"TOP DECK" TEA BISCUITS & RSG

In my last post I wrote about the blog turning 2 and how grateful I am for the opportunities I have had on this journey so far - well it wasn't a day later when another one came along. Two years ago I could not have imagined that I would be chatting biscuits with a foodie legend on her radio show! Tomorrow morning I will be joining the wonderful Nina Timm on RSG to do just that.

If you have not yet visited Nina's lovely blog please do so by clicking HERE. Nina asked me to prepare a quick and delicious recipe for you and the listeners, one that represents myself and the blog. I thought about this for a while and decided that it would have to be something baked - given that my passion for food started with childhood baking projects, and my sweet tooth! At the moment life revolves around my family, and in particular the tiny humans that I have the privilege of caring for each day. In practical terms this means that I do not have time to stand in the kitchen for hours on end, and like most of the recipes I make these days this one can be made up very quickly. In fact, I whipped up the latest batch just yesterday in the 10 minutes I had between finishing feeding the baby and having to leave for the afternoon school run! Never a dull moment, eh mums? 

The idea for this biscuit was inspired by the most popular recipe on my blog, lemon shortbread cookies, and the Cadbury's chocolate that my husband and I love probably just a little too much! The base is a chocolate biscuit dough and this is topped with a butter biscuit layer. The dough can also be made ahead of time and frozen, so when those last minutes guests call you can pop them straight in the oven and impress them with your domestic goddess prowess. 

You can catch me on RSG tomorrow morning (Thursday) from 9am when I will be chatting with Nina.

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"TOP DECK" TEA BISCUITS

Makes 25 biscuits 

200g butter, room temperature
120g castor sugar
260g plain flour
1/4 tsp fine salt
3 tbsp cocoa
granulated sugar / icing sugar to decorate (optional) 

Step 1.) To make the butter biscuit dough: place 100g butter and 60g castor sugar in a bowl and cream until combined and fluffy. Add 150g flour and half the salt and mix until the dough comes together, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Continue to mix until you have a smooth dough, then set aside. 

Step 2.) To make the chocolate biscuit dough: place the remaining 100g butter and 60g castor sugar in a bowl and cream together. Add the remaining 110g flour, salt and cocoa and mix to form a smooth dough. 

Step 3.) Dust your work surface with plenty of flour. Roll the chocolate dough into a square (approximately 21cm) with a thickness of 5mm. Repeat with the butter biscuit dough. Place the chocolate square on a baking tray and paint the surface with a little water. Carefully lift the butter biscuit square and place on top of the chocolate layer. Press down gently. Cover the biscuit dough with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes. 

Step 4.) Preheat your oven to 170°C and line a baking tray with baking paper. Remove the biscuit dough from the fridge and trim the edges to give you a neat square. Cut the dough into squares roughly 4cm each and arrange on the baking tray. Use a fork to prick the top of each biscuit. (Optional: sprinkle granulated sugar over the cookies before baking for extra crunch.)

Step 5.) Bake the biscuits for 20 minutes until golden, turning the tray after 10 minutes for even baking. Transfer the biscuits to a cooling rack. 

Serving suggestion: dust the biscuits with some icing sugar before serving. If you are feeling decadent you could also drizzle the biscuits with melted chocolate.