Speculoos (Belgian spice cookies)

I get excited about cookies on flights. Yes, I admit it. I can pack all the snacks I want at home for my flight, but the novelty of airline food intrigues me, even when it’s not good. But these airline cookies I’m about to talk about? These cookies are gangbusters.

I’m talking here about the Biscoff cookie. If you had it, you might just remember it, too, ’cause these cookies are no peanuts, no pretzels in difficult-to-open packs. They are these delicious, crispy, spicy, sweet Biscoff cookies, (aka speculoos or Belgian spice cookies). Friends and enemies, since this post is turning out to be confession time, let me say this: I am obsessed with these cookies.

Biscoff cookies are available on Delta flights, or, you can find them at Amazon.com or at Cost World Plus. OR, you could try your hand at making your own.

They dramatically increase my mood (read: blood sugar) when I’m on a flight that seems in danger of never ending. I can only pretend to sleep so long, and no, I will not watch your free episode of Two and a Half Men. The first time I ate them I was shocked at how tasty they were, and then sad that I had scarfed them down. Next time I got one, I was a little better in my savoring skills. And the third time? I saved the package because I had to look up these cookies, I had to dissect them, find how I could approximate the recipe for myself at home.

A clone army of the Biscoff Belgian spice cookie!

Yes, I want to dissect these cookies and reassemble them, in the manner of one Dr. Frankenstein, into a delicious, crisp spice cookie man. What’s it to you?

Rosemary and Lavender Shortbread Cookies

While walking across the street to my car I saw a empty, discarded box of Walker’s shortbread cookies. And the craving hit me. Like that. Inspired by garbage!

I went home, threw some butter on the counter, and then realizing it was getting pretty late had to throw the butter back into the fridge. Attempt two occurred the next day, this time with buttery success.

Rosemary and lavender are two of my favorite scents and flavors. Combined in the right balance in a buttery cookie? Oh. My.

I’ve tried to grow lavender in the past. Sadly and unsurprisingly, it either never grew, or grown plants would wither away and die. So, next best thing, culinary lavender bought in bulk from the local natural food store. My rosemary is a different story. It’s the one plant that has survived my black thumb, bless it’s fragrant, piney, herby heart. And it always forgives me a little bit of pruning, especially in a good cause such as the incorporation into cookies.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

While I was in Rome, one of my coworkers helped me not fall insanely behind stay on schedule on my workload by helping me out with my projects. When I returned, I found out that she had fought through a stomach flu, laryngitis, and survived an Atlantic riptide, all while helping me out while I traipsed around Italy. I told her I would make her a tasty treat, and asked what kind of baked good she liked.

“Anything with peanut butter,” she said, and so I launched forth looking for some delicious goody to give thanks (apparently that’s how I operate now–when I kept my work wagon late one night, rushing around to finish some projects while they stood by and waited, I made it up to them the next day by making them custom-made homemade pizzas–I ask for forgiveness through food).

Was I able to exercise restraint and allow these cookies to cool before I started shoving them down my gullet? At this stage, yes. Later? Not so much.

I went to my go-to website, Allrecipes.com and did the ingredient search for peanut butter. What the ratings revealed to me was a five-star recipe for some ‘effing amazing cookies. I’m not even one of those people who love peanut butter, but I ‘effing loved these cookies and would have eaten them all if my brain hadn’t stepped in and reminded me that my original intention was to bring them into work to share.