Trader Joe's Cookie Butter Is The Easy Way To Elevate Your Next Batch Of Brownies

Few kitchen experiences are as fun and comforting as making a homemade dessert. This is especially true for brownies, a gooey, satisfying treat you can make from scratch or a box. The latter adds convenience, making it easy for anyone to whip up a fresh, hot baked good at home with few ingredients and little experience. After a few batches, however, the same brownie recipe or boxed brownie brand can begin to feel tiresome. Who wants to eat the same dessert over and over when you could instead make something new and exciting? Luckily, there are many brownie baking hacks, from ingredient substitutions to cooking techniques to add-ins.

One surprising add-in to elevate your brownies is a cult favorite that may already be sitting in your pantry. To make your next batch extra tasty, try using Trader Joe's cookie butter. Launched by the chain grocer in 2011, this versatile spread will give your brownies a unique flavor boost. Not convinced? The sweet condiment is so popular that there have been shortages in the past.

Trader Joe's cookie butter is inspired by speculoos cookies, which originated in Belgium and were made to mimic Dutch speculaas, which contain many spices similar to gingerbread cookies. In Belgium, however, these spices cost much more to import than they did in the Netherlands. Thus, speculoos cookies were made to be similar to speculaas but without the expensive ingredients. The most commonly known brand of speculoos cookies in the United States are Lotus brand Biscoff cookies — yes, those cookies you get on your Delta flight.

Trader Joe's makes their spread by combining these cookies with oil to give them a texture similar to nut butter. This makes it easy to use the product in a variety of ways, including on toast or sandwiches, with pretzels or crackers, with fruit like apples or bananas, in beverages such as coffee or milkshakes, and even straight out of the jar. Another application, unsurprisingly, is to combine it with desserts, as the cookie base goes well with a variety of other flavors like chocolate, vanilla, and caramel. Therefore, it's no surprise the spread tastes so good in brownies and would complement many other add-ins.

There are a number of reasons Trader Joe's cookie butter makes brownies so irresistible. The most obvious is the taste. The speculoos cookie base pairs very well with chocolate. The slightly caramelized and spice notes of the cookie butter adds a depth of flavor to otherwise plain chocolate brownies, taking them up a notch.

You can mix Trader Joe's cookie butter into your brownie batter before baking to achieve this extra-rich flavor. In addition, you could use it to add some swirl to your brownies. This would elevate both the flavor and the appearance of your creation, making them that much worthier of posting on social media or serving to guests. If your brownies are already made, or you forget to add the ingredient, you could even just spread it on top for the visual contrast and taste upgrade.

Next time you make brownies, whether from scratch or from a box, try adding Trader Joe's cookie butter for an easy way to level them up in both flavor and richness. It's a simple addition that will keep your kitchen experience seamless while giving your go-to brownies a much-needed update.