These easy to make, fudgy Lotus Biscoff Blondies are absolutely irresistible. With cookie butter mixed throughout the blondie batter, the lightly spiced speculoos biscoff cookies are crushed within the blondies but also baked on top for that perfect crunch.
Brownies and bars are one of those go-to treats that are easy to pull together but loved by one and all. My Dark Chocolate Walnut Blondies and Brown Butter White Chocolate Blondies are some of my children's favourite treats.
What are blondies and how do they differ to brownies?
But let's backtrack, if you've never heard of blondies before, then let me fill you in quickly. Blondies are the cousin to brownies. They use very similar ingredients but don't have melted chocolate or cocoa powder added to them leaving them light in colour when baked.
Very similar to brownies you can go for a more fudgy, gooey interior (my favourite and what you'll find with my recipes), or with more flour and less egg in the recipe, you'll have a more cakey texture. My technique of beating the batter once the eggs are added in ensures a crispy, crinkly top that creates a signature 'look' in my opinion.
Made with light brown sugar or brown sugar, the taste has distinctive caramel notes that are heightened with the vanilla extract. We brown the butter in my recipe to layer on nutty notes. Winning flavours I tell you! Hopefully, I've won you over with just how delectable blondies are!!
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Why you'll love this recipe
- Made in one bowl. I am all about making recipes that little bit easier for you all. And this is one of them. Made in one bowl is a fast track to minimising that washing up!
- Incredible flavour & texture. Including the cookie butter inside the blondies, drizzled on top and adding the crunch of the biscoff biscuits heightens the spiced flavour to the max. The contrast between the fudgy interior and the crunch from the biscuits is unreal too!
- Easy-to-make. Recipes that deliver maximum flavour but have a simple methodology are my favourite type of recipes for that mid-week craving.
What is biscoff?
Biscoff biscuits are spiced cookies originating from Belgium. Speculaas or speculoos as they are commonly called, are delicate, thin, crunchy biscuits (or cookies!) with subtle caramel, brown sugar and cinnamon flavour that permeates throughout. The most well-known brand to make biscoff cookies is Lotus.
Biscoff spread or Biscoff cookie butter is made from biscoff biscuits but has the texture of peanut butter. When I say it's a spreadable cookie, I mean it! It tastes identical to the cookies and you can literally eat it with a spoon! This spread is amazing added to cakes and desserts or drizzled on top.
Ingredients needed
Regular blondies are made with a pretty standard list of ingredients that you'll find in your pantry and fridge.
These Biscoff Blondies include cookie butter and biscoff biscuits that aren't so regular. Depending on where you live, your local grocery store or supermarket should stock them.
In the UK all major supermarkets stock both and I believe in the States, Trader Joe's commonly stocks the Lotus brand too.
Biscoff spread and Biscoff biscuits - The biscoff spread is added to the batter and also drizzled on top. I use the smooth spread but you can use the crunchy version if you prefer. The biscuits are broken up, or chopped, and added into the batter but also added on top in the final minutes of baking. The textural crunch is amazing!
Butter - Unsalted butter is used. Don't worry about cold or room temperature as it will be melted and browned in the first step of the recipe. Unconfident when browning butter- don't worry, I go into detail a bit further down the post.
Sugar - I've gone for light brown sugar in this recipe to add moisture to the interior but also create some lovely caramel notes that sit alongside the cookie butter beautifully. If you only have brown sugar or white sugar, then substitute for that.
Eggs - 2 large eggs plus an extra egg yolk are used to make these blondies extra fudgy. Make sure they are at room temperature before making the batter so that the eggs can be whipped until beautifully aerated.
White Chocolate - I recommend using chopped white chocolate bars, but feel free to use white chocolate chips if you prefer. The white chocolate works beautifully with the light spices in the biscoff spread and cookies.
Step by step instructions
Before I deep dive into how to make these incredible Lotus blondies, I just want to say that out of all the steps, the hardest part will be browning the butter at the start. But when I say hard....take that with a pinch of salt because I instruct you on exactly how to do this and it's actually really easy.
