These Biscoff speculoos brownies are a delicious marriage of rich cocoa brownies with the sweetly spiced caramelly biscuit spread from the Netherlands. All your favourite flavours in one delicious coffee-time treat.
Easy Biscoff speculoos brownies recipe
If you love the buttery, spicy flavour of speculoos biscuits, you are sure to love these easy Biscoff brownies, dark and chocolatey and swirled with that gorgeous speculoos spread.
See also
- Biscoff blondies are beautifully buttery
- You can’t beat Biscoff no churn ice cream with speculoos biscuits
- My original one bowl cocoa brownies
These Biscoff brownies are a real treat for the family and the cook. They’re easy to eat without creating a mess. They’re also easy to bake without making a mess of your kitchen or creating a mound of washing up.
This recipe takes my popular one bowl cocoa brownies and gives it a delicious speculoos twist for the perfect fusion of brownie and Biscoff cookie.
Small batch speculoos brownies
Many recipes for traybakes are designed for a crowd. I tend to cook for two numbers and therefore prefer to make smaller batches more regularly.
This recipe is for a modest batch of Biscoff brownies, though that’s still plenty of temptation for the two of us. The batter will neatly fill a regular 8″/20 cm square pan. That’s 12–16 servings, which will keep for about a week.
Of course, if you have a larger family and know that the brownies won’t last long in your home, the recipe can simply be doubled up. If you want to do this, I suggest a 9″ x 13″ pan.
Why you will love this Biscoff brownies recipe
- It’s easy to make – one bowl and no mixer needed!
- No mess!
- Brownies store well, so make them in advance.
- Scale the recipe for to feed a crowd.
Biscoff brownies ingredients
- Biscoff – or your favourite speculoos spread / cookie butter
- Butter – salted or unsalted according to taste
Pro Tip – Why Bake with Plain Flour?
I’m often asked why I bake with plain flour and add a raising agent rather than use self raising.
First, I don’t make recipes that would use self-raising that often, and the raising agent in the flour can go off. If you use a separate baking powder it is so much easier to check that it is still fresh.
Secondly, my kitchen is small! If I keep both types of flour, it takes up more space.
- Soft brown sugar – for flavour
- Egg – One large free range egg
- Cocoa powder – Regular supermarket brand cocoa powder is fine. Use whatever you have.
- Flour – self raising or plain with a pinch of baking powder
- Pinch of salt – rounds out the flavour
How to make easy speculoos brownies – step by step
First, preheat your oven to 180° C / 160° C Fan / 356° F /Gas 4. Line an 8″ / 20 cm square baking tray with baking parchment. Grease with butter, light oil, or a little cake release spray.
If your baking parchment won’t stay still, I recommend using bulldog clips to hold it in place.
Step One – Melt half the Biscoff spread very gently with the butter to combine them. You can do this either in a saucepan on the hob or in a large bowl or jug in the microwave, warming in short bursts on a low or medium heat.
Remember that the idea is to melt, not heat. Stir frequently and well to melt them together. Only return to the microwave if you need to.
Step Two – Add the sugar and egg, and stir in well. If you have accidentally heated the butter mix, add the sugar first, as this will help to cool it before you add the egg.
Step Three – Now sift the cocoa powder into the jug and then add the flour and baking powder (if using). While flour rarely has lumps these days, cocoa does, so you really do need to sift it.
Step Four – Fold the flour and cocoa in to form a smooth, glossy batter.
Step Five – Transfer the batter mix to the baking tray. Then smooth with a spatula.
Next, take the second half of the Biscoff and warm it very gently in the microwave to make it softer. Use a low heat, as too high a heat will have the reverse effect!
Pour the Biscoff over the brownie batter. Swirl it in to make an attractive pattern, making sure you get it into the corners. I like to use the handle of a teaspoon to do this.
Step Six – Bake your Biscoff brownies for 25–28 minutes until the edges have risen and are slightly wrinkled. The centre will still be soft, barely set, and will wobble a little if you shake the pan.
If you don’t have a fan oven you may need to turn the pan halfway through cooking to compensate for any hot spots. Do this as quickly and as gently as you can.
