Looking for a ready-made biscuit sold as ‘sugar-free’ for your Christmas baking? Céréal Speculoos with almond pieces is one option: Albert Heijn lists 0.4 g of sugars and 29 g of polyols per 100 g. You can use the biscuit as a crumb topping or biscuit layer, but not as a substitute for speculaas dough. If you make your own dough, check all the sweeteners in the recipe: Jumbo’s ‘Sugar-free speculaas’ recipe contains 500 g of maple syrup.
If ‘sugar-free’ is a must for you, compare the ingredients and nutritional information per 100 g. Albert Heijn lists 0.4 g of sugars and 29 g of polyols per 100 g for Céréal Speculoos with almond pieces. Check the allergens too before adding the biscuit to your bake.
You can crush a ready-made speculoos biscuit to use in a dessert or as a biscuit layer. First decide whether you need loose crumbs or dough that you can shape yourself: a biscuit is no substitute for speculaas baking mix.
Making your own dough lets you choose the sweetener and other ingredients. Be sure to read the whole recipe, though: Jumbo’s recipe with ‘sugar-free’ in the title contains 500 g of maple syrup, so it isn’t suitable if you want to avoid sugar-containing sweeteners.
First decide whether you want to add a biscuit or bake speculaas dough from scratch. Then check the sugars, sweeteners and allergens in the specific product or recipe.
| What to consider | What should you check? | Who should pay particular attention? |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar-free | Check ‘of which sugars’ per 100 g and the ingredients list; for recipes, look out for syrups too. | If I want to avoid sugar-containing sweeteners, I need to know what’s actually in the biscuit or recipe. This is the top priority for around 42% of consumers. |
| How you’ll use it in your bake | Choose between a ready-made biscuit for crumbs and dough that you can shape yourself. | If I want a quick biscuit layer or topping, I don’t want to have to make dough as well. This ready-to-use convenience is the first consideration for around 33% of consumers. |
| Choosing your own ingredients | If you make your own dough, check the sweetener and all the other ingredients. For packaged biscuits, check the allergen information too. | When I bake my own dough, I want to choose which sweetener and ingredients go into it. This matters most to around 25% of consumers. |
Jumbo’s ‘Sugar-free speculaas’ recipe contains 500 g of maple syrup. So the title alone doesn’t tell you whether the recipe is suitable if you want to avoid sugar-containing sweeteners.
Read the full list of recipe ingredients before choosing a sweetener or baking mix.
Albert Heijn lists 0.4 g of sugars and 29 g of polyols per 100 g for Céréal Speculoos with almond pieces. The product information also gives an energy value of 404 kcal per 100 g.
Check the nutritional information per 100 g and decide how much biscuit you want to use in your bake.
Céréal uses maltitol and warns that excessive consumption may have a laxative effect. The product information lists wheat, almonds, egg, milk, soya and barley, among other ingredients.
Check the current packaging for ingredients, allergens and warnings before using the biscuit.
Jumbo Speculaas Mix contains sugar and dextrose. Joybuy’s product information lists 38.1 g of sugars per 100 g for Lotus Biscoff, so neither is suitable if you’re strictly avoiding sugars.
Choose these products only if your bake doesn’t need to be sugar-free.
Céréal Speculoos with almond pieces is a packaged biscuit sold as ‘sugar-free’. It’s an option for biscuit crumbs, not for making dough.
Jumbo sells a speculaas mix and publishes a recipe with ‘sugar-free’ in the title. Check the ingredients of each one individually: neither is a suitable choice if you want to strictly avoid sugar-containing sweeteners.
Lotus Biscoff is a ready-made speculoos biscuit you can use for crumbs if sugar-free isn’t a requirement.
The product is sold as ‘sugar-free’; Albert Heijn lists 0.4 g of sugars per 100 g. The biscuit is sweetened with maltitol and, according to that product information, contains 29 g of polyols per 100 g.
No. The published recipe calls for 500 g of maple syrup. Check the ingredients rather than relying on the recipe title alone.
The ‘sugar-free’ label doesn’t tell you that. The product information for Céréal Speculoos with almond pieces lists 404 kcal per 100 g. Compare the nutritional information and how much you’ll use in your bake.
The product information lists wheat, almonds, egg, milk, soya and barley. Check the current packaging and don’t use the biscuit if you need to avoid any of the listed ingredients.
Not if sugar-free is a requirement: Joybuy’s product information lists 38.1 g of sugars per 100 g for Lotus Biscoff. You could consider its flavour and texture for a biscuit layer, but if you need a sugar-free option, check the label of a different product.
