Did Somebody Say Cookie: A Visit To Jules Destrooper

Belgium is awash with delicious food and drink. Chocolate and beer top the list but artisanal cheeses and sausages, moule and frites (mussels and fries) and crusty breads are also highly rated. Belgium is a county deep entrenched in food traditions so it should come as no surprise that another "must try" food item here in Belgium are the rich buttery cookies made by Jules Destrooper.

Original cookie presses

Jules Destrooper has been baking buttery cookies since 1886. From the beginning the bakery only used all natural ingredients and relied heavily upon rich butter (and this is still evident today since the air surrounding the factory bears the distinct aroma of melted butter). The first cookie made was an almond thin which within a few short years earned international recognition. The cookie line soon expanded to include a variety of butter wafers and the family owned business took off from there. Perhaps the most well known cookie flavor is speculoos, a spicy cinnamon infused butter cookie. Jules Destrooper began producing the cookie in 1970 but its origins are said to date back to the 17th Century with the import of spices due to the founding of the East India Trading Company. Today the bakery remains family owned and produces eighteen types of "biscuits" in addition to their creamy speculoos spread and their speculoos infused ice cream. Additionally Jules Destrooper has been working to develop more environmentally friendly packaging and they partner with local non-governmental organizations that support local residents with developmental disabilities and children with cancer throughout Belgium.

Like so many of Belgium's other great treasures, the Jules Destrooper cookie factory and visitors center is tucked away in small, off the beaten path Belgian town leading visitors (or at least myself) to wonder whether or not I am going on a wild goose chase. Our route had us trailing more than one tractor through rolling farmland dotted with World War I era Commonwealth graves (we were in the outskirts of Ypers after all), through quaint villages and over narrow cobblestone roads before we reached what is today the very modern glass fronted headquarters of Jules Destrooper. And

One of the interactive cookie games

while the cookie recipes may be traditional, what you find inside is thoroughly modern.

On a self guided tour (everything is translated into French, Dutch and English), visitors have the opportunity to learn about the history of Jules Destrooper and how the cookies have been and continue to be made. Visitors are able to view the ingredients in their natural, pre-cookie form, see how the cookies were first pressed and cut and compare them to how the process takes place today. (The difference really isn't that great). They can peek down into the factory floor and see cookies being packaged for shipping. There is a well done tri-lingual video that explains the entire history and cookie making process. But best of all, the exhibits are incredibly hands on. Kids of all ages can test the cookie irons for themselves and even play interactive games involving the various cookies. And of course no tour would be complete without the opportunity to sample the products. A tasting cafe features a variety of cookies as well as their famous speculoos and even speculoos flavored ice cream as well as delicious coffee for the adults and juice boxes for the kids.

The little village of Lo might be a bit out of the way but thanks to Jules Destrooper it has so much to offer. So if you're in the Ypers area or are simply looking for a tasty excursion, check out these cookies. Your taste buds will thank you even if your waistline doesn't.

The tasting cafe at the end of the tour

If you go:

Jules Destrooper Cookie Factory
Gravestraat 5
8647 Lo, Belgium
+32 58 28 09 33
bezoekerscentrum@destrooper.be
www.destrooper.be

Tours offered Monday-Saturday from 09:30-12:30 & 13.30-17.30; closed Friday mornings
Admission: Adults 5 Euro, Children under 6 Free, Ages 7-12 3 Euro

All About Cookies

Cookies and Christmas go hand in hand. Growing up I have memories of my mom baking copious amounts (and varieties) of cookies in the weeks leading up to Christmas.  Every night, long after the rest of the house was asleep, she'd toil away in the kitchen cranking out sheet after sheet of these sweet, buttery treats.  From tree shaped sugar cookies sprinkled with green colored crystals to uniformly sized Mexican wedding cookies, buttery shortbread, and chocolate and vanilla pinwheels whose twirling stripes seemed to go on forever, these are my Christmas memories.  Christmas week involved a flurry of delivering cookies as co-workers, friends, neighbors, the mailman, and even the mechanic at the local garage were all recipients of platters of home baked treats.  Even with all the cookies that were given away, there were always more than enough left at home for us to eat.  Well into January there would still be a few cookies tucked away in tins in the pantry that made for perfect after school treats.

As an adult I still love my cookies and every year I find myself trying to replicate this holiday tradition. Try is the operative word here since making dozens and dozens of cookies of multiple varieties is very time consuming.  I am not blessed with my mother's patience so rolling out perfect quarter inch sheets of buttery dough is always feat.  Regardless of how I try my dough alternates between being too cold and crumbly and so soft that it just sticks to everything.  This is not how I remember my mom's cookies turning out.  My tiny, European sized oven is not conducive to cranking out pan after pan of cookies.  A single batch can take the better part of an afternoon to make.  By the time the real "fun" of decorating is supposed to start I'm worn out.  Each year is a repeat of the previous year's frustrations but I am determined to carry on this family tradition.

Gingerbread Cakelettes ready for their debut

I approached this year with a new strategy.  I paced myself and planned ahead.  Cookies such as Frangelico Crinkles freeze beautifully so I made these ahead of time and stored them until needed.  Coconut-Bourbon Balls are another make ahead cookies whose taste only intensifies with age.  Other cookies, such as orange butter cookies can be made ahead of time then frosted at the last minute.  I quickly gave up visions of Martha Stewart style icings and went simple.  They looked nice and tasted even better which is what really matters.  Good old Meringues are probably the easiest cookie to make but must be made at the last minute. With proper planning--which I some how managed to achieve this year-- these were a quick and stress-free last minute treat.  Not feeling up to rolling out more temperamental cookie dough, I eschewed traditional gingerbread men for Gingerbread Cakelettes.  Yes, when you can only bake them in multiples of six it makes for a time consuming project but to me, the payoff of not having to roll dough is worth it. Plus they are just so darn cute. 

Unlike my mom, I don't give out platters of cookies to everyone I know.  Instead, we host a huge holiday party (or two, as was the case this year), and I serve up the cookies as the desserts.  The verdict?  The cookies were a hit.  By the end of the night my hours and days of baking was reduced to a few crumbs on the empty platters.