Speculoos

Speculoos (French: spéculoos, German: Karamellgebäck) is a biscuit, originally manufactured in Belgium, made from wheat flour, candy syrup (from beet sugar), fat, and sometimes cinnamon. Speculoos was developed in the 20th century around the area of Verviers, as an alternative for people who could not afford Dutch speculaas. Fewer spices are involved in the process of making Belgian speculoos than in Dutch speculaas, as the spices were much more expensive to import to Belgium than to the Netherlands. The origins of speculaas are much older. In the 2020s the names speculaas and speculoos are sometimes used interchangeably in Flanders.