If you're following a keto diet and craving something sweet, you're not alone. Satisfying your sweet tooth while sticking to your dietary goals can be tough. That's where keto Biscoff cookies come into play. These cookies combine rich flavors with a keto-friendly profile, allowing you to indulge without guilt. They are low in carbs and sugar, which makes them an ideal option for anyone looking for a satisfying snack.
What are Biscoff Cookies?
Biscoff cookies, often known as speculoos, are spiced shortcrust biscuits with a unique caramelised taste. They are especially popular as a coffee companion. The country where spiced Windmill cookies come from is the Netherlands! A sweet European snack, their history is quite fascinating. The people who originally made this tasty treat were the Steenstra family. In 1920, they immigrated from the Netherlands and came all the way to Grand Rapids, Michigan. They built a bakery in the 40’s, serving their family's speculaas cookie recipe.
Apparently Biscoff cookies have been around since 1932. Fans adore the crunchy texture and caramelized taste.
Traditionally loaded with sugar and wheat flour, they're not keto-friendly. However, by making some clever ingredient swaps, you can create a version that respects your keto lifestyle without sacrificing flavor.
The Keto-Friendly Ingredients
Being mindful of your ingredient choices is crucial when making keto Biscoff cookies. Here are key components that will help you enjoy this tasty treat:
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- Almond Flour: This low-carb flour alternative gives the cookies a pleasant texture. It contains about 10 grams of carbs per 1/4 cup compared to 30 grams in traditional flour, making it an excellent choice. Sesame flour can also be used as an alternative if there are nut allergies.
- Sweetener: To achieve sweetness without sugar, opt for options like erythritol, monk fruit, or stevia. Erythritol has zero calories and is 70% as sweet as sugar, which lets you satisfy your cravings without impacting your carb count. This recipe works best with erythritol, without a doubt. Not only is it roughly 1-to-1 in sweetness to sugar (and the volume is important here), but it lends a very similar crunch and chew.
- Spices: Incorporating spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves helps mimic the warm flavor profile. Don’t skip the cardamom! It helps give speculoos cookies their classic flavor. For instance, cinnamon has been shown to help regulate blood sugar levels.
- Butter: Unsalted butter adds a rich flavor and keeps the cookies moist. Use properly softened butter. Make sure it’s soft but not melted and beat the sweetener in until it’s nicely creamed.
- Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla adds depth and enhances the overall taste.
- Eggs: Eggs serve as a binding agent and contribute to the cookies' texture and moisture.
Making Keto Biscoff Cookies
Here is a basic recipe to get you started:
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sweetener (e.g., Swerve, Erythritol, or Monk Fruit Sweetener)
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup Biscoff cookie spread (or homemade alternative; see note)
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together almond flour, granulated sweetener, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and Biscoff cookie spread until smooth.
- Add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract, and mix until well combined.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until a dough forms.
- Scoop tablespoon-sized balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 5cm (2 inches) of space between each biscuit. You also don’t need to spread out the dough as I did in to make them using a cookie cutter. You could just roll into balls of dough then flatten and you’re done. You can make them any shape you want.
- Flatten the dough balls slightly with a fork, cookie cutter or your fingers. There are so many possible ways to cut speculoos cookies, from circles and hearts to stars and rectangles. I cut some of mine free-hand with a fluted pastry wheel, but this rectangular cookie cutter would work well too.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden. If you prefer a crisper biscuit, bake for an additional 2-3 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. As always with keto cookies, they won’t be truly crisp until they are completely cool.
Notes:
- To make a homemade Biscoff cookie spread alternative, you can mix together 1/2 cup almond butter, 1/4 cup granulated sweetener, 1/4 cup coconut oil, and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
- Store the biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Note that these cookies are even better the next day, after the spices have had some time to mingle.
Macro breakdown (approximate)
Per biscuit (yield: 12-15 biscuits):
- Calories: 220-250
- Protein: 4-5g
- Fat: 18-20g
- Carbohydrates: 5-6g
- Fiber: 2-3g
- Net carbs: 2-3g
Gluten-Free & Keto Speculoos
Europe’s favorite cookie, with reason! Deeply aromatic, beautifully spiced, and nice and crisp to dunk in milk.
Speculoos (also known as speculaas in the Netherlands, where they’re originally from) are traditionally made for the Sinterklaas (Saint Nicholas) holiday on the 6th of December in the Netherlands. These keto speculoos bring back some pretty fantastic memories from my (half-Dutch) childhood. Plus: 1/2g net carb a pop.
Speculoos cookies are traditionally a wheat cookie, though with many versions incorporating almond flour (and slivered almonds) into the mix. To make them gluten free and keto, super fine almond flour does a killer job (solo!). Note also that I add a bit more baking soda than is customary (1/2 teaspoon rather than 1/4 or even nil).
Read also: Keto Calorie Counting: A Detailed Guide
Keto Speculoos Recipe
Ingredients:
- Add almond flour, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt and spices to a medium bowl.Whisk until thoroughly combined and set aside.
- Cream butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer, 1 minute.
- Add in sweetener and molasses (optional), and continue to cream until light and fluffy (8-10 minutes). Keep in mind that blackstrap molasses is considered a low glycemic sugar. One teaspoon (7g) adds 5g net carbs, so just 0.2g net carbs a cookie (i.e. 1/4th the sugar of a strawberry!). But if it’s still not your thing, just leave it out.
