topped off with the perfect piece of Lindt chocolate.  It's the chocolate that just catapults them from really yummy to ohmygoodness so delicious.

Let's make them.

Speculoos & Chocolate Button Cookies

{yield: 40 cookies}

1 & 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, cut into chunks
3/4 cup Speculoos spread
1 teaspoon cinnamon sugar, plus more for rolling
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
2 TBSP milk
2 Lindt Bittersweet Chocolate Bars, divided into pieces (you'll have leftover chocolate)

Cinnamon-Sugar (if you don't have it on hand)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 TBSP cinnamon (or to taste)

Preheat oven to 375.  Line cookies sheets with parchment paper.

Combine the flour, salt and baking soda in a bowl and set aside.

Cream the butter and Speculoos spread together until smooth.  Beat in the sugars.  Add in the egg and milk and beat until combined.

Add in the flour mixture on low, in three additions.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Roll into 1 to 1.5 inch balls, then roll through the extra cinnamon-sugar.

Bake for 9-10 minutes or until done.  Remove from the oven and let sit on the cookie sheet for 1 minute.  (The cookies will be slightly poufy when they come out of the oven, then deflate.)

Press a piece of chocolate onto the top of each cookie.

Remove the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Serve to Santa.

PS...I have it on good authority that if you put a few Lindt LINDOR truffles out with the cookies, Santa leaves extra goodies.

{This post was sponsored by Lindt Chocolate.  Thank you, Lindt.}

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! 
Eat lots of cookies!