21 Trader Joe’s Cookie Butter Recipes
If you have a jar of Trader Joe's Cookie Butter in your pantry, these Trader Joe's Cookie Butter recipes are about to become your whole personality. That spiced, caramel-y speculoos spread is dangerous straight off the spoon, and it turns out it's even better baked into cookies, swirled into cheesecake, and stuffed inside blondies.
I got hooked when my nephews moved in and we went through a whole case of the stuff in about a month. My honey works at Trader Joe's, so the jars just kept showing up. At some point I got tired of eating it plain and started hunting down every way to actually cook with it. This roundup is the best of what I found, and a few of them have earned a permanent spot in my kitchen.
About These Recipes
This is a hand-picked collection of 21 dessert recipes built around Trader Joe's Speculoos Cookie Butter, the spreadable spiced spread made from crushed Belgian cookies. It covers cookies, bars, cheesecakes, pies, ice cream, and a couple of drinks, ranging from quick 3-ingredient treats to weekend baking projects. No Trader Joe's nearby? Lotus Biscoff spread works in every single recipe here as a straight swap, so you are covered either way.
Cookie Butter Recipes Snapshot
- One jar, endless directions:Â the same spread that tastes like gingerbread on toast turns into fudgy bars, creamy no-bake pies, and chewy cookies with almost no effort.
- Big flavor, short ingredient lists:Â several of these need three or four ingredients total, so you get that caramel-spice payoff without a marathon in the kitchen.
- Great for gifting:Â the truffles, cups, and bars package up beautifully for the holidays and hold up for days.
- Warm, cozy, cool-weather flavor:Â that cinnamon-and-caramelized-sugar profile leans right into fall and winter baking.
- Best For:Â holiday cookie trays, easy homemade gifts, party desserts, and anyone trying to justify buying a second jar.
SUMMARIZE AND SAVE THIS RECIPE CONTENT ON:
Top Tip for a “Fabulous” Finish
Warm your cookie butter for about 15 seconds in the microwave before you measure it. Cold from the pantry it drags and clumps, but a quick warm-up gets it pourable and it folds into batter without leaving stubborn streaks. I learned that the hard way after fighting a lumpy cheesecake swirl.
What Is Trader Joe's Cookie Butter, Exactly?
Trader Joe's Cookie Butter is a spreadable paste made mostly from crushed speculoos cookies, those thin, caramelized, lightly spiced Belgian biscuits you might know from an airplane snack. It looks like peanut butter in the jar, but one taste is pure gingerbread and caramel, not nutty at all.
Speculoos cookies have been around for centuries in Belgium and the Netherlands, traditionally baked around the holidays. Somewhere along the way people started grinding the cookies into a smooth spread, and cookie butter was born. Trader Joe's sells it as Speculoos Cookie Butter, and it comes in smooth and crunchy. Both bake up great, though I reach for smooth when I need it to blend into a batter or filling.
The One Ingredient That Runs the Show
Cookie butter (smooth or crunchy). This is the whole point. It brings sweetness, spice, and that signature caramelized flavor all at once, which is why so many of these recipes can get away with such short ingredient lists. Smooth blends seamlessly into fillings and doughs. Crunchy adds little crumbly bits, which I love in a rice crispy treat but skip in a silky cheesecake.
Lotus Biscoff spread (the swap). If you don't live near a Trader Joe's, Biscoff is the same idea from a different brand and works as a one-to-one replacement in every recipe here. The flavor is nearly identical, maybe a hair sweeter and a touch more caramel-forward. You will not lose anything by swapping. You can usually find it right in the peanut butter aisle.
21 Cookie Butter Recipes You Have to Try
Here is the full lineup, from quick no-bake treats to weekend baking projects. Every one of these works with Trader Joe's Cookie Butter or Biscoff spread, so grab your jar and start bookmarking.
1. Gooey Chocolate Chunk Cookie Butter Bars
Extra gooey chocolate chunk cookie butter bars! Made with that jar of random, but delicious, cookie butter you have sitting in your pantry. It is loaded with flavor and will be perfect if you get the next craving.
2. Softbatch Cookie Butter Brown Sugar Cookies
The cookies are so soft and chewy. They are made with spreadable cookie butter that you can only find at the store or online. They're not too sweet, but they taste like sugar cookies because of the caramel flavor. If you love cinnamon, gingerbread men, molasses cookies, or anything that is related to Cookie Butter/Biscoff then these will be your new favorite ones to make for the holidays.
3. Cookie Butter Pie with Cream Cheese Crust
This cookie butter pie is an outstanding, decadent dessert. The crust is made out of cream cheese and the filling is cream with five ingredients. You can eat this pie alone or you can put it on ice cream. It tastes really good!
