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I love these cookies
Me too. Have you seen that Kodiak is now making "cookie butter" protein granola? Cookie butter is the US naming of speculoos and they're amazing. Love that stuff. Tried making my own to improve the macros more, but haven't nailed it yet.
I do too, but realized i like ginger snaps, at least some varieties at least as well if not better.
Honestly that's one of the few things I look forward to when flying these days, and a serious consideration on picking Delta if other factors are equal between airlines.
You can just buy some from a shop.
Like half the article is about why these cookies are popular in flight
Sure, there are a lot of things like this you can do. It would eat up a minute of your time and cost a premium to buy a tiny packet of an individually-wrapped biscoff. Or you could spend ~$36 to buy a box of 300 biscoffs that occupy a space in your cupboard, and then every time you fly, you take one out of the box and put it in your carry-on, and resist the temptation to eat it unless you are 10km high.
Keep the box, set a chair in the middle of the living room, strap on a VR headset (viewer’s choice) and put on an airline passenger POV video from YouTube. Crunch away at your Biscoff.

You’re welcome. You just saved thousands of dollars.

Tomato juice is also disproportionately popular during flights compared to what one would normally order grounded. You can also buy tomato v8 juice from a shop, but there’s a reason taste changes when you’re flying, which they explain in the article.
A lot of people in the replies here unable to conceive of buying some from a shop and then taking them on the flight themselves, therefore bypassing the need to prioritise Delta. Unbelievable.
Too sweet. Much would rather p-nuts.
Are there allergy concerns with nuts?
https://www.aaaai.org/tools-for-the-public/conditions-librar...

>Myth: Smelling an allergen can trigger anaphylaxis.

>Fact: While people often don’t like the smell of a food they’re allergic to, smell does not provoke an allergic reaction...While smells can linger in the air, the allergen proteins do not, which is why smelling a food will not trigger anaphylaxis.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33548082/

>Allergic reactions to airborne peanut proteins are rare and cannot be predicted by high levels of IgE-antibodies to peanut or Ara h 2. Only small amounts of biologically active peanut proteins were detected in the air and seem unlikely to trigger moderate/severe allergic reactions.

Cross-contamination risk via surfaces and touch might still remain in such tight spaces. Thanks for the articles about olfactory risks!
Is that risk really any different from anywhere else in society? Yes, if you have a truly severe peanut allergy, you may have to wipe down every surface you touch. Being on an airplane vs. anywhere else doesn't change that.
I have severe peanut allergy. If I have any exposure, my immune system stays hypersensitised for several weeks. During that period, even the smell of peanuts is enough for my throat to start swelling up. It won't develop into the full anaphylactic reaction but it is certainly bad enough to make me very unhappy.
It's not physically possible for the smell of peanuts to cause any kind of allergic reaction, as explained by the link above. That doesn't mean that the feeling you're getting isn't real, but it's caused by the (rightful) fear that you have about peanuts.
One of my sons is allergic to peanuts (and a lot more, like dairy alas) ... but Biscoff is a saviour for a little treat! And Biscoff spread is glorious, better than peanut butter IMO
Biscoff spread is a nice treat but peanut butter is much higher in protein, lower in carbs, and is mostly unsaturated fats compared to Biscoff spread which is mostly saturated fats.

Compared to natural peanut butter anyways. Compared to something like Jif though, that difference is probably minimal.

Even sweetened peanut butter like Jif is pretty healthy. It's something like 90% peanut butter, 9% sugar, and 1% other oils. Total composition is like 50% fat, 20% protein, 10% fiber, and 10% sugar.

Biscoff spread is more like 40% fat, 35% sugar, and 20% other carbs. No protein or fiber.

Same. All these snacks have added sugar or oils, I'd rather have something simple.
Came here to say this. I thought I liked them when I was given just one packet on the airplane. So I bought them at Costco when I saw them there. It's been like two months since I bought it and I barely finished a third of that because it's too sweet.
[delayed]
You had me till Tim Tams.

Those things have been enshittified to being brown dyed sweet biscuit your decrying and I hate that we (Australians) still talk them up.

