Sometimes something enters your life and changes you forever: a pet, a child, crack cocaine. One look at it and you know that you’ll never be the same again. For me, everything changed when a friend brought me a jar of Speculoos spread. This delicious, creamy, spicy, gingery wonder stuff instantly made my mouth do the Mexican Hat Dance. Like Vegenaise, it’s one of those condiments that you can’t have in the house because the urge to sit down, open the jar and just eat it all with a spoon is too great.

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Just what is this stuff? It’s Speculoos spread, it’s from Belgium, and it’ll rock your socks.

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Speculoos cookies are those Belgian cookies that look like this:

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They look so innocent…

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They taste like crispy gingersnaps with a hint of nutmeg, cinnamon and caramel. Now imagine that you can have that taste as a spread to put on toast (or a spoon!) or a biscuit (or a spoon!) or a waffles (or a spoon!). That is Speculoos spread: spiced cookies turned creamy, sprinkled with heroin and put in a jar.

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David Lebovitz sings their praises on his blog (after discussing the failings of French supermarkets) and someone has even put up a recipe for how to make your own. It’s Moonshine Speculoos! My preferred brand is Lotus Bakeries Speculoos Spread, but you can buy Waffles and Dinges brand Speculoos online (in a tiny jar, so as to do less damage if you can’t resist eating it all at once). Or you can buy Lotus Bakeries brand Speculoos online from a Belgian specialty shop.

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Warning: this is very addictive. Letting Speculoos into your life will change you forever. Your friends, family and pets will no longer recognize you. You could very well end up on an episode of Intervention.

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“Gimme my damn Speculoos!!!!”

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