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If there is one type of cookie I love, it is speculoos, also called Biscoff cookies.
My favorite ones were from a small Belgian company making speculoos since 1829! Unfortunately, they contain butter, so I can’t have them anymore. So here is my take on gluten-free, vegan, and refined sugar-free speculoos! Let’s bake!
To replace all-purpose flour, I went with a mix of white and brown rice flour combined with cornstarch and xanthan gum. The gum keeps the dough from being too crumbly, so do not omit it. It can be substituted with guar gum, just double the amount, as it is less powerful than xanthan gum.
Then we have coconut sugar for sweetness, coconut oil to replace the butter, and cinnamon because there is no speculoos without cinnamon. Finally, there is baking soda that not only makes the cookies extra crunchy but it also helps the sugar caramelize, giving the cookies their special flavor.
These Biscoff cookies are crispier than the store-bought ones, just like the Speculoos from Belgium! They are delicious on their own, but can also be dipped in your afternoon coffee or tea or used in recipes!
Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe!
Vegan Gluten-Free Biscoff Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar
- 2 and 1/2 tbsp coconut oil at room temperature
- 5 tsp water
- 9 tbsp brown rice flour
- 3 tbsp white rice flour
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to
350 °F (175°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. - In a mixing bowl, cream the coconut sugar, coconut oil, and water until smooth and fluffy.
- Add the brown rice flour, white rice flour, cornstarch, xanthan gum, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt, and mix until it forms a dough. It should have the texture of cookie dough. If the dough appears too crumbly, add 1/2 teaspoon of water at one time until it reaches a good consistency.
- Roll out the dough between two sheets of parchment paper to a 1/4-inch thickness. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into about 18 rectangles. You can use a cookie cutter or cut them into the shape you want. Transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. The cookies might be a bit soft but will harden once cooled.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 weeks.
Nutrition
About the Author
Thomas Pagot is the founder, photographer, and recipe developer behind Full of Plants. He created the blog in 2016 as a personal cookbook for vegan recipes. Through years of recipe development, Thomas has successfully grown Full of Plants into a trusted resource for plant-based recipes.
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Hey Thomas, love your work as always. Just wondering how much baking soda you use in this recipe? Thanks!
Hey Bron, sorry about that! Thanks for letting me know, I fixed the recipe.
Hi Thomas! Thanks so much for veganizing speculoos cookies. I miss them too and would rather not buy the alternatives made with palm oil, so this is a great idea! I made them yesterday and found the flavour perfect, but the texture a little gritty for my liking. I remembered that pastry chef Alice Medrich wrote in her book Flavor Flours that it’s important to let gluten-free cookie doughs and some other batters have a chance to fully hydrate if we want to avoid those unpleasant textures. So I whipped up another batch of dough but this time covered and let it rest in the fridge overnight. This morning I let it come to room temp (took about an hour) and made as directed. The texture was a lot better than it had been in the first batch!
Along with the wonderful flavour, I also really appreciate how quickly the dough comes together and rolls out (I didn’t need extra water either time).
And now I can make your biscoff-crusted tofu recipe with the first batch 🙂
Thanks again!
Hi Lucy,
It’s the first time I hear about letting the gluten-free dough rest for a better texture, interesting! I’m definitely trying that soon!
Thanks for your feedback and for sharing your tweaks!
Delicious with a perfect texture. It was finished almost immediately 🙂
Thank you Thomas.
Thanks Sara! 🙂
Is it possible to reduce the amount of coconut sugar used drastically? Will that affect the final taste too much?
Reducing a lot the amount of coconut sugar will definitely affect the final (crispy) texture and the flavor.
How important is xanthum gum? Can I omit?
Hi Kelly,
Xanthan gum helps bind everything together, without it your dough and cookies will be more crumbly.
Do you think “glutinous” sweet rice flour in place of the brown rice flour would work, and omit the need for xanthan gum?
I think it would definitely change the texture I’m afraid.
This was exactly what I was looking for! My family recently discovered the Biscoff cookies and were devouring them. Feeling left out, I stumbled upon this recipe and tried it immediately. Needless to say, the cookies were finished just as quickly as they were made. Thank you so much!
You’re welcome Ayesha! I’m glad you liked these cookies 😉
Hi Thomas!
Possible to switch rice flour with almond/tapioca as I’m intolerant to rice?
Hi Jackie,
I’m afraid these won’t be good substitute for rice flour, and the whole texture will be changed.
Hello Thomas,
I would love to make these cookies for my daughter, just a quick question can I replace coconut sugar with turbinado sugar? Thanks!
Hello Ayesha,
Sure, that should work!
I made one according to the recipe. It’s not bad. The smell of organic brown rice is very fragrant
Do you think Bob’s red mill 1:1 gluten free flour could work in this recipe?
It’s quite hard to say, each flour absorb liquids differently. I think it should work but you might have to adjust the dry to liquid ingredients ratio.
Hi Thomas, what about an alternative to corn starch? Could you use tapioca or arrowroot instead?
Thanks so much
I only had white rice flour and tapioca starch plus my coconut oil is the hardened type. All worked out fine – great easy cookies! Great for coffee or tea accompaniment!
Thanks for your feedback Cathy!
Hi Sally, I think arrowroot will work as well.
Made these and they were great ! Simple and quick !
Thanks Cathy!
I tried this cookies recipe. Very good. Thank you for sharing !
You’re welcome Emy!