So if the 'hardest part' is not actually that hard then these become a walk in the park easy to make! And the fact that these don't need any fancy stand mixer and can be made in one bowl - well, that makes these even more fabulous!
*Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!*
1. Brown the butter. Turn normal melted butter into a thing of nutty goodness in one simple step. Add the butter to a saucepan set over medium heat and allow the butter to melt. Once melted, the butter will start to foam and bubble (Image 1) and this is the point that the milk solids have separated from the fats and they'll start to caramelise on the base of the saucepan. Watch the yellow butter turn golden and then brown.
Once the butter is browned, take the pan off the stove and pour it into a bowl. The butter can go from brown to burnt quite quickly. Set the butter aside to cool for ten minutes (Image 2).
TIP: Brown butter bits
Once the brown butter is poured into a bowl, make sure to scrape out all the brown bits that are stuck to the bottom of the saucepan. These bits are where all the nutty, rich flavour is held. The aroma of brown butter is enticing and intoxicating.
NOTE: If you don't fancy the extra step of browning the butter, then simply melt it down in the saucepan or in short bursts in a microwave.
2. Prepare your pan. Grease and line the base and sides of a 23 x 23cm (9x9-inch) square baking pan and set to one side. Check out my handy tip below (Image 3).
Note: If you use a smaller baking pan such as a 20x20cm (8x8-inch) baking tray then the blondies will be a lot thicker and you'll have to increase your baking time.
TIP: Paper Overhang
Make sure that the baking paper overhangs the sides of your baking pan. Once the blondies are baked, you can easily lift out the blondies to place them on a wire rack to cool completely. Such a simple tip that really helps later on!
3. Mix sugar into the butter. Whilst the butter is still warm, add the light brown sugar into a bowl and mix with hand-held electric beaters until the sugar is mixed in and the butter has cooled slightly. (Image 4)
4. Add cookie butter and eggs and beat. Add the cookie butter, 2 eggs, 1 egg yolk and vanilla extract into the bowl and beat with the electric hand-held beaters until the blondie batter is pale in colour and thickened. This can take a couple of minutes to achieve (Image 5).
When you lift up the beaters, you want the mixture to run off them in ribbons (Image 6).
TIP: Aerate the eggs
By beating the eggs into the sugar and butter until they are pale, you are incorporating lots of air into them, kind of like a meringue. In the oven, the top of the blondies bakes to form a thin shiny crust. This is exactly what we want!
5. Sift in the dry ingredients. I'm all about saving time washing up, so I don't ask you to sift the dry ingredients into a separate bowl and then add it into the batter. Nope. Sift that flour, baking powder and salt right on top of your batter. And then fold it in with a rubber spatula- but only until you see some flour streaks remain. This ensures you don't overmix it! (Image 7).
6. Add the flavourings. Now's the chance to add in your flavourings. Break up half of the Lotus Biscoff Biscuits (8 of them), into small chunks and add them along with the white chocolate to the mixing bowl. (Image 8) OMG, these biscuit chunks INSIDE the bars are going to make the most incredible Lotus Biscoff Blondies! Stir those in until just combined.
7. Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and level off with an offset spatula. (Image 9). Bake in a pre-heated 170C (340F) oven for 15 minutes. Drizzle the blondies with the remaining cookie butter (Image 10) and then break up the remaining Lotus biscuits and place them over the top of the blondie square. Push them down ever so gently into the cookie butter and blondies (Image 11).
TIP: Warm the Biscoff Spread
To be able to drizzle the Biscoff Spread, microwave it for 10-20 seconds to warm it and loosen it to a runnier consistency.
Bake for another 10 to 15 minutes. These blondies need a little more time than my regular Browned Butter Blondies as the addition of the cookie butter adds more moisture to the batter, thus making them take a little longer to bake.
They are ready when the centre is just barely set and if you gently shake the pan it has the slightest jiggle. The edges will be pulling away from the sides and set and the top will be shiny and paper-thin.
How to serve your blondies.
