We could eat cookie butter with a spoon from the jar, and when I thought about making the actual cookies that create that famous stuff from Trader Joe's, I knew that I had to make Speculoos Gingerbread Men!

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Y'all I can't walk into Trader Joe's without buying that famous little jar of cookie butter. It's got all the right flavors that are just freaking perfect.

When I ran across a recipe for the actual Speculoos cookies, I knew that gingerbread men would be perfect for Christmas!

These little guys are super cute, super tasty, and super addicting! You've been warned.

Nothing says Christmas like these cute little men, right? Well who said that they had to be made out of gingerbread?

I mean I know it's in the title, but what else do you call this particular cookie cutter? Man cookie?? No...gingerbread man, so that's how they are Speculoos Gingerbread Men, even though there isn't any gingerbread dough to be found.

I skipped the typical icing, since these aren't the typical man. White chocolate was just what this guy needed to create his face and details.

Kelsie tossed on the cute little buttons from a container of sprinkles I grabbed at Walmart. They were perfect. She just picked them out...those sprinkles will be on some cookies coming soon, and I may throw a sneak peek on my Instagram stories, so be sure to follow me there.

I was telling someone about these cookies and they thought that I had actually used cookie butter in the recipe...nope, just the spices.

We don't have a Trader Joe's near us, it's about 2 hours from here, so we don't go there...ever really. Other than TJ's, there isn't another reason to go there, and the last trip we made there they were out of half of what I went after anyway.

Boo! I wished that we would get one here, just for their own brand of products that are amazingly perfect. We finally got a Lucky's, Whole Foods (at least closer to us), and Fresh Market..now we just need a TJ's to make the grocery store line complete. So Trader Joe's if you're reading...put one near Panama City, please!!

If you don't want to make little men out of this recipe, and I don't know why you wouldn't...you could just roll the dough out and cut it out into whatever shapes your heart desires.

Although I'm not sure that royal icing would be too good with the flavors, so I'd stick to decorating with melted chocolate....but who's gonna complain about chocolate? Not I!

What the heck is Speculoos?

Basically Speculoos/Speculaas are practically the same thing as Biscoff. Those packages of cookies you find on the store shelves or in a jar - in spread form.

It's a type of spiced shortcrust biscuit, traditionally baked for consumption on or just before St Nicholas' day, in some European countries.

How long do Speculoos Gingergread Men last?

Stored in an air tight container, at room temperature, these cookies should last up to 10 days.

Can I freeze Speculoos Gingerbread Men?

Yes - you can make the dough - form into discs and wrap in press and seal wrap - and place in a zip top bag for up to 6 months.

When ready to bake - allow to thaw in the fridge for 24 hours - and then roll, cut, and bake.

Other Christmas cookies you may enjoy:

Yield: 18

Speculoos Gingerbread Men

Name: Speculoos Gingerbread Men
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 18
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 cups flour, plus some for rolling the dough; 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon; 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg; 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger; 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice; 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 2 sticks butter, room temperature; 1/2 cup sugar; 1/4 cup light brown sugar; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

We could eat cookie butter with a spoon from the jar, and when I thought about making the actual cookies that create that famous stuff from Trader Joe's, I knew that I had to make Speculoos Gingerbread Men!

Prep Time 35 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

2 cups flour, plus some for rolling the dough
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 sticks butter, room temperature
½ cup sugar
¼ cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

In a large bowl attached to a stand mixer cream butter, sugar & brown sugar together until creamy.
Add vanilla extract
Slowly add flour, spices, salt & baking soda & beat until well combined
Turn the dough onto some plastic wrap, shape into a disc and pop in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Roll out dough on floured surface to ¼ inch thickness
Using the little man (see what I did there), cut out men and lay them onto a parchment lined baking sheet about 1 inch apart.
Bake for 13 to 15 minutes. Transfer them to a wire rack to completely cool

Notes

If you want to decorate, I used ½ cup of white chocolate chips, and melted according to the package directions. I used a small squeeze bottle to pipe the details, and round sprinkles for the buttons.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 230Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 234mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 1gSugar: 8gProtein: 2g