makes
30
prep
40 minutes
cook
25 minutes
difficulty
Mid
makes
30
serves
preparation
40
minutes
cooking
25
minutes
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
- 100 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 110 g (½ cup) caster sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 150 g (1 cup) plain flour
- 35 g (⅓ cup) cocoa powder
- 300 g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), melted
Peppermint fondant
- 1 egg white, lightly whisked
- 440 g (2¾ cups) pure icing sugar, sifted
- 1 tsp peppermint essence
Chilling time 15 minutes
Standing time 3 hours
Instructions
Place butter and sugar in a bowl, and stir until combined. Add egg and vanilla, and stir until combined. Sift flour and cocoa into the bowl of an electric mixer. Add butter mixture and mix on low speed until a soft dough forms. Shape into a disc and roll out between 2 sheets of baking paper until 5 mm thick. Chill for 15 minutes to firm.
Preheat oven to 180°C. Using a 5½ cm round cutter, cut out 30 rounds, re-rolling scraps if necessary. Place biscuits 2 cm apart on 2 lined oven trays. Bake for 15 minutes or until starting to firm. Cool on trays for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely; biscuits will firm on cooling.
To make fondant, place egg white in a bowl. Gradually add sugar and stir with a fork until thick. Stir in peppermint essence. Roll 1½ tsp of mixture into a ball. Repeat with remaining mixture until you have 30 balls. Place 1 ball in the centre of each biscuit and gently press until fondant covers base of biscuit.
Place chocolate in a small heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water (don’t let the bowl touch the water). Stir until melted. Turn off heat, keeping bowl over water. Using a fork, lower biscuits into chocolate to coat. Gently shake off excess chocolate, then place on a lined oven tray. Stand at room temperature for 3 hours or until set. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Also written by Wendy Quisumbing and Peta Gray. Photography by John Laurie.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