Set the baking pan on a wire rack and leave to cool completely. Then use the paper overhang to lift the blondie square out of the pan. For super neat edges refrigerate the brown butter blondie for an hour. To cut the blondies, use a sharp knife run under warm water to heat the blade and cut. After every slice, wipe the blade clean. With this trick, you'll achieve super clean, neat edges like a pro.
These are very rich so trust me when I say, a little square goes a long way.
For an incredible dessert, serve with an extra drizzle of Biscoff Spread and a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a tasty dessert.
Variations
The butterscotch, caramel flavour from in this Biscoff Blondie recipe is unrivalled and will become a crowd favourite in next to no time. But here are a couple of variations for you to customise your own blondies.
Banana Biscoff Blondies: Mash a banana and add it to the batter instead of the cookie butter. Substitute the white chocolate for caramel bits and still drizzle the blondies with cookie butter and add on the Biscoff Biscuits for some crunch. I reckon these will taste like banoffee pie!
Biscoff and Nutella Blondies: Omit the cookie butter from the batter and swirl through some Nutella chocolate spread instead. Add extra dollops of Nutella and the broken up Biscoff Biscuits halfway through baking. The hazelnut milk chocolate teamed with the lightly spiced cookies will be incredible!
Salted Caramel Biscoff Blondies. Add in the cookie butter into the batter and halfway through baking, drizzle over the top of the blondies some homemade Salted Caramel Sauce. Crumble the Biscoff Biscuits all over the top for their final bake time. Even add a little ground cinnamon into the caramel to accentuate the Biscoff spices.
You can see that there are some unbelievably delicious ways of creating your very own Biscoff Blondies. Use my recipe as a base and just have fun with it!
Pro tips
- Browning the butter. The extra flavour generated from this extra step is unbelievable. It smells incredible and adds the most incredible nutty, deeper notes to the batter. When you tip the butter into the mixing bowl, use a rubber spatula to scrape out all the brown bits. These are what hold the flavour!
- Paper overhang. There's nothing worse than going to the effort of making something, only for it to stick and break up when trying to take it out of the pan. Using your parchment paper as an overhang is a super simple way to ensure that you don't have this problem.
- Warm the Biscoff Spread. Biscoff spread, just like peanut butter, can be quite stiff at room temperature. Before adding the spread to the batter and also when drizzling it over the top, heat the cookie butter spread in the microwave for a couple of seconds to turn it into liquid gold!
- Aerate the eggs. Beating the eggs for long enough means that enough air is incorporated into the mixture and the sugar has dissolved. This allows for the shiny crackly top to rise to the surface during baking.
- Watch the bake time. Everyone's oven runs a little differently and the easiest way to turn these into cake bars is to overbake them. Definitely not something we want to do.
Frequently asked questions
Whether in the Biscoff spread or Biscoff Biscuits, the overriding flavour is one of deep caramel with the backbone of warming spices running through it. The speculoos spices with the subtle hint of cinnamon are gentle and don't dominate. The resulting flavour is nostalgic, familiar and well-rounded.
To be honest I find that as the biscuits are already very dry and crisp straight out of the packet, they dry out far too much with a full half-hour in a hot oven and turn a really dark brown colour. I know it's an extra step to add them halfway through but a worthwhile one in my opinion.
Absolutely. Just pour the blondie batter into the pan and level it off. Drizzle all the cookie butter over the top and use a skewer or butter knife to swirl it through the batter. Bake as per instructions adding the biscuits on the top gently pushing them down slightly into the batter before finishing the bake time.
However you add the Biscoff spread, these blondies will taste unbelievable!
Firstly, did you use a digital scale to measure out your flour? If you used cups then there is a strong possibility of measuring and adding too much flour into the batter. This in turn dries out the blondies.
Secondly, over baking the blondies with lead to dry squares. If in doubt, an oven thermometer will ensure that your oven isn't running hot.
The same process goes for brownies and blondies. You'll know they are done when the edges around the baking pan are pulling away from the sides. The edges will be set when you gently press them but the centre will be barely set. If you shake the pan gently, you'll see the centre jiggling slightly. When a toothpick is inserted into the centre, it shouldn't have gooey batter over it, but it should have moist crumbs over it. If it comes out clean then you may have overbaked them.