The last time I had them (almost a decade ago) they were delicious. Reading that they've been so adulterated makes me sad :-(
Claire Saffitz makes cinnamon rolls with these cookies as the inner cinnamon filling, they’re so good with the spice
They make a great graham-cracker style crust for a skyr cake.
As a Belgian I still dislike this new branding.
Same.
It is at least easier to pronounce for non-Dutch speakers. Here in Toronto, there are a few places that put "Speculaas/Speculoos (Biscoff)" on their menu, e.g: https://www.columbuscafe.com/en/recette/cafe-latte-de-lours-....

But to be honest, as a Belgian living abroad, I'm just happy I can find it at all lol. Was surprised to even find the 'crunchy' spread in my local supermarket.

Huh. That would actually annoy me because speculaas and speculoos are two different things.
As a Belgian living abroad I'm waiting for the day prepare/filet americain, proper mayonaise and "broodjes" are available world wide. If people knew about it, it would be as big as sushi!
Yeah, broodjes would be great. But I'd settle for even just decent bread lol.
I mean, a hoagie is a broodje, just the bread is not as good. The quality difference in mayonnaise outside of Belgium insane too.
If it's any help, the company denies that Delta came up with the name, but doesn't offer an explanation to the origin of the name itself.

It's also funny how they deny that the original deal with Delta was only a temporary short term deal, but that it was always a longterm deal.

Biscoff is a registered trademark of Lotus Bakeries, while speculoos is a generic name. Hence why Lotus markets its under its owned name, and not the generic name; especially outside Belgium/Netherlands where people don't know about speculoos.
I'm so fucking mad and I'll keep calling them spéculoos until the day I die.
> a peanut shortage prompted Delta, then America’s fourth-largest airline, to seek an alternative onboard snack

I never knew this was the reason. I had assumed that airlines stopped serving peanuts as an accomodation to the increasing numebr of people with peanut allergies.

It's both. That's why Southwest stopped, for instance. Literally just opening a small bag of peanuts around people who aren't eating peanuts is enough to bring someone with a severe allergy into anaphylactic shock.
The American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology disagrees, which I'm surprised by and totally thought they could too. Someone linked to this in another thread.

> What can occur is that the patient smells an allergen, and that smell triggers a strong memory of a past reaction or the fear of having a reaction and signs and symptoms of panic may occur – including an increase in heart rate, tight breathing, flushing of the skin and nervousness, all of which could be mistaken as signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis. ... While smells can linger in the air, the allergen proteins do not, which is why smelling a food will not trigger anaphylaxis.

Interestingly some like shellfish can aerosolize in a boiling pot, however according to them peanuts cannot. I can still absolutely see airlines reacting to passengers thinking they're having attacks and eliminating peanut snacks out of caution and to avoid the issues even an imagined attack can cause on a flight. That and the risk of surface contamination probably?

https://www.aaaai.org/tools-for-the-public/conditions-librar...

edit: dang scooped by 5 minutes.

Yes. In fact, last time I checked (4 years ago), no one has ever had a reaction from (for example) kissing someone who just ate peanut butter too, which for a while everyone claimed could case a reaction. There was a reported case 12+ years ago in Montreal, but it was soon retracted as a mistake.
I personally have definitely had a reaction from kissing someone after they ate peanuts, just not full-blown anaphylaxis.
This explains a lot. I always wondered why airlines eliminated peanuts but never ask passengers to avoid eating peanut products they'd brought on themselves, and why peanut based foods can be so common in public if there are "airborne peanut allergies".
I have been on several flights in the last couple of years where the flight attendants have asked that no one open/consume peanuts or peanut snacks while on board due to a passenger with a severe allergy.

All considering for the person affected (and my desire to not end up at an alternate airport for hours/overnight) has always seemed like an easy thing to do.

Many airlines do that if they know if there is someone with a not allergy on the flight.
Well, according to the AAAAI, "airborne peanut allergens" are not actually a thing.

I'm all for consideration for others, especially when crammed into a tight space for hours on end, but once we get into the realm of purely psychological effects, where do we draw the line? For example, there are people that are absolutely convinced that my phone's electromagnetic radiation will cause them discomfort, yet in-flight Wi-Fi is a thing.

To be clear, I'm totally on board with limiting common allergens in airplane food, but please let me eat my own peanuts in peace instead of further facilitating mass hysteria.