- Add in egg, mixing until just incorporated. The mixture will appear slightly 'broken' (i.e. not thoroughly smooth).
- With your mixer on low, add in half of your flour mixture- mixing until just incorporated. Mix in the rest.
- Wrap cookie dough with cling film (saran wrap) and refrigerate overnight (much preferred). But if in a pickle, 2 hours will do.
- Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- You have two options here. Either roll out the dough between two pieces of parchment paper and do cutout cookies. Or divide cookie dough into 24 and press onto wooden cookie mold to shape. Just be sure to get them nice and thin, as they'll thicken more when baked. The one indispensable thing, is that the dough be thoroughly chilled before baking. Why? The butter in the dough has to have solidified once again before you can press it into the molds (or roll it into balls), that way it won’t stick and the shapes will come just right. So, if possible, allow the dough to rest in the fridge overnight. If no traditional speculaas mold is on hand, just break off a chunk of dough, roll it up and flatten it.
- Place shaped cookies on the prepared baking tray and place in the freezer for 10 minutes prior to baking.
- Brush with a very lightly beaten egg white (don't get it frothy!) to get that nice shiny finish and decorate with slivered almonds (optional). Otherwise, leave them as they are for a matte finish (similar to gingerbread cookies).
- And bake for 9-14 minutes (depending on size), until deep golden.
- Allow to cool for ten minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely, as they'll continue to crunch up (keto cookies take a few hours for the sweetener to Harden up completely!).
- Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
*If you prefer your cookies on the sweeter side (and not doing any icing), feel free to up the sweetener to 1/2-2/3 cup.
Keto Speculoos Cookie Butter
This (no-bake!) gluten free and keto speculoos cookie butter uses a few nifty tricks to yield the incomparable flavors right on your stove-top!
What many people don’t know, is that speculoos (or speculaas, as they’re known in the Netherlands where they’re originally from) were already being used in sandwiches years past. You see, it was common practice to sandwich the cookies between bread and butter. And by the time lunchtime came around, the cookies were starting to dissolve; turning them into a spread. And it really is no surprise that this European spice cookie spread has gained a cult following in the US in recent years. Fun fact: Speculoos are traditionally made for the Sinterklaas (Saint Nicholas) holiday on the 5th and 6th of December in the Netherlands. Though actual spice blends vary from recipe to recipe, with some family recipes also adding touches of anise and allspice.
Keto Speculoos Cookie Butter Recipe
- Lightly toast almond flour in a saucepan over medium heat, until lightly golden and fragrant (2-4 minutes), tossing it about every so often to keep it from burning.
- Add in the six spices and continue toast it until fully golden and the spices become very aromatic, 2-4 minutes more.
- Add in the butter, sweetener, salt, molasses (optional) and mix until melted and incorporated.
- Taste for sweetness and salt, and season to taste.
- Turn the heat down to low and continue to cook for 20-25 minutes more until fully browned (and it tastes like speculoos!).
- Remove from heat, add in almond butter and blend until fully smooth with a stick blender. Alternatively, transfer to a food processor and blend until smooth.
- Transfer your keto speculoos cookie butter to a mason jar (or sealable container) and allow to cool completely before refrigerating. Alternatively, transfer to silicon molds and make fat bombs out of it.
- Keep refrigerated for a couple weeks and frozen for 3 months.
*Please see section on sweeteners for deets & possible subs! This recipe works best with xylitol or allulose (no aftertaste and no risk of crystallization). Erythritol works great too (particularly the Golden Lakanto), but there's always a risk that it'll re-crystalize…
Now how much almond butter you add is up to you. I like a roughly 2:1 ratio of speculoos butter to almond butter (i.e. 20 tablespoons of speculoos to 10 of almond).
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Storing Your Cookies
To keep your cookies fresh, proper storage is key. Here are some simple tips:
- Airtight Container: Store the cookies in an airtight container to prevent them from drying out.
- Refrigeration: For extended freshness, store them in the refrigerator, where they can last up to two weeks.
- Freezing: If making a large batch, these cookies freeze well. Place them in a freezer-safe container separated by parchment paper to avoid sticking.
Enjoying Your Keto Biscoff Cookies
Keto Biscoff cookies are versatile. You can enjoy them in various ways:
- Nut Butters: Spread almond or peanut butter on top for an additional protein kick.
- Keto Ice Cream: Crumble the cookies over a scoop of keto-friendly ice cream for a rich dessert experience. This keto no bake pie is a cookie butter recipe you'll love.
- Caffeine Companion: Serve them with your morning coffee or tea for a delightful breakfast treat.
- Cookie Butter Creations: You can also make these shapes with the cookie butter spread itself. Finally, you can take our cookie butter spread and spread a layer on wax paper. Freeze for a couple of hours, then take a cookie cutter or knife and cut shapes out of the cookie butter.
Benefits of Keto Biscoff Cookies
Choosing keto Biscoff cookies not only satisfies your cravings but offers several health benefits:
- Low in Carbs: These cookies contain significantly fewer carbs than traditional cookies, helping you maintain ketosis.
- Sugar-Free: Using a sweetener like erythritol means no sugar spikes in your blood sugar levels.
- Nutrient-Rich: Almond flour contains healthy fats, fiber, and protein, which makes these cookies more nutritious than their conventional counterparts.
- Quick to Make: With straightforward ingredients and an easy recipe, these cookies are perfect for busy days.
- Customizable: Feel free to tweak the recipe by adding nuts or sugar-free chocolate chips to suit your taste.