Peanut Speculoos Cookies
I know it’s a really food blogger thing to say you love speculoos spread, but then again, I am a food blogger, so allow me.
I absolutely love speculoos spread, especially the crunchy version. If you can’t picture what this is, imagine a Lotus biscuit which you can spread on toast. Like as if Nutella was made from caramel, butter and spices. I particularly love it late at night on hot buttered toast, but I’m not above just sticking a spoon into the jar if I’m honest.
I’ve been meaning to do something wildly creative with it since I got my first jar, but I’ve never quite got round to more since the jars don’t last that long and it might have cramped my toast eating schedule slightly. However today I was testing a peanut butter cookie for Recipes from Brixton Village and realised I didn’t have enough peanut butter. So desperate not to have to abandon the other dish I was dealing with, I had a quick rummage through the cupboards to see what I could add. Casting aside the two tins of pear slices I seem to have acquired, I saw the speculoos spread and knew its time had come.
These flour free cookies are super simple and can be made without the spread, but I think the flavour and texture is vastly improved with it. If you don’t have any, just use an extra 100g of peanut butter.
Peanut Speculoos Cookies: makes about 16
- 200g peanut butter (preferably crunchy)
- 100g brown sugar
- 100g speculoos spread
- 1 large egg
Put the peanut butter and sugar in a bowl and beat well with a wooden spoon or electric handwhisk until they are well combined. Then beat in the speculoos spread and the egg. This will give you a soft dough that comes together into a lump in the bowl, leaving the sides clean.
Wrap the dough in greaseproof paper and chill for at least 30 minutes or overnight in the fridge. Preheat the oven to 170ºC and line two baking trays with greaseproof paper when you are ready to bake the cookies.
Take teaspoon sized balls of the dough off and place them on the tray with room for them to spread. Then flatten them down slightly with your fingers or the back of a fork. You want them quite flat and an even depth.
Then bake them for about 12-15 minutes until they seem dry on top and crisped round the edges. Cool on a wire rack. The cookies are quite fragile and crumbly because of the peanut butter so handle carefully. These are not the cookie to dunk in your tea.
They are utterly delicious, all short and buttery and spiced, but not too sweet. If you like peanut butter, they really are the ultimate peanut butter cookie and take simple to a whole new level! You might even have your loyalties swayed away from Nutella when you try this combo…
Newsflash: the Lotus version of this is also available in Sainsbury’s in the Chocolate Spread section on the website. I left a couple of jars for you all. I’m nice like that.
I’m not a food blogger but I looooove speculoos. My grandma lived in Belgium when I was a kid and every time I went there we ate it in some form or other so I have an emotional attachment as well… Eating takes me straight back to her kitchen. These sound so good, the perfect breakfast biscuit – Belvita eat you’re heart out! Thanks for this wonderfully simple recipe. Will be making these soon.
I have never tried speculoos spread!
Audrey: I love hearing stories about people’s emotional connections with food. I think they are so important. And yes, these are much much better than a Belvita. And they keep well so you can make them in advance or have the dough in the fridge until needed.
Alicia: get thee to a Waitrose! Speculoos spread is divine. Late night toast just got heavenly with a jar of this in the house!
REVELATION. Flourless cookies?????? What! Shame on me for never having purchased speculoos spread. Will have to right that wrong when next I’m in The Netherlands! They look delicious!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May try an all PB version before then.
Thx so much for the shout out. You made my day. Hope the rice worked out well!
I have never heard of this stuff! I need to find some methinks, Waitrose you say. Next time I’m in the vicinity then……..
I LOVE speculoos spread- ever since discovering it in Belgium. And how excited did I get to find it in this country too?? Yeah- I think you can empathise.
These cookies look crazy good- I avoid peanuts because my husband is allergic, but maybe something for when he is faaaar away. Amazed you can make a cookie with just those 4 ingredients!!
Lesley: just found it at Sainsbury’s too. Giddy with joy…
Micol: it’s becoming quite well known here and that pleases me immensely. These cookies are fab. So simple unless you are allergic of course!
They look good! I had a go at incorporating the Lotus paste into a biscuit, thinking to sub it for the peanut butter in Dan Lepard’s peanut butter cookies which use oats and flour and are all together delightful, but I don’t think I quite got the proportions right as I am not very good at recipe tweaking, I was aiming for some version of a home made ginger nut but haven’t got there… I like the elegance of your recipe with its four ingredients. If your readers go to Waitrose and ask for this don’t ask for it as ‘speculoos paste’ as the chances are they will deny all knowledge of it, which is what happened when I went and it was down there on the bottom shelf all along !
Joanna: my tweak here was that I was the same amount short on peanut butter as I had speculoos and luckily it worked! I’m scared of tweaking baking, especially someone as perfect as Dan Lepard!
And yes, this is described as ‘caramelised biscuit spread’ in supermarkets which doesn’t sound just as appealing…