If being able to verify a low sugar content is your priority, compare packaged biscuits labelled ‘sugar-free’ by checking the nutrition information per 100 g, and look at the sweeteners and allergens too. If you’re mainly looking to bake with children and choose the ingredients yourself, a recipe without added sugar may be a better fit; Albert Heijn Allerhande’s date recipe still contains 6 g of sugars per serving.
Attractive packaging tells you little about how much sugar a biscuit contains. Compare the ‘of which sugars’ figure per 100 g for similar biscuits, and read the ingredients list, as the Netherlands Nutrition Centre recommends when comparing food labels.
Children can help weigh, mix, knead and shape the dough. Choose tasks to suit their abilities; the Netherlands Nutrition Centre advises taking care around heat and sharp utensils when cooking together.
Check each biscuit or recipe for sweeteners, polyols and allergens. The packaged products mentioned here and the date recipe differ in their ingredients, including wheat, milk, egg, soya, almonds and sesame.
Choose these when: a clear claim on the packaging and being able to serve biscuits straight away matter more than baking together.
The trade-off: Albert Heijn lists 0.3 g of sugars per 100 g for AH Digestive 0% sugar and 0.4 g per 100 g for Céréal Speculoos with almonds; both product descriptions also mention polyols.
Choose this when: baking together and choosing the ingredients yourself come first.
The trade-off: Albert Heijn Allerhande’s date recipe contains 6 g of sugars per serving and includes almonds, egg and tahini.
| What to consider | What to look for | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar content and claims | Read the claim on the pack and compare the ‘of which sugars’ figure per 100 g. For recipes, check the nutrition information per serving too. | If I’m looking for a biscuit with as little sugar as possible, I want to be able to check the amount rather than rely on the product name. For around 45% of consumers, being able to verify the sugar content comes first. |
| Baking together | Check which recipe steps children can do and which tasks involving the oven or kitchen appliances need supervision. | When my child wants to help with the baking, I want to choose tasks that suit their abilities and decide on the ingredients myself. Baking together is the main priority for around 33% of consumers. |
| Sweeteners and allergens | Read the latest ingredients and allergen information. For products containing polyols, check the warnings on the packaging too. | If I need to avoid certain ingredients when choosing a biscuit, I want to know what’s in it before serving. For around 22% of consumers, sweeteners and allergens are top of the list. |
A recipe can be made without added sugar and still contain sugars. Albert Heijn Allerhande’s date recipe contains 6 g of sugars per serving.
Decide which claim matters to you, then check the ‘of which sugars’ figure on the packaging or in the recipe’s nutrition information.
A low sugar figure doesn’t tell you everything about a product’s nutritional value. For example, Albert Heijn lists 465 kcal per 100 g for AH Digestive 0% sugar. For children aged 4 to 12, the Netherlands Nutrition Centre recommends fruit and vegetables as snacks.
When comparing similar biscuits, also check the energy, saturated fat, fibre and salt per 100 g. Don’t use a single nutritional value to judge the whole product.
The biscuits mentioned here use different polyols and contain different allergens. Albert Heijn also includes a warning for Verkade San Francisco Zero about a possible laxative effect if eaten in excess.
Before buying, check the latest ingredients, allergens and warnings for the specific product. If you’re baking at home, check every ingredient in the recipe.
Hot ovens, sharp knives and kitchen appliances require different skills from weighing or mixing. When cooking with children, the Netherlands Nutrition Centre advises taking care around heat and sharp utensils.
Give children tasks that suit their abilities, and supervise them closely when they’re using the oven, knives or appliances.
Céréal makes a packaged speculoos biscuit with almond pieces, labelled ‘sugar-free’.
San Francisco Zero is a packaged biscuit labelled ‘0% added sugar’.
AH offers a packaged Digestive biscuit labelled ‘0% sugar’. Albert Heijn Allerhande also publishes a recipe without added sugar for baking at home.
No. A biscuit can still contain sugars that occur naturally in its ingredients, even if no sugar has been added. For example, Albert Heijn Allerhande’s date recipe contains 6 g of sugars per serving. For packaged biscuits, check both the claim and the ‘of which sugars’ figure in the nutrition table.
Depending on their abilities, children can help weigh, mix, knead and shape the dough. Keep a close eye on them when they’re using the oven, sharp knives or kitchen appliances; the Netherlands Nutrition Centre highlights the risks of heat and sharp utensils when cooking together.
Read the latest ingredients and allergen information for every biscuit and recipe ingredient. The varieties mentioned here differ in their ingredients, including wheat, milk, egg, soya, almonds and sesame. For packaged biscuits, also check which polyols they contain and whether the label warns against eating them in excess.