> The American Academy of [...] disagrees ...

> I can still absolutely see airlines reacting to passengers thinking ...

That, plus a dozen other scenarios which airlines do not want paying out in their airplanes. Or even post-flight, if some a lawyer wanted to argue that the fatal peanut fell into mommy's purse during her flight back home to family.

Even though I know this, smelling peanuts (especially peanut butter) makes me intensely uncomfortable and I'm happy they're not served on most flights anymore. I'm not trying to ban anyone from taking their own peanuts on the flight (although I wish they wouldn't) but not needing to worry about it coming from the airline is a huge load off my mind.

Also, thinking as the airline, I'd do anything possible to avoid causing anaphylaxis on a flight, starting by simply removing common allergens from the menu. In the modern world, pretty much the only times an anaphylaxis attack would actually threaten my life would be camping in the wilderness and on a flight. Anaphylaxis has a great survival rate if you have an epipen and can get to a hospital quickly, and if you can't it's all down to how bad your allergy is and what meds you have available. Maybe I'm stupid but I don't bring on a flight the steroids that I'd bring camping, and I doubt the airplane has a supply either.

At least if you are in the USA they do keep epinephrine in the medical kits onboard. It’s an FAA requirement
Dust can also be an issue. It's definitely a cause of concern for pistachios, where cracking the shells releases enough pistachio dust to cause skin rash to my allergic daughter, even though she's never touched a pistachio in her life. Cracking shelled peanuts can likely cause the same issue, I'd wager.

Although peanuts served in planes are not in the shell, I can imagine how having potentially allergic people in close contact to people potentially oblivious to allergy issues eating peanuts sitting right next to them and eating peanuts could be problematic.

Thank you, I always found that story hard to believe, despite flight attendants confidently repeating it on PA. My most bizarre experience was when they one time announced a "very, very special guest among us today", which turned out to be somebody "so allergic to peanuts, if anybody anywhere on the plane opens any food containing peanuts, they will go into anaphylactic shock IMMEDIATELY, so please don't"...
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I took a flight inside Mexico (Mexico City to Oaxaca) recently and the in-flight service snack was bagged peanuts. I was so amused, it was almost shocking to see. And, good news, no one died, but I assume if it was on a plane in US there probably would've been a strong emotional reaction by at least one person. It's good to know that the "Airborne anaphylaxis" is not a thing.
Many nations are finally pushing back on Americanism and finding themselves again.
As an American, I say good! Every country should have their own identity.
I still would not appreciate having airborne panic attacks on a plane.
My buddy's gf is allergic to peas.

She visited a friend's house and started getting an itchy throat immediately. Friends new she was allergic to peas so obv hadn't prepared any.

Turned out the dog food had peas in it and the bag was open on the other end of the house in the kitchen. (And obv dog slobber everywhere lol)

Dog food is probably particularly prone to creating particles that she could breath because it is essentially pellets of powder
> Sometimes it blows me away how sensitive...

Yes, but consider that we're all descended from people who survived diseases like smallpox. Repeatedly.

And how few nanograms of smallpox virus are needed for LD50, to weed out the insensitive immune systems.

Yet they have no problems with animals on flights with people who are deathly allergic, and have no way to guarantee you will not be put on such a flight, especially when last minute changes happen frequently.
Really miss the airline peanuts. Was such a nice treat.
Please, make sure you try these at least once in your life: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speculoos
[delayed]
With 2 o's is the Belgian recipe, which is caramelized, out of which they made Biscoff. The Dutch recipe, named "Speculaas", has more spices, and is less sweet.
Also possible to find the 'Speculoos' spice mix for further recipes :)
Once in a while we pick up a pack of these from Costco, when we haven't flown in a while. They're pretty sweet, so we don't get them too often, but once in a while as a treat.
> They're pretty sweet, so we don't get them too often, but once in a while as a treat.

Then a Costco pack should be close to a lifetime supply.

