I remember the first time I had a Biscoff cookie. It was on an airplane traveling from Los Angeles to Cincinnati. We were moving again, only this time I was old enough to feel sad and miss my friends and my school. As an inflight snack, my mom got coffee and we got a little package of 2 cookies. I wasn’t sure about the flavor (I was a chocolate chip kinda kid) but it was still a cookie and a treat so I tried it. I loved it. Unfortunately, at that time, it was not readily available in American grocery stores. Though Biscoffs are now available in U.S. grocery stores for a long time the they seemed to exist for Americans only as a gift from the friendly skies (even as they were widely available in Europe). After that trip, I always got a small package in my Christmas Stocking.
Biscoff has a unique, caramelized flavor with prominent notes of cinnamon and a subtle blend of spices like ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Originating from Belgian speculoos cookies, it is characterized by a deep, toasted sugar taste, a crunchy texture, and a distinct, aromatic warmth that pairs well with coffee. Think crunchy gingerbread.
Lotus Biscoff originated in 1932 in Lembeke, Belgium, when baker Jan Boone Sr. created a caramelized, spiced cookie (speculoos) using only natural ingredients, naming the company Lotus, after the flower that symbolizes purity. In the 1950’s the biscuits begin to be served alongside coffee in Belgian cafés with distribution expanding to other neighboring countries in the 60’s. In the 1980’s, Lotus partnered with Delta airlines as an inflight snack and Biscoff became a hit. Although now a global brand, it remains a family-owned company, true to its original, simple recipe.
Also called windmill cookies, these crunchy cookies are available commercially from Lotus (Biscoff), Archway, and Vortman Bakeries.
In 2007, a creamy Biscoff spread was introduced. Cookie butter is a sweet, spreadable paste made primarily from crushed spiced cookies (like Speculoos or Biscoff), oil, sugar, and flour. It has a creamy or crunchy texture similar to peanut butter, with a distinct caramelized, cinnamon-like flavor. Use cookie butter like you would Nutella on toast, in desserts, or as a dip. Or straight from the jar by the spoonful!
Dutch Windmill Cookies (from Land O Lakes)
These spice-flavored cut-out cookies are creatively assembled to resemble the blades on a windmill in Holland.
48 cookies
Ingredients
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup Land O Lakes Butter, softened
• Sliced almonds
Instructions
Heat oven to 350°F. Stir sour cream and baking soda together in bowl; set aside. Combine flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves in another bowl; set aside. Combine brown sugar and butter in another bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add sour cream mixture; beat at low speed until well mixed. Add flour mixture; continue beating until well mixed. Divide dough in half. Wrap half in plastic food wrap; refrigerate. Roll out remaining dough, on lightly floured surface, to 8 3/4-inch square. Cut 7 (1 1/4-inch wide) strips horizontally. Cut strips vertically every 1 1/4 inches to create 49 squares. Cut each square diagonally to create 98 triangles. Place 4 triangles (overlapping tips in middle) onto ungreased cookie sheets. Place sliced almonds in center, pressing down lightly. Repeat with remaining triangles. Bake 7-11 minutes or until set. Let cool 2 minutes on cookie sheets; remove to cooling rack. Repeat with remaining dough.
BISCOFF Blondies
Ingredients
• 6 tablespoons Butter
• 1 cup Light brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoon Maple extract (or vanilla extract)
• 2 Large eggs
• 1/3 cup Biscoff cookie butter
• 1 cup All-purpose flour
• 8 Biscoff cookies, rough chopped not crushed!
TOPPING
• 6 Biscoff cookies, rough chopped not crushed!
• 1 tablespoon Butter
DRIZZLE
• ½ cup Biscoff cookie butter
• 3 tablespoons Light brown sugar
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 8″ x 8″ pan with non-stick spray. Be sure to spray the sides, too. Place 6 tablespoons of butter in a large glass mixing bowl. Place bowl in microwave and heat on high for 45-60 seconds to melt the butter. Remove the bowl from the microwave and add the brown sugar. Stir well with a whisk. Add the maple extract (or vanilla extract) and eggs. Whisk for 30 seconds and then add the Biscoff cookie butter. Whisk again until smooth, about 30 seconds. Add the flour and mix well with a spoon for about a minute. The mixture will be thick! With a spatula, gently fold in the 8 chopped cookies, then spread the batter evenly into the pan.
TOPPING: Place the 6 chopped cookies in a small bowl and add 1 tablespoon of melted butter. Lightly mix (do not overmix!). Sprinkle on top of the batter and bake for 20 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the batter should come out fairly clean (no wet batter stuck to it). Let blondies cool for 30 minutes then add cookie butter drizzle topping.
DRIZZLE: Mix ½ cup Biscoff cookie butter with 3 tablespoons of light brown sugar. Microwave for 30 seconds. Stir and drizzle over blondies.
NOTE: the blondies will become more chewy and dense when they are completely cooled off.
Biscoff Poke Cake
For the Cake
• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup oil
• 3 eggs
• 8 Biscoff cookies crumbled (Save some cookies to crumble over top the finished cake)
For the Pudding Layer
• 5 1/10 oz box instant vanilla pudding
• 3 cups cold milk
• 2 tbsp Biscoff cookie butter
For The Buttercream Icing
• 2 sticks salted butter at room temperature
• 1/2 cup Biscoff cookie butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
Make the cake first – You MUST make the cake and cool it before moving on to the vanilla pudding step. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and butter or use cooking spray to grease a 9 x 13 pan, set aside. In a large mixing bowl, prepare the cake mix according to the instructions on the box. For this recipe, we mix the cake mix, water, oil, eggs, and the crumbled 8 cookies (about ½ cup) until they are blended. Pour in the prepared baking dish and bake 28 to 30 minutes or until the edges are set and the toothpick is clean when inserted in the middle. Let the cake chill completely then with a straw or the back of a wooden spoon, make holes throughout the cake and set aside.
Now for the pudding layer – In a medium size bowl, mix the milk, instant pudding, and the Biscoff butter until well combined. (if the Biscoff butter is hard, you can microwave it for 15 seconds to soften it) Then pour over the cake making sure to fill all the holes. Set the cake in the fridge until the pudding is set, 2 hours or even overnight.
Now for the buttercream icing – Don’t make the buttercream until the pudding layer has set for 2 hours. You can’t refrigerate this beforehand because it will not spread. In a large bowl, with a hand mixer cream the butter and the Biscoff butter together. Add the powdered sugar, ½ cup at a time. Mix until all the sugar is incorporated. (Do not add more sugar to make the frosting stiff as you need to be able to spread it over the cake and the vanilla pudding) Now add the vanilla extract. Spread the frosting over the cake using an offset spatula. Top whole cake with more Biscoff cookie crumbles and refrigerate until ready to serve. Bring cake to room temperature before serving (at least 30 minutes) and garnish individual slices with whipped cream, a whole Biscoff Cookie and more cookie crumbles if desired.
