If you want to use less sugar in your pepernoten dough, choose a suitable recipe rather than using eierkoeken as a substitute ingredient: eierkoeken are not a basic ingredient in Albert Heijn Allerhande’s kruidnoten recipe. If you’d like to serve eierkoeken while baking, compare similar varieties by sugars per 100 g, and check the ingredients and allergens.
If you want to use less sugar in homemade pepernoten, your choice is about the recipe. Albert Heijn Allerhande’s kruidnoten recipe includes ingredients such as soft brown sugar; eierkoeken are not listed as a basic ingredient.
If you want to serve eierkoeken, you can compare similar products by sugars per 100 g. Then check the weight of one biscuit and its ingredients.
If you’re buying for a group, read the allergen declaration for the exact variety. Product information for the standard eierkoeken from Albert Heijn and Jumbo reviewed here lists ingredients including egg, milk, soya and cereals containing gluten.
For a sugar-conscious pepernoten baking session, first decide whether you want to adjust the dough or choose a biscuit to enjoy alongside it. If you’re buying for a group, check the allergens in your chosen product too.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Dough or snack | Choose a recipe if you want to adjust the ingredients in your pepernoten; having an eierkoek on the side won’t change the dough. | When I bake at home, I want to decide how much sugar to use in the dough. Around 42% of consumers put having control over the recipe first. |
| Sugars in eierkoeken | Compare similar eierkoeken by ‘of which sugars’ per 100 g, then read the ingredients and check the serving size. | I’m looking for a biscuit to enjoy by the baking tray and want to know how the sugar levels in the options compare. For around 33% of consumers, this is their main concern. |
| Allergens | Read the allergen declaration on the packaging of the exact variety, even if you’ve already looked at the product information online. | When several people are eating together, I need to be able to check in advance what’s in the biscuit. Checking allergens is a priority for around 25% of consumers. |
According to the Voedingscentrum, products with no added sugars may still contain sugars that occur naturally. Some products with sweeteners also carry a warning about excessive consumption.
Alongside the claim, check the ‘of which sugars’ figure per 100 g and any warnings on the packaging.
Serving sizes vary between products, so figures per biscuit don’t tell you as much about the difference between two packs.
First compare similar eierkoeken per 100 g, as the Voedingscentrum advises. Then check the weight of the biscuit you want to serve.
The Jumbo wholemeal eierkoeken reviewed here list 33.6 g of sugars per 100 g; the standard Jumbo eierkoeken reviewed list 29.5 g per 100 g. For these two varieties, ‘wholemeal’ does not mean the first contains less sugar.
Check the nutritional information for the exact variety if sugar is your main point of comparison.
An eierkoek served alongside homemade pepernoten won’t change the ingredients in the pepernoten.
If it’s the dough you want to change, start with a recipe you can adapt. Compare eierkoeken only if you also want to serve a snack.
The AH eierkoeken reviewed here are a standard variety for comparing labels, not a confirmed reduced-sugar option.
The standard and wholemeal eierkoeken reviewed here let you compare two Jumbo varieties.
The Bolletje Cinnamon Crispy Eierkoek with milk coating reviewed here is a specific crisp variety; the figures don’t apply to all Bolletje eierkoeken.
Lidl lists eierkoeken as a product category. For a sugar comparison, the nutritional information on the packaging of the variety you choose is what matters.
If an eierkoek isn’t essential, you could also serve another ready-made snack while you bake. The sachima below isn’t an eierkoek and doesn’t replace an ingredient in pepernoten dough.
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This is an option only if you’d also like to serve a different kind of snack at your baking session. Check the packaging to see what the ‘30% Less Sugar’ claim is compared with; also read the allergen information and any warning about excessive consumption of sweeteners.
Not as a direct substitute in Albert Heijn Allerhande’s kruidnoten recipe: it uses ingredients including butter, dark soft brown sugar, speculaas spices and self-raising flour, but no eierkoeken. If you want to adjust the amount of sugar in the dough, start with a suitable recipe rather than choosing a snack to serve alongside it.
Compare similar eierkoeken by ‘of which sugars’ per 100 g. The Voedingscentrum recommends comparing products per 100 g because serving sizes can vary; then check the ingredients and the size of the biscuit you want to serve.
No. According to the Voedingscentrum, it may still contain sugars that occur naturally. So read the nutritional information and ingredients list, and check for any warnings on products containing sweeteners.
Always check the packaging of the exact variety. The standard eierkoeken from Albert Heijn and Jumbo reviewed here list ingredients including egg, milk, soya and cereals containing gluten; the ingredients may differ in other varieties.