Have you heard of Biscoff spread? It's kinda like peanut butter except, it's made out of cookies https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BZsIY6PUPU (might not be sfw)
Yea, I once brought some to game night, and another gamer brought actual Biscoff cookies. Then a third person put them together into a sandwich cookie which I thought was equal parts funny and violating some kind of Kosher rule "Do not seethe a kid in it's mother's milk" I invented in my head.
We’ve strayed further. Sometimes we take the meat of a chicken, bathe it in its eggs, dip it in bread crumb, and shape it in the form of its ancestors.

Dino nuggies are worth it though…

Getting close to oyakodon:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oyakodon

Just had that when visiting japan, wanted to order food to the hotel using Uber Eats, and everything’s in Japanese. So I translated it. Seeing parent and child bowl made it an immediate buy!
And don't forget the mayochip to dip it in!

My friends and I stumbled into this as it's own food category and I wish I could remember the stranger ones.

I think you can actually buy biscoff sandwich cookies that are essentially this.
This has been a Belgian children's breakfast staple for generations. Some dunk them in milk before putting them on bread. Those with a more sophisticated palate might use coffee or hot chocolate instead.
That + coffee is the original spread. Just the way the cookie crumbles.
Wife got the same thing but it’s Oreo cookie spread. The stuff is crack.
This is usually the first thing I think of when I think of f**InG BiScoFf.
ChocZero makes a zero sugar version of the speculoos cookie butter and it's amazing.
lol how could this not be sfw??? I can't open right now because I'm at work but I'm so curious haha
Anything is possible on the Internet.
You can spread it on anything. ANYTHING.
Slightly related but you can crumble these cookies and use them as a (cheese)cake bottom. It's nice.
It is indeed excellent; I think it goes well with a bit of whisky in the cheesecake. I also sometimes put a swirl of Biscoff spread through the cheesecake
The crunchy spread or the regular spread? I can imagine it works with both, but crunchy sounds extra nice.
I think I've generally used smooth; the cheesecake base is the crunchy complement to the main cake's smoothness.
If you care about your health at all, do NOT buy a jar of trader joe's cookie butter, or their cookie butter ice cream...
I use that often as a filling for snickerdoodles, it's quite good.
Yes because I read the article.
We’re mostly adults here, we can call it by its unsanitized name: Speculoos
Aren't they supposed to be full of sugar? Each time I've been tempted to pick them up when shopping, one look at the ingredients and nutritional profile is enough to dissuade me. I guess trying them once in a while won't kill me, though.

Apparently, they are a a brand of speculoos cookies, and this Wikipedia synopsis is eye opening:

> speculaas [speːkyˈlaːs] ⓘ refers to the more traditional variant, made with a mix of various spices, which is nowadays most popular in the Netherlands; speculoos [speːkyˈloːs] ⓘ refers to a Belgian variant that omits the traditional spices in favour of caramelized sugar for flavour, and which is nowadays the most common variant in Belgium and worldwide

So the Belgians enshittified speculaas to create speculoos, pumping it full of sugar, and presented it to the world as something special.

> So the Belgians enshittified speculaas to create speculoos

Yes and no. This "Speculoos is actually cheap Speculaas" isn't completely true. That's what people like to say today, but the "Speculoos" name has been around much longer than Lotus bakeries. It's just a dialect thing and there is no reason. Some people called it "Speculaas", some people called it "Speculoos", and _then_ a cheaper variant got made and they choose the "Speculoos" term for it.

It all just sounds really fitting because the "-loos" suffix in Dutch means "without".

Thanks for the explanation. I agree the -loos suffix is indeed (amusingly) fitting, if that's what it means. Specu-loss?
Specu-less would be the English etymological equivalent. Like careless or tasteless.
Americans love sugary factory-dust garbage of course they think it’s a treat. Non-US flights have 100x better service and amenities.
Wow, can I be like you?
Sure can you speak up a little more? and make it a little zestier? and not mind downvotes?
As an American, I know this is a generalization fallacy. There are Americans trying to normalize a healthier lifestyle. But corporations and US mainstream media are working against ordinary Americans by pushing junk food. They do this by gatekeeping healthy food, nutritional education, and healthy habits from poor people. Informed Americans like me know the FDA and these corporations are full of lies to exploit us for profit.
pairs well with a coffee but with a gin and tonic pretzels are the way to go.
And now with their popularity, they're almost everywhere now. Mcdonald's, Krispy Kreme, Cinnabon, Auntie Anne's have all had Biscoff partnered products.