Allow the bake to cool and firm up for at least 20 minutes on a cooling rack before you cut into squares. The centre will carry on cooking as it cools.
Step Seven – When the bake is cool, cut your Biscoff speculoos brownies into squares, ready to serve. I find a 4 x 4 grid of 16 pieces is just right.
Storage
Biscoff brownies will keep for about 5 days. Wrap them in the baking parchment, before sealing them in an airtight tub. For a just baked experience, put them in the microwave for 10 seconds to warm. This will restore that delicious soft centre.
You can also wrap your brownies well and freeze for up to 3 months.
Variations
- Add chocolate chunks for extra texture.
- For a delicious speculoos dessert, microwave your Biscoff brownies for ten seconds and then top with ice cream and extra warmed Biscoff spread or warm chocolate sauce.
Hints and tips
- If you want to double the recipe use a 13″ x 9″ baking pan. Your one bowl Biscoff brownies will be a bit deeper and take slightly longer to cook.
- All brownie recipes contain a little more fat than your average cake. Take time to stir the flour in well so that the fat and flour combine really well.
- Use butter! Real butter has a much better flavour than butter alternatives and you want to emphasize the buttery, spice flavour of the speculoos spread.
FAQs
Speculoos or speculaas are sweet, spiced, caramelized biscuits or cookies, popular in the Netherlands, Belgium and beyond. They are commonly served with coffee.
Biscoff – from ‘biscuit’ and ‘coffee’ – is an international brand name for these biscuits and a spread with the same flavours.
Speculoos spreads are an early 21st century invention and can also be found under the generic name cookie butter.
You can therefore use your favourite spread to make these brownies. Biscoff is the version that is popular and most widely available here in the UK.
There’s no chocolate in this recipe. The chocolate flavour in the brownies comes from cocoa combined with butter.
It really shouldn’t make a lot of difference. Use whichever you normally use.
More easy bakes
- Nutella Brownies – classic simplicity
- Pumpkin Spice Blondies – a touch of autumnal spice
- Peanut Butter Brownies – an American classic
- Mini Egg Brownies – the perfect Easter treat
- Vanilla Traybake – easy and delicious
Biscoff Brownies
Ingredients
- 115 g (1 stick) butter (salted or unsalted, adjust the pinch of salt accordingly)
- 120 g Biscoff or other cookie butter
- 150 g light soft brown sugar (or use dark, or a mix for a more intense flavour)
- 1 egg
- 45 g cocoa
- 80 g self raising flour (or 80 g plain flour with a scant teaspoon of baking powder)
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Melt half the Biscoff spread very gently with the butter to combine them. Melt, don't heat. You can do this either in a saucepan on the hob or in a large bowl or jug in the microwave in short bursts.
- Add the sugar and egg, and stir in well.
- Sift the cocoa in and add the flour.
- Fold the flour and cocoa in to form a smooth, glossy batter.
- Transfer the batter mix to the baking tray. Then smooth with a spatula.
- Melt the remaining Biscoff spread gently in the microwave using short bursts on a low setting.
- Pour the spread onto the brownie and swirl into an attractive pattern with the back of a spoon.
- Bakeyour Biscoff brownies for 25–28 minutes until the edges have risen andare slightly wrinkled. The centre will still be soft, barely set, and will wobble a little if you shake the pan.
- Allow to cook before cutting into squares to serve.
Notes
Storage
Your Biscoff brownies will keep for about 5 days. Wrap them in the baking parchment, before sealing them in an airtight tub. For a just baked experience, put them in the microwave for 10 seconds to warm. This will restore that delicious soft centre. You can also wrap your brownies well and freeze for up to 3 months.Hints and tips
- If you want to double the recipe use a 13″ x 9″ baking pan. Your one bowl Biscoff brownies will be a bit deeper and take slightly longer to cook.
- All brownie recipes contain a little more fat than your average cake. Take time to stir the flour in well so that the fat and flour combine really well.
- Use butter! Real butter has a much better flavour than butter alternatives and you want to emphasize the buttery spice flavour of the speculoos spread.
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