When things don’t quite turn out as expected…

Happy Valentine’s Day!  I hope you all feel very loved today and always!  So my story today is about my attempt to show some extra love to my family while producing something beautiful I would be able to share with you and feel proud of.  I succeeded in one part of this quest and didn’t quite in the other… 

If you have ever visited Holland, you know that we like to enjoy a cookie or treat with our coffee and that Holland has some of the best baked goods. Growing up, my grandmother used to make something very Dutch called “boterkoek” which basically means butter cookie.  Guess what the main ingredient is???  You got it!

Apparently, I felt inspired with Fat Tuesday and Valentine’s Day falling so close together that I decided to attempt baking boterkoek. I wanted to share the yummy treat with my family while reminiscing about my childhood memories.  I also wanted to share the recipe with you along with some drool-worthy pictures because you know I’m all about celebrating simple joys and what better way to celebrate than with a sweet, homebaked treat made with love?

I was doing well at this point....

The recipe looks very easy and doesn’t have many ingredients but I’m humbled to say it is NOT easy to make, at least not for me.  This is where I had trouble:

• in trying to make the dough ball, I noticed it wasn’t really sticking together.  I probably should have added even more butter.
• of course, I didn’t add more butter but just gave up on trying to make a ball out of the dough and pressed it into the pan with a little more force. :0)
• since my dough was so dry, I really couldn’t brush the egg on. I decided to just drizzle it in clumps instead.  Voila!
• since the recipe still has a ton of butter and sugar, the cookie I ended up baking (which looked nothing like the boterkoek I grew up with) tasted ok but dry.​

Yep. Two whole sticks of butter!

So…. if you have fantastic baking skills and want to improve on my attempt, here is the recipe anyways.  I invite you to share your tips and recommendations in the comment section because I obviously need them. Consider it your baking challenge!

Dutch Boterkoek

For 16 squares, you will need:
2 1/2 cups of flour
1 1/2 cups of powered sugar
a pinch of salt
2 sticks of cold butter
1 egg, beaten

Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl.  Cut the butter into small piece and add.  Knead this mixture into a ball without air bubbles (with cold hands).  Put the dough into a 8 x 8 cake pan and make sure there is some space between the dough and the side of the pan.  Spread the egg on top of the dough.  Put the cake pan on the oven rack and bake at 425 degrees for 15-25 minutes (depending on your oven) until it is done and golden brown.  Let the cookie cool down in the pan and don’t take it out until it is completely cooled off.  Enjoy!

Drizzle, drizzle....

I’m glad to say that while my boterkoek ended up dry and NOT worthy of an instagram spotlight,  I did manage to show my love for my family. In return, they love me so much that they told me it wasn’t too bad… (while drinking some extra water). 

​So the moral of the story is: show your love even if your attempts are a bit clumsy!

Final result... Not pretty but made with love!

Have you ever tried to bake a recipe from your childhood? How did it turn out?  What is your favorite family recipe? Share in the comments!  ​

Keep in touch! Sign up for a sprinkling of positivity and simple joys in your inbox!