Do you ever find you’re always so busy with no time to cook?  Let’s be real, our lives are busier and we just simply have less time on our hands.  I know our Aunty Betty Biscuits recipe off by heart so I found I was just making these over and over again, but adding choc chips, or cacao powder, or a zest of lemon.  My daughter picked it up and said “mum, can we please have something different?” so I came up with these choc berry biscuits.  I got the big tick of approval, and it felt good to make something different again.

When it came to the filling, I wanted a real berry taste, not just pink icing so I whipped up a batch of our basic icing mixture, and added a big spoon of our homemade raspberry jam.  It was beautiful and did two things, it made the icing pink, and gave it a lovely sweet berry flavour.  Yum!

Related Recipe:  vanilla bean paste

This recipe does make a large batch of biscuits.  They freeze really well so when visitors arrive, you have them on hand.

 

February 20, 2018
  • 30m
  • 10m
  • 40m
  • 30+

Ingredients

  • 250 g butter
  • 100 g caster sugar
  • 2 egg
  • 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste
  • 70 g cacao powder
  • 500 g self-raising flour

Icing Ingredients

  • 200 g icing sugar
  • 20 g butter
  • 2 tbsp. raspberry jam

Instructions

Thermal Cooking Method

  1. Cream butter and sugar until pale, 20 seconds/speed 4. Scrape down sides and repeat.
  2. While mixing on speed 2, add eggs one at a time, mixing for 10 seconds/speed 4 between each egg. Scrape down sides.
  3. Continue mixing on speed 2, add vanilla bean paste, cacao powder, and flour. Mix 10 seconds/speed 4. Use your spatula to move it around if required.
  4. Tip mixture out onto baking paper and divide into 3 balls. Place in the fridge, covered, for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 170°C and line two flat baking trays with baking paper.
  5. To make the biscuits roll the dough between two sheets of baking paper until approximately 3mm thick. Cut out shapes with a cookie cutter, place them on lined baking tray.
  6. Repeat until all dough is used.
  7. Cook biscuits in oven for 10 minutes. Leave to cool on tray then transfer to a wire rack.
  8. Once completely cold, make the icing. Place all icing ingredients into mixing jug and mix on speed 4 until ingredients are well incorporated - approximately 10 seconds.
  9. Add icing mixture to a piping bag. Add icing to top of one biscuit and add a second on top. Slightly press together and store in an airtight container.
  10. Place in fridge or freezer and allow to set before serving.

Traditional Cooking Method

  1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until pale using electric beaters or with a wooden spoon.
  2. While mixing on low-medium speed, add eggs one at a time, mixing well between each egg.
  3. Continue mixing on low-medium, add vanilla bean paste, cacao powder, and flour until well incorporated.
  4. Tip mixture out onto baking paper and divide into 3 balls. Place in the fridge, covered, for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 170°C and line two flat baking trays with baking paper.
  5. To make the biscuits roll the dough between two sheets of baking paper until approximately 3mm thick. Cut out shapes with a cookie cutter, place them on lined baking tray.
  6. Repeat until all dough is used.
  7. Cook biscuits in oven for 10 minutes. Leave to cool on a tray then transfer to a wire rack.
  8. Once completely cold make the icing. Place all icing ingredients into a seperate mixing bowl and mix with electric beater on medium or by hand until ingredients are well incorporated.
  9. Add icing mixture to a piping bag. Add icing to top of one biscuit and add a second on top. Slightly press together and store in an airtight container.
  10. Place in fridge or freezer and allow to set before serving.
  • 15+