4. Biscoff Coffee Cake Muffins
The Biscoff Coffee Cake Muffins are a delicious breakfast. They can be sweet and are perfect for when you want something to eat in the morning.
5. Biscoff Spread Gooey Butter Cake
A gooey butter cake is already a great dessert, but adding Biscoff Cookie Spread takes it to another level. I came up with this idea while working on my favorite theme and the response has been incredible!
6. Biscoff No-Bake Cheesecake
This dessert is easy to make. It has a tasty cookie-crumb base. The top can be made from Biscoff Spread, cream cheese, and Cool Whip. This will look nice when it comes out of the oven.
7. 4 Ingredient Cookie Butter Mug Cake
This cake is perfect for somebody who only needs one serving. It is fluffy, moist, and sweetened with cookie butter spread. You can eat it in a bowl or from the mug, but be careful because it tastes really good!
8. Biscoff Filled Donut Holes
These fluffy donut holes are the perfect addition to a breakfast or afternoon snack. If you eat more than two, they are too sweet. The creamy Biscoff spread is sweet enough that just two is enough.
9. Banana Bread with Cookie Butter Cheesecake Swirl
This banana and cheesecake-flavored dessert taste really good. It is moist and fluffy from the banana flavor, and creamy from the cheesecake flavor. We pour cookie butter over it before we slice it into each loaf. Then you can eat it because it is tasty!
10. 3 Ingredient Cookie Butter Cake
This three-ingredient dessert is delicious. You will get sweetness, creaminess, and crunchy texture from the crispy edges on top of each layer. It is an easy item to make that will satisfy your sugar craving in no time!
11. Cookie Butter Milkshake{tini} {Cookie Butter in Cocktail and Milkshake form!}
The Cookie Butter Tini is here! It tastes like cookie butter, and it is made with milk, vodka, and simple syrup. You can drink it during the day or at night.
12. Cookie Butter Cookies Recipe
I love cookie butter! It's hard to find, but I found it and now I can make these delicious cookies that taste like my favorite treat.
13. Chocolate chip Biscoff cheesecake bites
This is a great dessert that has the perfect balance of sweet and salty. It has a chocolate chip cookie base, a rich Biscoff cheesecake filling, and an irresistible drizzle. With just a few ingredients, it is ready to eat quickly!
14. Cookie Butter Rice Crispy Treats
These rice crispy treats are very tasty. They have cookie butter in them if you don't live near Trader Joe's. You can also use Biscoff Spread from Wal-Mart!
15. No-Churn Cookie Butter Ice Cream
Do you want to make ice cream? You can with this easy recipe. You just need to mix all the ingredients together and put them in the freezer. No complicated machine is needed!
16. Salted Dark Chocolate Cookie Butter Cups
If you want a tasty and easy treat for the holiday, these salted dark chocolate cookie butter cups are perfect. They make good homemade gifts!
17. Green Apple Cookie Butter Oat Smoothie, and How to Organize Your Recipes
In less than 2 minutes, you can mix up a frosty green apple cookie butter oat smoothie. This creamy concoction is made with almond milk, frozen bananas, and oats.
18. Cookie Butter FUNFETTI®-Inspired Triple Chip Bars
If you want a dessert that will fill up your stomach, you should try this one. It is sweet and tastes good.
19. Biscoff White Chocolate Gooey Bars
These Biscoff White Chocolate Gooey Bars are so good. They are sweet and spicy and gooey. They have white chocolate in them, too! This recipe is easy, too because it only takes a few minutes to make.
20. Cookie Butter Cups
Milk chocolate cookie butter crunch cups are really easy to make. You need six ingredients and you can make them in 30 minutes. So, these are a good recipe when you don't have time or energy to start from scratch.
21. No-Bake Cookie Butter Spread Ginger Molasses Cookies
Cookies that taste like the cookie butter from a jar! Cookies have the same soft and creamy flavor, with more crumbles to make them crunchy.
22. Cookie Butter Stuffed Blondies
This treat has a gooey filling of Biscoff Cookie Butter for the ultimate sweet taste. There are butterscotch brownies and they are filled with cookie butter.
23. Cookie Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Bake up some of the best chocolate chip cookies you have ever had with the addition of cookie butter. They are really good, and not too sweet.
I love cookie butter, and so does my family. It has quickly become a staple in our home. We've been using it to make all sorts of recipes. One day we were eating some pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting when the idea for this recipe popped into my head! I hope you enjoy these as much as we do!
If you don’t have a Trader Joe’s around you, no worries! You can always purchase the Cookie Butter Online!
