Pocketful of Joules

I’m something of a junk food connoisseur.

I try not to indulge too often, but I can’t resist a loaded up hotdog, warm Krispy Kreme donut or Old Bay coated French fries.

I have not been shy in sharing that I have a special place in my heart for marshmallows – whether they be stale peeps, the gourmet version or just a plain oversized one that I can shove on a stick and roast in my fireplace.

Well, I decided to do some self-improvement and branch out a little bit… with cookie butter.

Apparently cookie butter is where it’s at. I’ve heard about it for months and it’s gotten to be such an “it” item that there were rumors that Trader Joe’s was only offering a small amount for sale each day. On pinterest there are a ton of recipes that use this elusive buttery beast and there are even Facebook fan pages dedicated to its awesomeness.

So as you can imagine, when I was recently cruising the aisles of Trader Joe’s and saw a big display of their Speculoos Crunchy Cookie Butter I grabbed a jar to try for myself. I wasn’t really sure HOW to eat it though, so I asked for suggestions on my Facebook page. According to my followers, the best ways to eat cookie butter are…

1. On your finger
2. On a spoon
3. On everything
4. With chocolate
5. On toast or pancakes
6. On ice cream
7. On graham crackers or cookies
8. On a marshmallow (of course!)

With your suggestions in mind, I took one for the team and tested the cookie butter. Yes, it was hard work, but I survived. The Trader Joe’s cookie butter has the texture of slightly crunchy peanut butter. It has a sweet taste which makes it work well with dessert recipes. Although I didn’t have a chance to try it, I think it would probably also be really good on top of freshly baked brownies!

My tasting range goes from 1 (just okay) to 5 (back up from my cookie butter or I’ll cut you!):

Although the cookie butter wasn’t terrible on things like marshmallows, cookies and crackers… it was just so much better on a spoon. Whether it be alone or with a dollop of Trader Joe’s Cocoa Almond Butter (like Nutella , but with almonds instead of hazelnuts).

Truth time: the container of cookie butter lasted in my house for exactly 5 days. I didn’t share with anyone and I ate that whole darn thing by myself. I also may have a second jar hiding in my pantry (so my husband can’t find it) for emergencies.

Around day 2 of testing, I thought long and hard about whether it would be inappropriate for me to hide the jar in my purse for an afternoon treat. The evening of day 3 I noticed that my jar was in the front of the pantry and not where I had left it (hiding behind the peanut butter) and threatened my husband that if he wanted to keep his wife he would not eat any of MY cookie butter.

I think I have a cookie butter problem.

Have you tried cookie butter? Do you randomly threaten your family members to stay away from MOMMY’S SPECIAL SNACK if they want to keep their dingle dangles in working condition!?

Disclaimer: Trader Joe’s did not provide me with the cookie butter or ask me to review it. However, I would not be against having them send me some cookie butter with maybe another jar of their cocoa almond butter… for testing purposes, of course.

Tags: cookie butter, food review, product review, Trader Joes