This new-ish ingredient is now a baking staple

When I first heard the words “Cookie Butter Whipped Ganache” come out of the Test Kitchen, my ears perked up. Silky white chocolate ganache and the warm, nostalgic spices of Biscoff cookie butter in one? Say less. While it was initially developed to fill the roll cake in pastry chef Lasheeda Perry’s Chocolate Bûche de Noël, it’d be right at home inside a chocolate layer cake or used in place of whipped cream for in chocolate cream pie. Consider cookie butter a new go-to staple in your baking repertoire.

Speculoos (or speculaas) cookies have been around for centuries, mostly associated with Dutch and Belgian Christmas traditions. Today, those snapped, spiced cookies (typically a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, ginger, and cardamom) have become a global phenomenon — literally. They’re the in-flight snack of choice on Delta Airlines, commonly known under the brand Biscoff.  

In fact, that's what sparked initially Lasheeda's creativity. She shares, “I fell in love with cookie butter in 2016 — literally a decade ago. I was moving from Silicon Valley to Atlanta, and on my one-way Delta flight, I was snacking on Biscoff cookies. That’s when it hit me: the very first dessert I created in my new role as Pastry Chef at the Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta had to include Biscoff [cookie butter].”

Photography by Danielle Sykes; food styling by Yekaterina Boytsova

The more recent invention of cookie butter (made by blending speculoos cookies with oil to make a smooth spread) exploded in popularity after becoming a cult-favorite item at Trader Joe’s, and now it’s widely available online and in grocery stores. But it’s more than just an accoutrement for toast; thanks to cookbook authors and pastry chefs, it’s now a baking staple. 

In Claire Saffitz’s Dessert Person, she shares a recipe for Speculoos Babka, which she claims is a superior version of other classic babkas, thanks to the unique benefits cookie butter brings to the loaf pan. “Not only is it an ideal vehicle for cinnamon flavor, but cookie butter spreads beautifully across the dough and stays soft and creamy after baking, adding moisture and richness in a way that chocolate doesn’t,” she writes. That use of cookie butter in an enriched dough begs the question: What if it was used to replace cinnamon roll filling, too?

Similarly, Dorie Greenspan shares a recipe for Cookie Butter Blondies in her cookbook Dorie’s Anytime Cakes. “Here’s how I saw it: if speculoos cookies, those crisp cinnamon and Christmas-spice cookies that are the ideal go-along with coffee, are good, and if cookie butter made from speculoos is two good things in one, or doubly good, then putting them together in a blondie could only be the best,” she writes. Cookie butter is beaten with room temperature butter to form the base of the blondie, and to really maximize the flavor, a handful of coarsely chopped Biscoff cookies are folded into the batter. 

Shilpa Iyer

This past holiday season, New York Times Cooking writer Vaughn Vreeland developed a dual-toned Cranberry-Cookie Butter Cheesecake, which highlights the contrast between the tart mousse-like layer and warmly spiced filling. The use of cookie butter here allows you to get that spiced cookie flavor in a creamy filling — otherwise not achievable with just Biscoff cookies kept whole.  

Cookie butter is so well suited to baking because “it’s incredibly approachable, pairs beautifully with a variety of fruits, and works year-round,” says Lasheeda. “I also love that it can easily be substituted in recipes that typically call for nut butters, peanut butter, or Nutella.” Case in point: Use cookie butter to replace the peanut butter in these swirled brownies or in this cobbler topping paired with juicy berries. And if you have trouble sourcing a jar or just want to go the extra mile, you can even make your own. Just follow the recipe tips here.

Once a novelty, cookie butter has earned its place in the baker’s pantry. Plus, it’s easy to find ways to use up any leftovers — just eat it by the spoonful.

Cover photo (Chocolate Bûche de Noël with Cookie Butter Whipped Ganache) by Danielle Sykes; food styling by Yekaterina Boytsova.