Kind of cool to the explosion of popularity and them taking advantage and partnering with other brands to expand their markets.

Title makes it sound like Biscoff was created by an airline or something...

The bakery has been around since 1932, FYI.

The "then passengers fell in love" portion was enough context (for me, at least) to know we were about to read about Delta Airlines, the first place I've had Biscoff cookies, and other than when I get them at Costco, the only place I eat them.
Dunking these in coffee is super clutch
That also helps reduce the crumb issues. Though I do prefer the stroopwafels served by another major US airline.
I'd read that there are a few snack items resistant to GLP-1 induced food aversions, when I was on a GLP-1, Biscoff cookies felt like one of them. I may have an Amazon scheduled delivery of Biscoff, which every month, I intend to cancel, and somehow forget to follow through.
I'm not on GLP-1s, but I am on metformin [1] which my wife says has similar food aversion properties to the GLPs, and for me I've noticed virtually anything with peanut butter I can still eat a nearly infinite quantity of. One of the worst things that has ever happened to me was finding out that peanut butter fudge is ridiculously easy to make.

[1] Off label for weight loss. My insurance wouldn't cover GLP-1s, and metformin is out of patent and super cheap, and I read that at least some people have had good success using it for weight loss. I am fortunately one of those happy few.

please delete your comments, this is an infohazard for us on glp-1s
I shouldn't have to suffer through this alone.
One extreme option if you wanna kick the ‘butter — I ate a small amount of peanut butter immediately before a severe case of norovirus kicked in (48 hours of purge every 15-20 minutes) — can’t even be in the same room with the stuff without flashbacks anymore. Even typing that out made feel rough.

Maybe there’s some way to de-program such strong associations but seems like a way to kick a bad habit..

I have the same reaction to strawberry ice cream. Not actual strawberries, those are still good, but the flavor that candy companies think strawberries taste like.

I got very sick fairly shortly after eating a bunch of strawberry ice cream when I was a kid. 25 years later and I still can't stand the stuff.

When we say food 'aversion', we're implying that a drug like metformin makes you not want that thing, yes?

I've found when I take metformin, and then eat food later, I enjoy the food so much more as a craving/satiation thing. Especially steaks. But I'm not quite sure why that is. I can't say that what peers have told me about metformin is to help with weight loss, but supposedly the benefits/effects on the body are generally positive.

In my case metformin makes it so I just have no appetite, and certain foods are outright kind of revolting to me now. I can't do fried chicken while I'm on it.
I'm sorry that happens, though now I'll be curious to be on the lookout for this when I take it.

Out of curiosity, does that effect subside fairly quickly e.g. once the drug half life and has exited your system, do you crave/can you eat chicken fairly comfortably?

I actually ran this experiment recently since I ran out and forgot to renew for a bit.

It took about three days for my appetite to become "normal" AKA unhealthy.

Biscoff is so filling, imho. like eating chalk. i cannot imagine eating more than a few, versus Reece's which I can eat dozen at once.
... That would explain a lot. I'm in Norway, and I had never heard of these biscuits until recently. Now they're absolutely everywhere. It's maybe not surprising that the US fast food chains push them, but the Swedish chains do too? And they put it in chocolate bars?

Like most countries I'd wager, we have plenty of own local biscuit brands you've never heard of. Biscoff does not stand out from them as fundamentally different in either texture or taste. I just couldn't wrap my mind around why this bland brand was suddenly pushed so heavily everywhere.

But if food executives think it's GLP resistant (whether it is or not) then it makes a lot of sense. Jesus. People should worry less about "hyperprocessed food" and more about things like this (alternatively, this sort of thing is one of the hyperprocessed foods people should actually worry about).

Same. My theory is the ginger in them. But who knows!
Wow. Seems people do love it. My thought was always there could be no cheaper or worse snack that airlines can offer
I moved to America in July 2011, first delta flight in August that year, and have pretty much not bought any other cookie since.

