For homemade speculaas biscuits with a separate chocolate layer, bake the biscuits first and add the chocolate once they have cooled, as in a Jumbo recipe. A ready-made chocolate-coated biscuit is another option if you need something quick to serve or use as a decoration. A chocolate bar with speculaas crumbs, on the other hand, has chocolate as its base, so it is not a substitute for a biscuit.
If you want to choose the shape of your speculaas biscuits and how they’re finished, you can bake them first and add the chocolate once they’ve cooled. That’s the order used in a Jumbo recipe.
If you don’t want to make extra speculaas dough, you can use a ready-made chocolate-coated biscuit to serve or as a decoration.
Check the ingredients and warnings on the packaging before using a biscuit or bar. For the products described here, milk, wheat and soya are among the relevant allergens; warnings about possible contact with nuts vary by product.
Choose this if: you want to decide the shape of the biscuits and how much chocolate to use.
Bear in mind: you’ll need to make the dough and use the oven before you can finish the cooled biscuits.
Choose this if: you want a ready-made biscuit to serve or use as a decoration.
Bear in mind: the biscuit shape and chocolate layer are already decided for you.
Choose this if: you want to break up or use chocolate with speculaas crumbs as a topping.
Bear in mind: a bar isn’t a speculaas biscuit with a chocolate layer.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Finishing them yourself | Do you want to shape the biscuits yourself and add the chocolate only after baking? Jumbo’s recipe says to let the speculaas cool before adding the chocolate. | If I want to choose the shape of the biscuits and the chocolate layer myself, I need a recipe with a separate finishing step. For around 33% of consumers, having this control comes first. |
| Minimal preparation | Check whether you’re looking for a ready-made chocolate-coated biscuit rather than ingredients for an extra baking step. | If I only need a biscuit to serve or use as a decoration, I don’t want to make speculaas dough first. Around 27% of consumers prioritise saving time. |
| Biscuit or chocolate as the base | Read the product description: a coated biscuit is different from a chocolate bar with biscuit crumbs. | If I want the familiar bite of a biscuit, I wouldn’t choose a bar with speculaas crumbs in it. This product-type distinction is the most important consideration for around 20% of consumers. |
| Allergens | Check the current packaging for ingredients and warnings, including milk, wheat, soya and possible contact with nuts. | If I or my guests need to avoid certain ingredients, the label determines which products I can use. For around 20% of consumers, checking this is the most important consideration. |
According to Jumbo, Verkade Speculaas Melkchocolade contains 10% biscuit crumbs; according to Albert Heijn, AH Speculaas witte chocolade crunchy contains 8% speculaas. In both products, chocolate is the base, rather than a biscuit with a chocolate layer.
If you want to serve or crumble a whole biscuit, look for a product description that says it’s a chocolate-coated biscuit.
In Jumbo’s recipe, the speculaas is baked and left to cool first. The melted chocolate is spread over it afterwards.
If you want a separate chocolate layer, follow the baking and finishing order in your chosen recipe.
Albert Heijn warns that product information can change. This means an ingredients list you looked at earlier may differ from the information on the packaging you’re using.
Just before use, read the ingredients and allergen warnings on the physical packaging.
Biscuits can go soft or stale, making them less suitable as a crunchy topping.
Store any leftover biscuits in a cool, dry, dark place in an airtight container, as recommended by the Voedingscentrum, and follow the storage instructions on the packaging.
Lotus describes Speculoos met Chocolade as a speculaas biscuit with chocolate, sold in packs of 7 x 3 pieces.
The Verkade products described by Jumbo come in different forms: Meesterbaksels Speculade is a biscuit coated in milk chocolate and flavoured with speculaas spices; Speculaas Melkchocolade is a bar with biscuit crumbs.
According to Albert Heijn, AH Speculaas witte chocolade crunchy is a white chocolate bar containing 8% speculaas and 0.4% speculaas spices.
Add the chocolate after baking and cooling if you want a separate finishing layer. In a Jumbo recipe, the speculaas is baked first and then coated with melted chocolate.
No. A bar with speculaas contains pieces of biscuit in chocolate, whereas chocolate-coated speculaas has the biscuit as its base. Jumbo says Verkade Speculaas Melkchocolade contains 10% biscuit crumbs; Albert Heijn says AH Speculaas witte chocolade crunchy contains 8% speculaas.
Read the current ingredients and warnings on the physical packaging. For the products described here, milk, wheat and soya are among the relevant allergens; also check each product for warnings about possible contact with nuts.
Store the biscuits in a cool, dry, dark place in an airtight container. This follows the storage advice from the Voedingscentrum; also follow the instructions on the packaging of the product you’re using.
