Product: Lotus Caramelised Biscuits

They are known as the Airline Cookie, however I tasted them for the first time at my friend Linda's house in Manchester, England. I remarked how much I loved them and Linda was nice enough to send me home with a package. Last night after a little dinner I made for a couple friends, we effortlessly devoured half of it with bowls of ice cream. Why are these cookies so special you ask? Just trust me on it. They are. Not dense and buttery like a shortbread cookie, the Caramelised (S not Z) Biscuits have a deep caramel color and a light and crisp texture with a whisper of cinnamon.

The cookies, er biscuits have been made by a Belgium based company called Lotus Bakeries since 1932, although in the States they are distributed by a company called Gourmet Center, under the not quite so charming name of Biscoff. They are available through Amazon, however the smallest quantity they seem to sell is a box of eight packages, each containing 32 cookies each. That comes to a total of 256 cookies for $25. But once you taste them, you might not mind having so many around the house.

Comments (5)

I was sure that I was destined to taste these cookies only on the occasional Continental Airlines flight. I'm amazed that someone else was searching for the source!

posted by E on 2006-11-20 15:52:19

K I hope no one takes offense to this but the biscuits you have are in Australia called golliwogs

They are the most yummy biscuit and are perfect with milk (it really sucks up the milk)

They are just scrumptious. Never had them with Ice cream though, will give it a go

posted by Ben on 2006-11-22 20:19:20

These biscuits are called SPECULOOS en Belgium (Lotus is only a brand name), and here is a recipe.
Bon appétit!

Speculoos

- 500 g flour
- 150 g butter, at room temperature
- 1 egg
- 300 g brown cassonade (substitute the darkest brown sugar you can get)
- 1 tsp mixed spices, or allspice (traditionally cinnamon and cloves)

(Yields about 50 speculoos.)

Preheat oven to 180°C (360°F), and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a food processor or by hand, mix the butter, sugar, spices and eggs. If you're using a food processor, transfer the dough into a large mixing bowl now, as the rest has to be done by hand. Add the flour in batches, and knead the dough until it comes together and gets buttery and brown.

Divide the dough in two. Spread a sheet of parchment paper on your work surface, and use a rolling pin to spread one half of the dough on it (this is so it doesn't stick to the counter, without the addition of flour), until it is about 5 mm (1/5 inch) thick. Use a special speculoos mold to cut out cookies, or just cut the dough in long and narrow rectangles, about 3 x 7 cm (1.2'' x 2.8'').

Use the blade of a knife to transfer the cookies onto your cookie sheet, and put into the oven to bake for twelve to fifteen minutes (the cookies will still be soft in the center). Slide the parchment paper onto a rack for the cookies to cool and harden. Repeat in batches with the rest of the dough.

Store the cookies in a metal tin box

posted by moni on 2006-11-24 11:30:13

I noticed your comments. To have the speculoos you might want to check out our store. We sell the speculoos at really good prices. 1Kg or 2.2lbs of these biscuits for only £2.99 + shipping.

posted by waffle on 2006-12-11 14:20:35

I was recently in Belgium and had Belgium Tiramisu @ a small Italian restaurant. It was fabulous!! I boldly asked for the recipe. The owner shared with me to just make a regualr Tiramisu but subsitute the Speculoos dipped in Amaretto and coffee for lady fingers dipped in marsala and coffee. I brought home a box of the Lotus Speculoos (2 Euro) and hope to have a go @ it.

posted by Becky on 2007-01-26 10:18:11