Homemade Bourbon biscuits
Crunchy chocolate biscuits filled with a smooth chocolate buttercream.
Ingredients
For the biscuits
- 50 grams or about a 1/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 50 grams or 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 125 grams or 1 cup all purpose flour
- 18 grams or 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- pinch of salt
- one tablespoon granulated sugar for sprinkling
For the cream filling
- 28 grams or 2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- 25 grams or 1/4 cup icing sugar sifted
- 10 grams or 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
To make the biscuits
- Sift together the flour , salt and cocoa powder . Keep aside.
- Using an electric mixer or a wooden spoon, beat the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy .
- Add and beat in the vanilla and honey until smooth.
- Add the flour- cocoa mixture and beat until it comes together.
- Using your hand , bring together to form a smooth , shiny dough.
- Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Roll out the dough to about 3 mm thick. Using a cookie cutter or knife, cut off rectangles of about 6 x 3 cms . Re roll scraps of dough and cut until all the dough is used up.
- Gently transfer the rectangles to a parchment lined baking sheet , spacing them about an inch apart. Using a toothpick poke 4-5 holes in two columns on the cookies and smoothen the edges out. Sprinkle some sugar on top.
- Chill your baking sheet for about 30 minutes , meanwhile preheat the oven to 160 C / 325 F.
- Bake for 15 - 18 minutes .
- Cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes , then cool completely on wire rack.
To make the filling
- Beat the butter until smooth and light.
- Sift in the cocoa and icing sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
- Add the milk, one teaspoon at time and beat until desired consistency is achieved.
- Using a piping bag with the tip cut off or a spoon , spread a little cream on the underside of one biscuit and press gently with another to sandwich!
Notes
The unsandwiched cookies last for 4-5 days but the filled ones retain their crunchiness for about two days when stored in an airtight container. Make sure to store the cookies as soon as they are cool !
The biscuits will still be soft after baking. So handle only after they are cool and firm.
To get smooth edges , use the flat side of a spatula or a knife to press against the cookie edges once you place on the baking sheet.
Skip the salt in the biscuit recipe, if using salted butter.
The recipe can be doubled.
For crisper cookies, bake at 180 C for 12- 14 minutes.
The biscuits will still be soft after baking. So handle only after they are cool and firm.
To get smooth edges , use the flat side of a spatula or a knife to press against the cookie edges once you place on the baking sheet.
Skip the salt in the biscuit recipe, if using salted butter.
The recipe can be doubled.
For crisper cookies, bake at 180 C for 12- 14 minutes.