If you’re as obsessed as I am with the store bought version, this cookie butter recipe is for you. Thick and creamy, you won’t be able to stop eating it by the spoonful!
This version is made with speculoos cookies, but you can substitute any cookie you’d like. It works great with oreos, gingersnap, chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies and even shortbread!
An easy cookie butter recipe to make at home!
Have you ever bought a jar of cookie butter and, after a few trips to the kitchen for a taste or two, discovered that you ate the whole thing in less than a day?
Asking for a friend!
I know what you’re thinking. That, ahem, friend might need an intervention. But, honestly, can you blame her? Cookie butter is very addicting!
So, since life is short and all, instead of an intervention, we will do a celebration! This cookie butter recipe will act as an ode to the awesomeness of this delicious spread.
Go ahead, make it! I dare you resist eating at least a few spoonfuls as soon it is ready.
And FYI, a jar of homemade cookie butter makes a great edible gift for the holidays. Just put it in a nice mason jar and decorate with pretty ribbons and a cute tag!
What is Cookie Butter?
Also known as Speculoos Cream or Speculoos Spread, cookie butter is a spreadable cookie paste that has become an obsession among foodies in the U.S.
It’s spiced, rich, buttery and bursting with the deep caramel flavor that is characteristic of speculoos cookies! The consistency ranges from creamy to crunchy.
And while Europeans have been enjoying it for quite some time (since around 2007), it was only in 2011 that Americans started seeing it on the shelves, sold by the popular Lotus Biscoff brand.
It soon became a national fever, and Trader Joe’s released their own version, which turned out to be so popular that they had to limit it to two jars per customer.
Even Ben & Jerry’s couldn’t miss on the cookie butter craze, creating an ice cream flavor called Spectacular Speculoos.
Nowadays, you can easily find cookie butter at any major supermarket and online. However, it is so easy – and cheaper – to make it at home that you get to enjoy it even if you can’t find it in the stores!
Biscoff Cookie Spread Ingredients
To make this cookie butter recipe, you will need:
Speculoos cookies – homemade or store bought.
Coconut oil
Evaporated milk
Brown sugar
Cinnamon
Salt
How to make Cookie Butter Recipe
6 ingredients and a few spins in the food processor are all you need to make this cookie butter recipe!
No cooking on the stove, chilling in the fridge, special ingredients (other than speculoos cookies), or complicated skills. Seriously, how easy is that?
Pulse the cookies in the food processor until finely processed.
In a separate bowl, combine the coconut oil, brown sugar, salt and evaporated milk. Don’t bother trying to mix it until smooth! It will come together in the food processor.
Pour that mixture in the food processor with the crumbs.
Run the food processor on high until the cookie butter comes together.
Optional: add more cookie crumbs and stir with a spoon.
Transfer to a mason jar and enjoy!
How long does homemade cookie butter last?
Homemade cookie butter can be stored at room temperature, in a cool spot, for up to 5 days. It will firm up as it cools and some of the oil may rise to the surface, so you’ll want to stir well before enjoying!
If it’s too hot where you live, you can store it in the fridge. Bring it to room temperature before eating, to restore the creaminess.
What can you make with Speculoos spread?
Europeans like to spread cookie butter on toast.
You can also serve it as a dip, with apples or pretzel rods, warmed and drizzled on ice cream or waffles, or use it in recipes. Anywhere nut butters are called for, cookie butter can be used instead.
Think pies, milkshake, truffles, bars, cakes, cheesecake and even ice cream!
For me, there’s only one way of eating it: by the spoonful!
Did you make this recipe? I love hearing from you! Please comment and leave a 5-star rating below. You can also take a photo andtag me on Instagramwith #oliviascuisine.
If you're as obsessed as I am with the store bought version, this cookie butter recipe is for you. Thick and creamy, you won't be able to stop eating it by the spoonful!
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Ingredients
8ouncesspeculoos cookies, plus more if making the crunchy version
Place the cookies in the jar of a food processor and pulse (or process on high) until finely ground.
In a medium bowl, combine the remaining ingredients.
Pour the mixture in the food processor, over the cookie crumbs, and process until combined. At first, it might look like it won’t come together, but keep pulsing until it does! Make sure to stop every now and then to scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula. If the mixture is too thick, you can add a few splashes of evaporated milk to reach the desired consistency.
For a crunchy version: add 1 cup of cookie crumbs and stir with a spoon to incorporate.
Transfer the cookie butter to a lidded jar and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Crunchy Cookie Butter:
If making the crunchy version, start with about 12 ounces of speculoos cookies. Process into cookie crumbs then remove 1 cup and reserve to be added at the end.
