Speculoos is a spiced shortbread cookie that originated in Belgium. Today, speculoos cookies are popular all across Europe and often served during holidays and special occasions. They’re often made in fun shapes such as windmills.
Speculoos cookies are also often used as an ingredient in cookie butter - a delicious cookie-flavored spread that is as delicious as it sounds. However, this has led to a bit of confusion as speculoos and cookie butter are sometimes used interchangeably, which isn’t exactly correct. Speculoos is a specific kind of cookie, while cookie butter is a spread that can be made from pretty much any cookie. Speculoos is the most popular cookie to use for making cookie butter, though.
We’ll take another look at the difference between speculoos and cookie butter below, but first let’s take a deeper dive into the history of this unique spiced cookie and learn what you can expect in terms of flavor.
Speculoos Cookie History
Speculoos are thought to have originated in the Netherlands as early as the 17th century. This was a time when spices were just becoming widely available to more people due to the growth of the Dutch East India Company.
As for the creation of speculoos, the recipe is generally credited to Antonie (or Antoine) Deplée, a Belgian patissier (pastry maker) from Flanders. Deplée registered the recipe in 1870 in Hasselt and the origin of the biscuits has been considered distinctly Belgian ever since then.
Speculoos Cookie Flavor - What Does Speculoos Taste Like?
So, what do speculoos actually taste like? Speculoos flavor can actually vary widely depending on the types and amounts of different spices used in the recipe.
Some of the most common spices used as speculoos ingredients today include:
- Cloves
- Ginger
- Nutmeg
- White pepper
- Cinnamon
- Cardamom
This gives the cookies a spiced but sweet flavor, somewhat similar to gingerbread or gingersnaps. Traditionally, since speculoos originated as biscuits, they are prepared to have a crispy, crunchy mouthfeel.
Speculoos vs. Biscoff vs. Cookie Butter - What’s the Difference?
Speculoos, Biscoff, and cookie butter are often used interchangeably, even though these terms don’t necessarily mean the same thing.
Here’s a quick breakdown if you’re confused:
- Speculoos is the actual spiced belgian cookie itself.
- Cookie butter is a popular desert spread, and it often uses speculoos as the main ingredient.
- Biscoff is one of the most popular brands of cookie butter, and also one of the most popular brands of speculoos cookies.
Now Available: Healthy Speculoos Cookies
We’re excited to announce that we’ve added speculoos to our cookie offerings here at Maxine’s Heavenly!
Our speculoos recipe honors the traditional spicy-sweetness of this Belgian classic. But we also went a step further and put a healthy, natural spin on the ingredients, making this one of the cleanest and most wholesome cookies out there!
Our speculoos ingredients include:
- Oat Flour, Organic Coconut Sugar, Coconut Oil, Organic Coconut Nectar, Flaxseed, Vanilla Extract, Baking Soda, Cinnamon, Sea Salt, Ginger, Allspice, Nutmeg, Cloves, Cardamom.
As always, you’ll notice we use real, wholesomeingredients like coconut sugar and oat flour instead of refined flours and sweeteners. Pick up someCinnamon Speculoos Crunchtoday and enjoy a guilt-free, gluten free, vegan-friendly version of this delicious Belgian cookie.
FAQs
Speculoos (French: spéculoos, German: Karamellgebäck) is a biscuit, originally manufactured in Belgium, made from wheat flour, candy syrup (from beet sugar), fat, and sometimes cinnamon.
Are speculoos and Biscoff the same thing? ›
Are speculoos and biscoff the same? Yes! Biscoff is just a branded commercial name for speculoos flavour. However, some biscoff flavour biscuits can be more chewy or cookie-like than the traditional, crispy speculoos biscuit.
What is speculoos spread made of? ›
Cookie butter (Dutch: speculoospasta, Danish: trøffelmasse) is a food paste made primarily from speculoos cookie crumbs, fat (such as vegetable oil, condensed milk or butter), flour, and sugar. The ingredients are mixed until it becomes spreadable on a sandwich.