When I was young and shameless back then I would even ask for an extra one! My wife hates the cookie though, so probably in your boat

Grinding them up as bottom for cheesecake is heaven!
Or as a lemon pie crust it's awesome as well!
Yeah I'm so confused in the comments, these things suck.
Same. I feel like i am in bizarro world cause its the worst flight snack ever
like eating chalk. never understood the hype about it
The first 10+ times I saw these they were airplane freebies. Since I often get motion sick in planes and everything tastes worse at altitude anyway, I kind of developed an aversion to them, and was a bit puzzled to discover people voluntary buy them to eat on the ground.
> traditional Belgian cookie speculaas

Pardon? You mean the traditional Belgian, Dutch, French, and German cookie? Because it's a cross-border (food) cultural good, it's not something invented by, or to this day cherished in, one specific country.

Can you just let us have this one? The other countries already have plenty to talk about!

More seriously, the biscoff variant is quite distinctively Belgian, as it's using caramel rather than a traditional mix of spices.

Oh no question, biscoff is yours, I will give you that any day of the week (and then ask if I could have one, of course). Even speculoos is pretty much Belgian. But speculaas... come on author, you clearly did _some_ research, why get this wrong?
The nomenclature is quite loose. Speculaas and speculoos will be used interchangeably in parts of Belgium. "Spéculoos" will refer to both in the french-speaking part, while I anecdotally noticed Flemish people will use "speculaas" even for biscoffs.

That's why I only eat kruidnoten, less of a linguistic quagmire.

#1 reason to fly delta tbh
American serves them too.
Only since more recently (2026?) I believe.
Oh no, it's been years. At least the last 10 or so. They usually have either cookies or pretzels, but usually both and if you ask nicely they'll give you the cookies. Two if you look emaciated.
Ok but American seem to have increased Biscoff this year.
I find this odd since to me Delta is the airline of last resort, to the point I've never even flown on them (either no routes, or more $$$ than the alternatives).
Depends where you fly out of mostly. When I lived in MSP Delta was both the only real choice, and also pretty damn good for an airline. Especially with top tier status.

I moved to Chicago and am stuck with United now. I miss Delta most times I fly, they simply had a better product.

I have been known to inhale entire costco sized sleeves of biscoffs

I don't look at the nutrition facts

Turns out just anyone can call themselves a nutritionist, according to Dr Ben Goldacre, but "dietician" is something you actually have to be qualified for.

So, you can call yourself a nutritionist, run a blog about it, write a book about it, anything really, and tell anyone any kind of bullshit you make up.

I think I'm on pretty solid ground with mine though.

> I have been known to inhale entire costco sized sleeves of biscoffs > I don't look at the nutrition facts

Here's the title:

"What You're Eating Is Probably Pretty Much Fine"

The strapline is "maybe just not so much, and don't do it all the time"

Dietician is not something you have to be qualified for, but dietitian is!

This is meant to be good natured pedantry, but look it up, you may find it interesting.

>"But until 1986, when Delta Air Lines began serving them as a temporary replacement for peanuts, the cookie—typically something enjoyed with a cup of coffee in a Belgian café—was practically unknown in the US. Today, Biscoff is a global phenomenon, with its manufacturer Lotus Bakeries touting it as the world’s fifth-bestselling cookie."

How do you make your unknown product known?

You put it in front of as many people as you can!

In the above case, cookies in front of airline-passengers seemed to be the winning business formula, but this is only one example of a product meeting a market at a specific interface/connection point, with the Delta customers' drop-down in-flight tray tables being that "connection point".

In the study of business, this is one example (or subcase) of that much broader pattern...

Still, it's a pretty cool example! :-)

In Hong Kong I've seen a gourmet cheesecake shop selling "Lotus Biscoff" flavored cheesecake, and supermarkets selling Biscoff butter (basically Nutella, but with Biscoff flavoring instead of chocolate).

I know the cookie mainly for being sold at Costco. I had no idea they were given out on flights.

The biggest question I've always had about them was whether the "Lotus" in their name is the same brand as the Chinese supermarket chain Lotus. I think it isn't?

it isn't. It's a really old Belgian company that kind of was slowly there for 80 years being fine dozing off and selling their cookies on the local market. And suddenly an invention show on the local television where a finalist invented biscoff spread woke them up to innovation and it seems that in 10 years they conquered the world.

https://www.gva.be/regio/antwerpen/rivierenland/bornem/vlaan...