Storage and Shelf Life:
Keep cookie butter at room temperature, in a jar with a tight-fitting lid, for up to 5 days. If it’s warm where you live, you can store it in the fridge for up to a week. Bring it to room temperature before enjoying!
Cookie butter firms up as it cools, and some of the oil may rise to the surface, so you’ll want to give it a good stir every time you plan on eating it.
Substitutions:
This cookie butter recipe can be made with other cookies, such as:
A few substitutes for cookie butter include peanut butter, almond butter, sunflower seed butter, tahini or cashew butter. To approximate the sweetness of cookie butter, you can experiment with mixing your preferred nut butter with honey and ground warming spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and/or ginger.
Butter is an emulsifier and it makes cookies tender. It also adds in the crispy-around-the-edges element. Adding too much butter can cause the cookies to be flat and greasy. Adding too little butter can cause the cookies to be tough and crumbly.
Cookie butter is typically made using Belgian-style speculoos cookies, like Biscoff. The thin and crispy caramelized biscuits are flavored with brown sugar and spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, or cardamom.
But for all those cookie-crazed consumers out there, I'm here to offer a blinding revelation. Trader Joe's Speculoos Cookie Butter is an almost identical copy of Lotus Biscoff Spread. Never heard of it? Well, Biscoff was around first (in Belgium, anyway).
The higher the proportion of butter to other ingredients, the more tender your cookie will be (and consequently, the more it will spread as it bakes). I found that a ratio of 1 part flour to 1 part sugar to 0.8 parts butter was about right for a cookie that has moderate spread and doesn't end up cakey.
While The Good Batch's Anna Gordon does have a preference for European-style butter in most cases, she does say, "For cookies and cakes, where so many other ingredients are competing for flavor, I find generic American, unsalted butter, to work just fine."
This is a much more common creaming method mistake, so watch out for it. Over-creamed butter and sugar adds in too much air and alters the final texture – typically to be more gummy and dense.
Too much butter makes cookies turn out just as you'd expect: very buttery. This batch of cookies was cakey in the middle, but also airy throughout, with crispy edges. They were yellow and slightly puffy in the middle, and brown and super thin around the perimeter.
But before we ever snagged a jar off grocery shelves in the U.S., it was better known as speculoos spread and made from traditional European holiday cookies. So, how did cookie butter emerge from relative obscurity and become something we eat by the spoonful nightly on our couches?
In the early 2000s, a Belgian company named Lotus Bakeries transformed these beloved cookies into a spreadable delight, creating what we now know as cookie butter. Cookie butter comes in various flavors, with the classic speculoos flavor being the most popular.
You can store and serve homemade cookie butter at room temperature for much of the year, but you'll need to take some precautions when your kitchen gets especially hot or cold. In warmer months, you may need to keep it in the fridge, then allow the cookie butter to soften at room temperature prior to use.
I am happy to report they are in fact the same thing. As Lotus Biscoff explains on their website, Biscoff cookie butter was originally invented because Belgian people kept eating the cookies on bread, as if it were already a spread.
You can use it as a topping on toast, waffles or pancakes. You can also use it as a dip for cookies/crackers and fruit. If you want to get really fancy, you can put it in a cake or into cookies (like my biscoff cookies here!)
It is often served during holidays. Lotus Biscoff Cookie Butter is the most recognizable brand. However, Trader Joe's Speculoos Cookie Butter is quite popular as well.
If you want to replace Biscoff cookies biscuits, try other spiced speculoos biscuits or other biscuits that have caramel taste or brown sugar in the ingredient.
The best butter for your baked goods depends on what type of recipe you're whipping up. Unsalted, American-style butter works well in goods like cookies, pound cakes and pancakes that require the high-fat content of conventional butter and more flexibility with salt and flavor content.
This balanced protein level makes it versatile enough to produce both soft and chewy cookies as well as slightly crisp ones. If you're looking for a safe bet or are new to cookie baking, all-purpose flour is your go-to option.
Due to its liquid nature, using oil in cookies typically results in a denser texture. Also, because oil is 100% fat, it doesn't react with flour the way butter does (butter contains water). Because of that, your cookies won't be as fluffy. If you're a fan of flat cookies, then using oil is an excellent option.
An average conventional American butter has an 80% butterfat content. Miller's butter is more of a European-style butter with 82-86% butterfat. 2% may seem small, but it makes a BIG difference in quality, flavor, and texture.
You can use salted butter instead of unsalted butter if that's all you've got — especially if you're making something simple like cookies where the chemistry of adding salt in a specific amount and at a certain time won't have a meaningful impact on the outcome (as it would with yeasted bread).
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Introduction: My name is Maia Crooks Jr, I am a homely, joyous, shiny, successful, hilarious, thoughtful, joyous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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