Is speculaas the same as gingerbread? ›
Speculoos, the cookie family to which Biscoff belong, are often described as a type of gingerbread, but that's a little misleading. Aside from their use of caramel sugar, speculoos don't have quite the same bite; their spice blend tends toward aroma rather than heat.
What do speculoos taste like? ›
What does Trader Joe's Speculoos Cookie Butter Spread taste like? Our approach to Trader Joe's Speculoos Cookie Butter Spread was the same that we took with the Lotus brand, tasting both the creamy and crunchy variety. The initial aroma here was less brown-sugar forward, but with prominent notes of cinnamon and nutmeg.
What is the new name for speculoos? ›
But while it's been known as speculoos in Belgium since its invention, when Lotus took the brand to international markets in the 1990s, it abandoned its native name. Instead, it gave it the name Biscoff — a portmanteau of “biscuit” and “coffee” — easier to say for an international audience.
Why are speculoos so good? ›
While speculoos, and its slightly spicy flavor (ingredients include cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, cloves, and ginger), tickles many a Belgian adult's nostalgic tendencies, the shortbread biscuit is more than ever a thing of the present.
Why is Lotus called speculoos? ›
The word 'Speculoos' supposedly derives from the Latin speculum (mirror): it is the mirror image of the wooden mould in which it has been made. But what once was a Belgian and Dutch speciality saved for Sinterklaas has now become a global sensation with manufacturers shipping the biscuits worldwide.
What is a substitute for speculoos cookie butter? ›
With our easy recipe for Cookie Butter (pictured above), you can whip up homemade cookie butter in 20 minutes. Instead of Belgian speculoos, we use a mix of readily available cookies including gingersnaps, graham crackers and shortbread.
Is Lotus a speculoos? ›
Lotus Bakeries NV is a Belgian multinational snack food company founded in 1932. Based in Lembeke, Kaprijke, the company's best known product is Speculoos (known as Biscoff in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and Australia).
When does cookie butter expire? Unopened cookie butter can last up to a year in your pantry, so long as it is stored in a cool, dry place. Once you crack the jar open, cookie butter is generally good for about two to three months. Be sure to check the manufacturer's label as it can vary.
What do you eat with speculoos spread? ›
50 Ways to Use Trader Joe's Speculoos Cookie Butter
- Spread it on toast.
- Eat it with apple slices.
- Top off a fruit, granola, and yogurt breakfast parfait.
- Top waffles and pancakes.
- Mix it into homemade scones.
- Blend it into a milkshake.
- Add it to homemade Rice Krispie treats.
Speculaas (Dutch: speculaas, French: spéculoos, [spekylos], German: Spekulatius) is a type of spiced shortcrust biscuit baked with speculaas spices originated from the County of Flanders territory in present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands.
Is Shortcake biscuit the same as shortbread? ›
Shortbread is similar to shortcake but doesn't include baking powder. Lots of rich butter gives shortbread a high fat content, resulting in a fine, crumbly texture. Shortcake and shortbread biscuits are delicious on their own, with fruit and cream, or simply topped with a delicate dusting of sugar.
Why is it called speculaas? ›
The name speculaas has to do with the wooden molds the cookies are made in (we call it a speculaasplank, speculaas (sometimes also called speculoos) comes from the word speculum which means; mirror). One of the more famous shapes is a windmill of course!
Is speculoos a Lotus? ›
Lotus Bakeries NV is a Belgian multinational snack food company founded in 1932. Based in Lembeke, Kaprijke, the company's best known product is Speculoos (known as Biscoff in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and Australia).
What is the flavor of speculoos sauce? ›
A DELICIOUS DUTCH FLAVOUR - Add this delicious Dutch flavour to your desserts with Simply Speculoos Topping Sauce. In case you've missed out, speculoos is a caramelised biscuit with gentle spices like cinnamon and ginger. Pair this sauce with chocolate, vanilla, gingerbread and caramel drinks and desserts.
Is Speculaas Dutch or German? ›
Speculaas (Dutch: speculaas, French: spéculoos, [spekylos], German: Spekulatius) is a type of spiced shortcrust biscuit baked with speculaas spices originated from the County of Flanders territory in present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands.
