Sinterklaas 2020
During the quarantine, I made the house as comfy as possible and I also tried to buy and make lots of delicious food. I normally buy one or two things of the Sinterklaas treats, but this time, I was able to score a lot with a discount.
The HEMA chocolate letter that I liked the most is the milk chocolate one with hazelnuts. The hazelnuts have a strong flavor and they were crunchy. The milk chocolate blended well with the hazelnuts. The milk chocolate with tiny, crunchy bits of caramel and chunky sea salt was tasty too.
Online, I was also able to buy a couple of chocolate letters from de Bijenkorf department store with a 70% discount. Not pictured, but I also bought one with dark chocolate and with mixed nuts in it.
This was the first time, I was able to find a lot of Sinterklaas treats after the Sinterklaas celebration and with a good discount. Everything was 2 for €1.
The loot: 4 amandelstaven, 4 chocolate letters in dark chocolate, milk chocolate with caramel sea salt, milk chocolate with hazelnuts, and milk chocolate, pepernoten covered with milk, white, and dark chocolate, and lemon cheesecake, carrot cake, and stroopwafel flavored ones.
Sadly enough the white chocolate pepernoten weren't as tasty as I remembered. They were one of my favorites. The milk and dark chocolate ones weren't that special either. The lemon cheesecake pepernoten had a creamy cheese cake flavor with a tiny hint of lemon. It was not zesty enough for me, but if it was too zesty, it might not match with the warm herbs of the pepernoten. The carrot cake pepernoten had a tiny hint of carrot flavor, not really strong. I liked the stroopwafel pepernoten the most, as it has a strong and lingering roasted coffee like flavor, which resembles the wafer of the stroopwafel. The pepernoten inside have a nice herbs flavor and a good crunch.
Before the after Sinterklaas sale, I bought the HEMA amandelstaaf and speculaasstaaf for 2 for €4. I didn't quite like the speculaasstaaf this time, as they seem to have changed the recipe and the herbs mixture tastes strange to me. The amandelstaaf tasted great, as it was buttery and flakey. The almond paste filling was smooth, full of almond flavor, and not too sweet. But the four that I got with a big discount in the first picture had a bit of an oily aftertaste. I think it is best to enjoy these as soon as you buy them and not stock up on them too much. The freshly made gevulde speculaas (the rectangular pastry) from the bakery section was discounted to only €0.50 per piece.
I started to like anything with almond, since it helps with my insomnia. I tend to sleep better after having a piece of almond filled pastry or after a glass of almond milk right before bed time.
The Lidl Favorina amandelstaaf (€1.99) had a later expiry date and it tasted reasonable for something out of a box and from the supermarket. At another HEMA store, I was able to pick up 4 HEMA gevulde speculaas for €1.70.
