Speculoos

I stumbled across a mention of speculoos biscuits while trundling around the internet, and it took me back to a distant summer afternoon, reading novels in a French cafe over a double espresso.  Apparently though it's not just me who has such an instantaneous reaction to these little cookies.  And it's not just associative pleasure - these things really are empirically delicious.

Sorry, specu-whats?  Well, "Speculoos are decorative caramelized biscuits and they were traditionally used to celebrate weddings and births, to teach history, and to chronicle war in Europe. Today Speculoos make up 20% of all the cookies eaten in Belgium and are still an important part of their culture."  I don't know about war, but fighting over them sounds sort of reasonable.  They taste like spices and sunshine and probably contain trace amounts of cocaine.  They're made by Biscoff (a company that apparently has formed some sort of heaven-made match with Anna's), and you can get them for free with any cup of coffee in most of Europe...but alas, here in the USA they only show up in unusual places, such as on Delta flights.  A number of food writers have remarked on this, actually, and I've just decided I'm going to quote these seasoned authors (as it were) to close out this entry.  Yes I am that lazy.  Plus I need to figure out where in Boston might stock these gorgeous little wonders.

From a guy called Francis Lam:
"But anyway, yes: the cookie. The great Delta cookie. Once you've had them, felt the slight, sudden shock of joy that comes over you while otherwise sitting stuffed and cramped in an unbearably loud machine in the sky, it is possible to find yourself unable to stop thinking about them, to find them popping up in your mind every once in a while when you are tired or hungry or yearning to breathe free. (In fact, while writing this, I could not resist having some and dipped one, for the hell of it, in nice olive oil. It was just about the best thing I've ever put in my mouth.)"

From a more pretentious guy called John Currence:
"What I love about the Biscoff is purely existential. Airline travel is on the verge of being unbearable these days. I feel like a feedlot steer being shuttled between uncomfortable sets of circumstances. The Biscoff is the consistent and delicious reminder to me that there is still something good about airline travel, as difficult as it may be to identify, wedged into a center seat. I also appreciate, in a world of over-consumption, that I am limited to those two miniature planks of loveliness. I could eat my weight in them and woe be to my waistline if I were to unleash a box of them and an ice cold glass of whole milk on my gluttonous urges. I have found myself after a trip with the 1-800 number for the Biscoff maker in my hand on an empty wrapper, with the offer of regular consumption, but have always let it go, so as not to spoil that moment on each flight when I want to scream and am saved by those two wonderful cookies."

A guy called David Lebovitz now tells me there's a spreadable version:
"Still, I gotta give it to those French tastemakers: the Speculoos à Tartiner was amazing. Imagine in not-too-sweet gingersnap, spicy and bold, that you can smear over a piece of baguette. Or lick right off the spoon. Move over Nutella. (Unless there’s a chocolate version. Then we’ll talk.)"