Viennese biscuit recipe & Coffee
Go straight to the Viennese biscuit recipe
This yummy biscuit recipe is now definitely here because of my daughter. It all started with one of her fantastic birthday presents. She got Cookbook for children (Rebbeca Gilpin & Fiona Patchett) for her last birthday. This is a fabulous children cookbook with great yummy recipes and I can only recommend it to everyone. There are recipes for savoury dishes, puddings, cookies, cakes, ...
You can read about decorating ideas, baking skills and much, much more. So far I have tried some of the recipes and they never let me down (not really the case with every other cookbook). The big advantage of this book is the addition of step by step instructions revealing in great detail how you should use a recipe. They explain every step of the recipe with simple words and with clear illustrations. All of this makes the book child- and user-friendly.
Weeks ago Marusa wanted to bake something from this cookbook. Naturally, I suggested a recipe from cookies section (you know, less mess and stuff). She didn't even have to think twice. Viennese biscuit recipe was her choice and she set off to work straight away. This biscuit recipe is so easy to use so she hardly needed my help. To be honest, I only helped her with chocolate ganache, everything else she did on her own, bless her!
And what about the result? The biscuits were AMAZING! They were so fabulously yummy.
They are quite crumbly, instantly melt in your mouth, have a light buttery taste and smooth chocolate filling known as ganache - a French word for a mixture of chocolate and cream.
Of course we couldn't resist testing them with coffee.
What a MATCH!
Because my daughter's yummy Viennese biscuits were so good I decided to bake them myself the very next day. I didn't do any major modifications to the original biscuit recipe. I just swapped a teaspoon for a tablespoon to measure the size of the cookies. The biscuits that Marusa baked were a bit too small for my taste so I made them larger as well. Now, you can imagine, we ran out of chocolate drops the day before so I used chopped plain dark chocolate instead and it worked!
Viennese biscuit recipe:
Makes: 26 (13 pairs)
INGREDIENTS:
- 175g (6oz) unsalted butter
- 40g (1 1/2oz) icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 175g (6oz) plain flour
- 40g (1 1/2oz) corn flour
- additional butter for greasing baking trays
For the chocolate ganache:
- 75g (3oz) plain or milk chocolate drops or chopped chocolate
- 4tbsp double cream
Method - how to use the Viennese biscuit recipe:
- Preheat the oven to 170C fan/190C/375F/gas mark 5. Grease (with butter) two baking trays
- Place the butter (175g) in a bowl. Sift the icing sugar (40g) over the butter. Beat the mixture until nice and creamy.
- Stir in 1tsp vanilla extract. Sift the flour (175g) and corn flour (40g) over the mixture. Stir them in until smooth.
- Take 1 tablespoon of the mixture and shape it into a small ball.
- Make as many small balls as you can and place them onto a tray leaving spaces between them. Flatten each ball of mixture slightly with the back of a spoon.
- Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes (I baked them 13 minutes), until they are pale golden brown. Leave them on the trays for 5 minutes, then use spatula to transfer them onto a wire rack.
- Leave the biscuits on the wire rack to cool down completely.
How to make chocolate ganache:
- Put the plain or milk chocolate drops or chopped chocolate (75g) in a heatproof bowl and add double cream (4tbsp).
- Pour about 5cm (2in) of water into a saucepan.
- Heat the water until it bubbles and then take the pan off the heat.
- Carefully, put the bowl inside the pan. Stir the chocolate and cream until the chocolate has melted.
- Lift the bowl out of the pan and let chocolate ganache cool for a few minutes.
- When it is cooled put it in the fridge for about 1 hour, stirring it every now and then, as it thickens.
- Take the chocolate ganache out of the fridge when it becomes soft like butter.
- Use a blunt knife to spread some onto the flat side of a biscuit. Press another biscuit on top.
- Sandwich the biscuits together in pairs until all the chocolate ganache and biscuits are used up.
- Eat them straight away, or keep them in an airtight container in the fridge.
Use this handy conversion calculator
Method (step by step):
STEP 1:
Preheat the oven to 170C fan/190C/375F/gas mark 5. Use some additional butter to grease two baking trays.
Place the butter (175g) in a bowl. Sift the icing sugar (40g) over it.
STEP 2:
Beat the butter and sugar until pale and creamy.
STEP 3:
Stir in 1tsp vanilla extract.
Sift the flour (175g) and corn flour (40g) over the mixture. Stir them in until they are smooth.
STEP 4:
Take 1 tablespoon of the mixture and shape it into a small ball.
Make as many small balls as you can and place them onto a tray leaving spaces between them. Flatten each ball of mixture slightly with the back of a spoon.
STEP 5:
Bake the biscuits for 12-14 minutes (I baked them 13 minutes), until they are pale golden brown. Leave them on the trays for 5 minutes, then use spatula to transfer them onto a wire rack to cool completely.
STEP 6:
To make chocolate ganache:
Put plain or milk chocolate drops or chopped chocolate (75g) in a heatproof bowl and add double cream (4tbsp).
STEP 7:
Pour about 5cm (2in) of water into a saucepan. Heat the water until it bubbles, then take the pan off the heat.
Carefully, put the bowl inside the pan. Stir the chocolate and cream until the chocolate has melted.
STEP 8:
Lift the bowl out of the pan and let chocolate ganache cool for a few minutes.
When it has cooled put it in the fridge for about 1 hour, stirring it every now and then, as it thickens.
STEP 9:
Take the chocolate ganache out of the fridge when it is soft like butter.
Use a blunt knife to spread some onto the flat side of a biscuit. Press another biscuit on top.
STEP 10:
Sandwich the biscuits together in pairs until all the chocolate ganache and biscuits are used up.
Eat them straight away, or keep them in an airtight container in the fridge.
Our coffee choice for Viennese biscuit recipe:
Cappuccino
Espresso
Cafe latte
Turkish coffee
You can nibble these yummy biscuits with pretty much every coffee beverage out there but to me black coffee brings the best out of them. It is the chocolate ganache that teams black coffee so well. We simply love them with a cup of freshly brewed Turkish coffee.
* all combinations have been tested with medium roast Arabica blend
Baking tips:
- Shape the biscuit's mixture into a small ball, otherwise they won't stay nice and round.
- Don't leave chocolate ganache in the fridge for too long as it will harden too much and you will not be able to spread it onto the biscuits.
Good to know:
- Ganache (from the French word for "jowl") is a glaze, icing or filling for pastries made from chocolate and cream.
- Chocolate ganache is usually made by heating heavy/double cream, then pouring it over chopped dark chocolate. The mixture is stirred or blended until smooth. Liqueurs and extracts could be added to improve the taste. (source: Wikipedia)
- This yummy biscuit recipe is definitely one of easy recipes for kids.
- Believe me, with these yummy homemade biscuits you will impress even the most demanding cookie lovers.