Pro Tips for Baking with Cookie Butter
Make It Your Own
Storage & Make-Ahead Tips
Room temperature: most cookies and bars keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. Tucking a slice of bread in with cookies keeps them soft.
Refrigerator: anything with cream cheese or a cheesecake filling should live in the fridge and will hold for 4 to 5 days. Cookie butter itself keeps in the fridge for up to a month once opened.
Freezer: baked cookies, bars, and blondies freeze beautifully. Wrap them tightly and freeze for up to 2 months, then thaw at room temperature. No-churn ice cream is freezer-native and keeps well for a couple of weeks before it starts to get icy.
Make-ahead: truffles, cups, and no-bake treats are perfect to make a few days ahead for parties. Store them chilled and pull them out shortly before serving.
More Recipes You'll Love
If cookie butter has you in a baking mood, here are a few more FoodnService favorites worth pulling up next.
- These cinnamon raisin peanut butter rolls are the original inspiration for this whole obsession. Leave out the raisins and peanut butter, fill them with cookie butter instead, and thank me later.
- For a spiced spread that plays in the same world, my Biscoff truffles come together with almost no effort and make lovely little gifts.
- Craving a soft, nostalgic treat? These homemade oatmeal cream pies hit the same cozy note as a good cookie butter cookie.
- If you want a bakery-style project, my homemade cinnamon rolls are a weekend classic, and a cookie butter smear on top is not against the rules.
- Browse the full cookie recipe collection for even more ideas to add to your baking list.
Serving Suggestions
Build a dessert board:Â arrange a few of these treats together with fresh fruit and a bowl of extra cookie butter for dipping. It makes an easy, impressive party spread.
Pair with coffee:Â cookie butter and a hot cup of coffee were basically invented for each other. Serve the muffins or bars alongside a fresh pot.
Top your ice cream:Â warm a spoonful of cookie butter and drizzle it over vanilla or the no-churn version from this list.
Gift a tin:Â stack the cups, truffles, and bars in a holiday tin with parchment between layers for a homemade present that always lands.
What is the best cookie butter recipe for beginners?
Start with a 3 or 4-ingredient recipe like the mug cake or the 3-ingredient cake. They are nearly impossible to mess up and deliver that cookie butter flavor with barely any technique. From there, the bars and no-bake treats are your next easy step up.
Cookie butter is one of those magic ingredients that makes almost anything taste like you tried harder than you did. Whether you go for a quick mug cake or a batch of stuffed blondies, that warm, spiced, caramel flavor does the heavy lifting for you. It has become a staple in our house, and I do not see that changing anytime soon.
If you make any of these, come back and tell me which one won you over. Leave a comment, share your own favorite way to use cookie butter, and let me know if you found a new obsession. I read every single one.
FAQs: Cookie Butter, Answered
What is Trader Joe's Cookie Butter made of?
Trader Joe's Cookie Butter is made mostly from crushed speculoos cookies, which are thin, caramelized, lightly spiced Belgian biscuits. The cookies are ground into a smooth, spreadable paste. It looks like peanut butter but tastes like gingerbread and caramel, with no nuts involved.
Can I use Biscoff instead of Trader Joe's Cookie Butter?
Yes, Lotus Biscoff spread works as a one-to-one swap in every recipe in this roundup. The two are nearly identical, both made from speculoos cookies, with Biscoff running just slightly sweeter and more caramel-forward. If you do not have a Trader Joe's nearby, grab Biscoff from the peanut butter aisle and you are set.
Is cookie butter the same as speculoos?
Cookie butter is the spread; speculoos is the cookie it is made from. Speculoos are spiced Belgian biscuits, and when you grind them into a smooth paste you get cookie butter. So every jar of cookie butter is essentially speculoos cookies in spreadable form.
Why did my cookie butter get grainy when I melted it?
You most likely overheated it. Cookie butter has a lot of sugar, so it scorches and seizes fast if you microwave it too long or over direct high heat. Warm it in short 15-second bursts, stirring between each, and stop as soon as it loosens. Once it goes grainy, it will not smooth back out.
Can I substitute cookie butter for peanut butter in recipes?
Often yes, but expect a sweeter, spicier result. Cookie butter has more sugar and less protein than peanut butter, so it can make baked goods softer and sweeter. It works great in no-bake treats and cookies, but in recipes that rely on peanut butter for structure, the texture may come out looser.
Does cookie butter need to be refrigerated?
No, an opened jar is fine in the pantry, though refrigerating it extends its life to about a month. Cold cookie butter gets stiff and hard to spread, so let it sit out a bit or warm it briefly before using. For baking, room-temperature or slightly warmed cookie butter blends the easiest.
