When the weather outside is frightful, there’s nothing better than curling up next to the fire with a cup of hot tea. What’s the perfect treat to go with? Chocolate biscuits. These chocolate biscuits, which are essentially a British take on cookies, are inspired by the classic Christmas romantic comedy film Love Actually.
Love Actually explores more than a dozen intertwined stories during the month before Christmas in London. While several characters overlap, each of their stories are unique. One of the characters is the newly-elected Prime Minster, played by Hugh Grant.
The Prime Minister enjoys his daily tea and chocolate biscuits, an unbeatable pairing. I initially became more curious about food from different cultures during culinary school at ICE, where many of our culinary lessons were region-focused.
From France to Japan to Mexico, each week in Module Three consisted of learning new techniques and working with various ingredients. Working with new types of foods and learning how to prepare international recipes in class gave me more confidence to try it out on my own at home.
I’m a big fan of American biscuits, but I was intrigued to explore making this English version. The key is to make thin disc slices so that they crisp up when baking. Also, be careful to keep a close eye on the biscuits when they’re in the oven — they only need about 10-12 minutes of bake time since they’re so thin. Drizzle the chocolate biscuits with white chocolate to add a bit of extra sweetness.
If you plan on enjoying any type of hot beverage this season, consider pairing it with these crisp chocolate biscuits. They’re easy to make, won’t require too much time and are a sure crowd pleaser.
Chocolate Biscuits with White Chocolate Drizzle
Ingredients:
- 6 tablespoons unsalted, softened butter
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- ¾ cup caster sugar
- 1 egg white
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup white chocolate
Preparation:
- In the bowl of a Kitchen Aid stand mixer, mix the butter, light brown sugar and caster sugar until smooth and creamy.
- Add the egg white and vanilla and mix until smooth.
- In a different bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and baking soda.
- Add the flour mixture to the sugar and butter mixture, and mix until combined and a soft dough forms.
- Roll the dough into a log (once chilled, you will cut this into slices which will be the shape and size of biscuits, so make this as big or small as you prefer your biscuits). Wrap the dough log in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
- While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350°F. Once chilled, slice the log into slices 2-3 centimeters thick. If you prefer perfect circles, use a round cookie cutter once you’ve cut the slices off the log. Transfer the discs to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake the discs for 10-12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
- While the biscuits are cooling, microwave the white chocolate chips for 45 seconds and mix together until smooth.
- Using a piping bag and a #2 round decorating tip, drizzle white chocolate over the cookies. Allow the white chocolate to harden, then enjoy!
Master biscuits and much more in ICE’s Pastry & Baking Arts career program — learn more today.
