Makes about 24 biscuits, depending on size of cutter
These biscuits are as pretty as a picture and taste of chocolate, spice and all things nice.
It was love at first sight when I first saw these biscuits on Instagram. Lisbeth from the boutique winery Silent Range made these beautiful cookies and was kind enough to share the recipe! These cookies are truly delicious, chocolatey but with a bit of spice and all things nice.
I first made these for a 6th anniversary gift for me to give to my beloved, for the traditional gift for year 6 is candy. After all, life is sweet! That was in the olden days when I was still keen enough to check what the traditional gift was each year! Let’s just say, these days I’m a little bit more relaxed (and when I say relaxed I mean slack,) in the gift giving department.
With the pop of red and the dash of spice, these go great at Christmas and heart shapes would go down a treat for Valentine’s Day. I love that these hold their shape, are freezer friendly and they’re not overly sweet. As they contain honey and nuts, that almost makes them a health food in my opinion! I often like to keep a batch of these in the freezer and then bake and go as required. Just keep them in the oven for a few minutes more if you’re baking from frozen.
I’ve updated the recipe with a few of my favourite tweaks and of course, a Thermomix conversion. Nom, nom!
Do you like to bake your own gifts? What’s your favourite spice?
Ingredients
125g unsalted butter
125g brown sugar
1 egg
60g honey (you can subsitute golden syrup or maple syrup)
300g plain flour
30g cocoa
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
75g hazelnut or almond meal
How to – Traditional
- Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
- Put all the ingredients in food processor and blend until dough ball forms.
- Bring mixture together on a lightly floured surface and cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Roll the dough between two sheets of baking paper and cut into preferred shapes. Cut a 1-2cm circle or other small shape from the centre of each biscuit.
- For the stained glass, use 1/2 a raspberry sweet for each biscuit which will give a lovely chewy centre.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes depending on the size of the biscuits.
- Cool on the baking trays for 5 minutes, then lift onto racks and leave to cool completely.
How to – Thermomix
- Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
- Put all the ingredients in TM bowl and mix for 10-15 seconds on speed 6.
- Set dial to closed lid position and combine on interval speed for 30-45 seconds or until dough forms.
- Bring mixture together on a lightly floured surface and cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Roll the dough between two sheets of baking paper and cut into preferred shapes. Cut a 1-2cm circle or other small shape from the centre of each biscuit.
- For the stained glass, use 1/2 a raspberry sweet for each biscuit which will give a lovely chewy centre.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes depending on the size of the biscuits.
- Cool on the baking trays for 5 minutes, then lift onto racks and leave to cool completely.
Other info
Preparation Time: 35 minutes Cooking time: 10-14 minutes
TIP! The dough keeps really well in the fridge or the freezer. To freeze the dough, cut out shapes and place onto a baking tray and place in the freezer. When the cookies are firm, pop them into a ziploc bag. There’s no need to defrost the biscuits but take them out of the freezer a few minutes before you need them and just pop in the candy.
Use the cut out centres to decorate desserts or as a small sweet treat with tea or coffee or roll them back into the dough to make more biscuits.
