It’s been almost twelve years since I ran into wonderful biscuits at a nearly two-centuries-old cookie company called Maison Dandoy right off the main square in Brussels. Even though it wasn’t Christmas time I was curious enough about this operation to snoop around on their website, and that is when I discovered the Speculoos cookie, made in the shape of St. Nicholas and sold only for a short time around December 6th, …or 5th? (Do the shoes go out the night of the 5th before the 6th? I can never get that straight.)
Regardless, this special St. Nicholas cookie is beautiful, crunchy, and just a little tiny bit spicy. The company states that its unique flavor is caramelized sugar, though I definitely taste some mild spice notes. They are mild enough that I like the cookie, and I don’t care for spiced treats.
I have never had the legendary Speculoos cookie, but the first time I had a Biscoff cookie on a Delta flight I saw a connection. Biscoff originated in a little town in Belgium in 1932, and the name is a combination of the words biscuit, and coffee, since the owners thought it was the perfect cookie to be paired with coffee.
One of their marketing strategies could not have been more brilliant, partnering with Delta Airlines to introduce the cookie to a global market. It was served as an in-flight snack, and customers called it ‘the Delta Cookie.” And sometime after the tsunami of social media engulfed Biscoff, people started posting about the cookie and ideas for expanding the flavor beyond a cookie. The company took notice and added Biscoff Butter, Biscoff Ice Cream and Biscoff sandwich cookies.
I had never heard the word Speculoos around here until Brian Gilmore, the genius tastemaker at The Creole Creamery, uttered it on The Food Show last year. I invited him to chat with us because I saw a flavor in the case there called Speculoos. Although he had never heard of Maison Dandoy, he explained that he was a fan of the Biscoff cookie, and wanted to create a flavor incorporating the various Biscoff products.
The flavor is brought out only at Christmas, and it is called Speculoos Christmas Cookie. Vanilla based ice cream includes swirls of Biscoff Butter and crumbs of Biscoff Cookies. There are nonpareils throughout and buttercream somewhere. When Brian described this ice cream flavor to me I was uninterested, because to me all desserts must have a chocolate component. But I was so curious I dropped in the next day to try it at The Creole Creamery on Metairie Rd.
I arrived minutes before its official release. They literally peeled the top off the first tub of Speculoos Christmas Cookie. I just couldn’t believe how good this flavor was. It had crunch from the cookies, decadence from the richness of buttercream and cookie butter swirls, and a little pop from the nonpareils which studded it. Fantastic! And that is saying something coming from a chocolate purist like me.
Thinking about something you have eaten long after you have eaten it is a special thing. It’s hard for anything in the present day to make such an impression. But this delicious ice cream flavor wowed me. Speculoos Christmas Cookie is only available at The Creole Creamery in holiday season.
If you are as enthusiastic about the ice cream as I am and need something to wow people at Christmas dinner, pies for your holiday table are also available in pre-orders. It’s this ice cream as filling for a crushed Biscoff cookies crust, topped with whipped cream. St. Nick would love it too.
