Choose a ready-made biscuit if you need a quick crumb base or topping. Compare the sugars per 100 g, the ingredients and the flavour that best suits your recipe. Baking your own gives you more control over the ingredients, but using fruit as a sweetener doesn’t make a biscuit sugar-free. Whichever option you choose, check for allergens and, with packaged biscuits, any sweeteners or polyols.
You’re looking for a ready-made biscuit for a base, crumb layer or topping, and are mainly comparing the sugars per 100 g. A low sugar figure doesn’t automatically mean the biscuit is low in energy.
You want to keep that spiced biscuit flavour and check in advance which sugars, sweeteners and allergens your chosen option contains.
You like choosing the ingredients yourself and don’t mind the extra preparation. Dates and bananas can sweeten a recipe, but they still contain sugars.
First decide whether you want to crumble a packaged biscuit or bake your own. Then consider which features matter most for your dessert.
| What to consider | What to look for | Especially relevant to |
|---|---|---|
| Sugars listed on the label | Compare ‘of which sugars’ per 100 g and read the ingredients list. If you also want to compare energy content, check the nutritional information. | For a biscuit base, I want to limit the sugars listed without relying solely on the front of the pack. For around 36% of consumers, comparing the label is the top priority. |
| Flavour and role in the recipe | Consider whether coconut or speculoos, for example, will suit the filling. If you’re trying a new base, start with a small amount of crumbs. | If the biscuit flavour will come through clearly in my dessert, I want to know whether it will suit the filling. For around 29% of consumers, flavour and intended use matter most. |
| Choosing your own ingredients | Check the nutritional information per serving for the recipe, even if you’re not adding granulated sugar. | I prefer to bake from scratch when I want to choose the ingredients in my biscuits, even if it takes some preparation. For around 21% of consumers, that control is the main reason. |
| Allergens and polyols | Check the latest allergen information, ingredients and any mention of polyols on the packaging. | When I’m baking for others, I need to know whether the biscuit contains ingredients they avoid. For around 14% of consumers, checking this is the top priority. |
Albert Heijn lists 0.3 g of sugars in AH Digestive 0% suiker, but also 465 kcal per 100 g. Sugars and energy are two different figures on the nutrition table.
When choosing a biscuit for your base, compare sugars, energy, fat and the portion you intend to use, rather than looking at the sugar figure alone.
Albert Heijn lists 14 g of polyols per 100 g in AH Digestive 0% suiker and warns that excessive consumption may have a laxative effect. The Voedingscentrum classifies polyols as FODMAP carbohydrates.
For biscuits containing sweeteners, check the ingredients and the amount of polyols listed too, and consider how much biscuit you’ll use in your recipe.
According to Jumbo, its Ontbijtkoek Minder Suiker contains 30% less sugar than the reference product, but still has 22.7 g of sugars per 100 g. Ontbijtkoek is also not a biscuit for a crumb base.
When you see a comparative claim, check what it’s being compared with as well as the absolute amount of sugars per 100 g.
ALDI describes Koek & Bakker Ontbijtkoek Zero as moist and soft. Its texture is quite different from a dry biscuit that you can crush into crumbs.
If your recipe calls for finely crushed biscuit crumbs, choose a biscuit suited to that purpose or make a small test base with the alternative first.
Sugar-free biscuits in flavours including coconut and speculoos.
AH Digestive 0% suiker is a packaged biscuit worth considering as a possible crumb base.
A flavour reference for desserts where you want that caramelised biscuit taste.
Lidl presents Sondey as a brand offering a range of cookies and biscuits.
An ontbijtkoek option for anyone considering a different kind of baking or dessert ingredient.
No. A product with no added sugars may still contain sugars that occur naturally in its ingredients. For the biscuit you’re planning to use, compare the ‘of which sugars’ figure per 100 g and check the ingredients list.
Not necessarily. The Voedingscentrum’s oat and date biscuit recipe uses dates and banana for sweetness and lists 7 g of sugars per serving. So check the nutritional information for the recipe rather than looking only for added granulated sugar.
Check the allergens in the specific biscuit you’re using. Albert Heijn lists wheat in AH Digestive 0% suiker; Jumbo lists almonds, egg, milk, soya and cereals containing gluten, among other things, for its Céréal speculoos-flavoured biscuits with almond pieces. Check the latest label, especially if you’re baking for others.
Check the amount of polyols on the label and work out how much biscuit will be in your portion. Albert Heijn warns that excessive consumption of AH Digestive 0% suiker may have a laxative effect; the Voedingscentrum classifies polyols as FODMAP carbohydrates.
