Trader Joe's Speculoos Cookie Butter (all of 'em!)

I had an idea that I should do a cookie butter review, featuring every one of Trader Joe's Speculoos varieties, as well as Biscoff's spreads. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done since I don't like going to the store, and since TJ's is still new enough here that they frequently run out of cookie butter.

When they first opened, they didn't even have the cookie butter out. You had to ask at the cash register, and you could only have one. Then a few weeks later, it was out, but you could only buy three. When I went back to get it this time, there was no longer a limit, but they were out of the crunchy butter.

This weekend, though, my sister got the crunchy for me, so I ended up with all three!

But, as you can see, we'd already opened and eaten the regular and cocoa. So... here are some thoughts:

The regular cookie butter is mostly smooth, but does still have a bit of grit in it. It's grainier than Biscoff, but also tastes heartier. It's basically crushed up cookies with oil and sugar. What I'm saying is that it's a health food.

My brother-in-law Ken pointed out that the #1 ingredient in the cocoa cookie butter is oil. So, again, we're dealing with some intensely nutritious substance here. This spread is a lot smoother than the regular cookie butter, with almost no discernible solids. The cocoa makes the spread taste not quite as sweet, but it's a very decadent jar of deliciousness.

Speaking of my brother-in-law, the crunchy cookie butter is his favorite. It has bigger chunks of cookies in it, but it's not as crunchy as crunchy peanut butter... probably because cookies are crunchier in a different and less-hard way than peanuts. 

Yeah. All of these are in my house at the same time.

Basically, I think of these as frosting rather than any kind of bread spread. Daphne likes the cocoa spread with Ritz-type crackers as a sweet/salty dessert. I think it pairs well with sliced tart apples. Ken (the BiL) eats the crunchy spread with hard pretzels. Today, I had a few stalks of celery with it, and it's a lot easier to chew up than celery with peanut butter. I really enjoy the regular cookie butter with bananas, too. It's almost like a banana pudding with vanilla wafers, but it's a lot easier.

Bottom line: These are all tasty. I still need to compare them to Biscoff, which is smoother than any but the cocoa Trader Joe's spreads. Flavor-wise, I don't know that I prefer any one to the other. Consistency, though... well, stay tuned!