Yes, I gave in! After so many months now that I have been reading, seeing and hearing about this , this is the first time that I actually tasted Cookie Butter (well, if I come to think of it, not really my first time as I vaguely remember my friend sharing his baon of bread spread with cookie butter with me)! Why have I not followed the craze? Well, for one, I am not really into spreads and second, why the heck would I jump in the bandwagon knowing that sooner or later, the craze will again just die down?
I reached my breaking point when we did our grocery shopping at Rustan's in Rockwell earlier, after hearing the Sunday Mass. The shop attendants were stacking loads of this seemingly popular spread in jars in one of the front shelves of the store and on each of the paying counters for stronger visibility. It was neither Trader Joe's nor Lotus, so what was it?
The brand is Vermeiren, a Belgium-based brand that has been known for its amazing speculoos since 1919. In 2008, Vermeiren launched their own speculoos paste in the Belgian markets and local shops and it has now found its way to the Philippine shores thanks to Rustan's. Since I could not contain anymore my curiosity, we ended up getting one and immediately tasted it when we arrived home.
Oh my! So this is it! This is the reason why many people are going gaga over this crushed-biscuit goodness! Sweet but not overly sweet, this viscous and addicting spread will surely ruin your diet in a bit! Initially, you will find yourself spreading it on a slice of bread, on digestive biscuits, bland-tasting biscuits, our beloved Skyflakes, apple slices, pear slices, banana and on other fruits until you get tired of spreading it you will just dip your finger(s) in the jar and just lick the paste off your fingers.
Another good thing about this Cookie spread is that it was done in a purely traditional way. Quoting from their website:
“...No syrups, salt or animal fats, nor preservatives, colouring or flavouring agents are added to the speculoos paste.”