To ensure that they are fudgy and chewy they need to be slightly underbaked. Remember, once removed from the oven, the residual heat in the blondies will continue cooking them for a bit.
To store: Store these Lotus White Chocolate Biscoff Blondies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days or refrigerate for up to 7 days. Dare I say it, but the flavour actually gets better as they sit around. The gentle spices and flavour develop and the blondies get even chewier. You can warm them in the microwave for ten seconds if eating from the fridge.
To freeze: Freeze individual blondies wrapped well in plastic wrap for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature and enjoy.
Equipment you’ll need
- Baking pan 23x23cm (9x9in): The perfect size for 16 perfect blondie squares.
- Hand-held Electric Beaters: The easiest way to whip air into the eggs. If you want to use a standard whisk then that's no problem. You may not get the papery top though, but it will still taste delicious.
More Snack recipes you may like
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📖 Recipe
Lotus Biscoff White Chocolate Blondies Recipe
Ingredients
- 170 g unsalted butter
- 330 g light brown sugar, firmly packed
- 100 g Lotus Biscoff Spread (cookie butter), Divided (70g + 30g)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 220 g plain flour (all-purpose)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- 200 g white chocolate , coarsely chopped
- 125 g Lotus Biscoff Biscuits (16 biscuits), divided
Instructions
- Brown the butter. Pre-heat oven to 170°C (340°F). In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt your butter. Continue to cook until the butter is golden brown and has a nutty fragrance. This takes about 4-5 minutes. Note that the butter turns very quickly from golden to burnt, so keep an eye on it. Remove from the heat, pour into a large mixing bowl, and leave at room temperature cool for ten minutes.
- Prepare your pan. Line a 23cm (9-inch) square baking pan with parchment paper. Leave an overhang on the sides to make it easy to lift the blondies out after they are baked.
- Mix sugar into the butter. Into the bowl with the brown butter, add brown sugar and using hand-held electric beaters, to beat on high until well mixed in.
- Add eggs and Biscoff spread. Add the 70g/¼ cup of the Biscoff spread, two eggs, one egg yolk and vanilla extract into the mixing bowl and, using the hand-held electric beaters on high speed, beat until the mixture is visibly paler and thicker. This can take 3 to 4 minutes to achieve. The length of time not only cools the butter down and aerates the eggs. When you lift up the beaters, the mixture should ribbon off.
- Add dry ingredients. Sift into this mixture the flour, baking powder and salt and fold through using a rubber spatula until a few flour streaks remain.
- Add biscoff biscuits and chocolate. Break or chop half of the biscuits (8 biscuits) into small chunks (not crumbs). Add them and the white chocolate into the mixture and fold in the white chocolate until just combined.
- Spoon batter into the prepared baking tray and level with an offset spatula. Bake. Bake for 15 minutes, remove the blondies from the oven and drizzle with remaining Biscoff spread. (Warm the spread in the microwave for ten seconds to loosen it.) Break the remaining biscuits into halves, place them over the top of the blondie square, and press gently into the blondies. Return to the oven for 15 -20 minutes or until lightly browned on top, and the sides are set, and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out with a few moist crumbs. Remove from the oven and let sit in the pan for ten minutes. Using the paper, lift the blondie square out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely. Use a sharp, hot knife, to cut into 16 neat squares and serve immediately.Serving suggestion. Drizzle with more Biscoff spread and serve with a scoop of ice cream.
All recipes are developed and tested in Metric grams. I strongly recommend that you bake using digital scales for a more accurate result. I have provided a conversion to US customary in the recipe but please note that I haven’t tested using this method.
Julianna
Oh my goodness- this just landed in my inbox and when I opened up the email my jaw dropped. I have a bunch of kids coming over for my own kids playdates this weekend and I definitely know what I'll be baking. They are going to LOVE these biscoff blondies. Thanks, as always, for the inspiration Emma!
Emma
Brilliant Julianne! These Biscoff Blondies are an absolute kid favourite so you have a winning snack on your hands!