Long before the cookie butter craze, there were speculoos, the crunchy caramelized spiced cookies which is the main ingredient the cookie butter.

Speculoos are special in themselves, my local London Drugs used to carry the Belgian ones around Christmas time; crispy and thin with punchy flavours, they are so good with tea.

A while back, I discovered a package of speculoos lost underneath my stash of nuts, broken in pieces, looking forlorn and perfect for these muffins.

I can’t recall where I found this recipe, I really wish I could, because it takes the humble speculoos to new heights, I guess it’s similar to the cookie spread in that way

One idle grey morning, we watched the rain pour down the windows, and made these muffins, then we made coffee, sat down and relished the wonderful aroma of the muffins baking.

We ate them warm, right out of the oven with coffee and good company.

These speculoos cookie muffins aren’t the healthiest, but they have a delicious specialness and comfort that makes them perfectly suited for cold rainy days.

I really like how they turned out – wonderfully spiced, moist and cakey with a delightful crunchy streusel topping.

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Speculoos Cookie Muffins

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup speculoos cookie crumbs, finely crushed
• 1/2 cup turbinado sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon clove
• 1/8 teaspoon cardamom
• 1/8 teaspoon ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup almond or coconut milk + 3 tablespoons
• 1/3 cup canola or sunflower oil
• 1 tablespoon flax + 3 tablespoon water
• 1/2 banana, mashed
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

For streusel

• 1/4 cup Speculoos cookie crumbs
• 1/4 cup plain flour
• 1/4 cup turbinado sugar
• Pinch of cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened (1.5oz/43g.)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line muffin with 12 paper liners
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, speculoos crumbs, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices (nutmeg, clove, cardamom, ginger, and cinnamon)
3. Whisk milk, canola oil, flax, banana and vanilla extract together in another bowl
4. Stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and mix until just combined
5. Make the streusel by mixing speculoos crumbs, flour, sugar, cinnamon and butter together with a fork or fingers to make a crumbly mixture
6. Fill paper liners up to 3/4 full of batter
7. Top with about a tablespoon of streusel
8. Place in oven and bake for 18 – 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin just comes out clean
9. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for about 10 minutes before removing from pan
10. Enjoy!

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