Mini Buttercream Biscuits

Mini Buttercream Biscuits are little soft biscuits with a buttercream filling. Perfect for afternoon tea.

Mini Buttercream Biscuits

Yet another recipe from the treasure-trove that is my mother's hand-written recipe book. One of my objectives in documenting these recipes (apart from the joy of finding familiar treats) is that I'm preserving them before the book completely falls apart or the writing is obliterated by stains. Another, of course, is that these traditional and older recipes are the backbone of Everyday cooking - unpretentious and more concerned about taste than good looks! But they look pretty good too.

What makes this biscuit so good?

This simple recipe is a kind of shortbread biscuit - similar to a Swiss Tart, but it isn't crisp or crunchy, it's slightly softer and melts in your mouth. What makes the difference from other types of cookie or biscuit is that there is no egg in here. It's all about the butter! (And the filling - ah, more butter.)

How hard is it to pipe the biscuits?

It isn't hard to make piped biscuits, but you do need the right equipment. Only two items though:

• First is an icing nozzle. These are sometimes called tubes, tips, or pipes and there are hundreds to choose from. For piping biscuits, I use a large open star nozzle, specifically an Ateco 828 open star pastry nozzle. It's worth buying fairly decent quality so that the tubes don't bend when you use them

• The second thing you need is an icing bag. You can make your own from baking parchment or you can buy a washable and re-usable nylon bag. These days, I like disposable bags, and Lakeland has a good selection. A Lakeland 'Get a Grip' icing bag means you can get a good grip - which isn't always easy when there's slippery biscuit dough around.

Sandwich with buttercream

My mum always made vanilla buttercream - probably without the vanilla - but I'm partial to chocolate buttercream, made by substituting cocoa powder for some of the icing sugar. this also makes them a little less sweet.

You could also use grated lemon or orange zest, perhaps with some fruit flavouring, or dissolve a teaspoon of instant coffee granules in hot water for coffee flavouring. Whatever you decide they will be lovely.

Helpful Tools

• Ateco 828 open star pastry nozzle - Large nozzle for biscuits and pastry
• Lakeland 'Get a Grip' icing bag - These 'Get a Grip' icing bags mean you can get a good grip and control the flow of dough.

If you like this...

...Why don’t you try:

Almond Meringue Buns

Almond Meringue Buns have a slightly crumbly base with jam filling, topped with almond meringue.

Melting Moments

Melting Moments are a traditional English biscuit, buttery and crunchy, rolled in oats or coconut. And they have to have a cherry on top.

Cherry Flapjack

Cherry Flapjack is soft and chewy or crisp and crunchy depending on how long you cook it.

Recipe

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Mini Buttercream Biscuits

Mini Buttercream Biscuits with chocolate or vanilla filling.

Prep Time25 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Course: Teatime

Cuisine: British

Servings: 20 biscuits

Author: Susie@Everyday Cooks

Ingredients

For the Mini Buttercream Biscuits:

• 150 g butter, at room temperature
• 150 g plain/all-purpose flour
• 40 g icing sugar

For the vanilla buttercream:

• 40 g butter, at room temperature
• 80 g icing sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (2.5ml)

For the chocolate buttercream:

• 40 g butter, at room temperature
• 65 g icing sugar
• 15 g cocoa powder

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Equipment

Piping bag

Large star icing nozzle

Baking sheet

Magic liner or

Silicone baking mat

Instructions

Preparation:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 160°C fan/ gas mark 4/ 350°F
• Grease the baking sheet or line with a silicone baking mat or a piece of magic liner
• Prepare the icing bag:

  Snip off the end and put the nozzle in so that it fits comfortably

  Fold back the open edge so that you have a cuff. That way the mixture doesn’t get stuck at the top.

For the Mini Buttercream Biscuits:

• Put all the ingredients in a large bowl and beat well until smooth

  Easiest with a hand or stand mixer. Or process until the mixture forms a ball of dough
• Spoon half the mixture at a time into the icing bag and pipe rounds onto the baking sheet. Make them about 3cm across. Repeat with the rest of the mixture
• Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until a pale golden colour
• Leave to firm up on the baking tray for 5-10 minutes
• Transfer to a wire rack and leave until completely cool.

For the vanilla buttercream:

• Sieve the icing sugar
• Beat the softened butter and vanilla extract with an electric hand mixer. Add the icing sugar gradually, beating well as you go
• Sandwich the button biscuits with the buttercream.

For the chocolate buttercream:

• Sieve the icing sugar and cocoa
• Continue as for vanilla buttercream

Notes

Everyday Cooks Tips:

Variations:

• Use any flavour buttercream that you like e.g.:
  • Coffee - Mix 1 teaspoon (5ml) instant coffee granules/powder with as little very hot water as you need to dissolve and add to the buttercream. You may need a little more icing sugar
  • Lemon/orange - Add the grated zest of the fruit and a teaspoon (5ml) of lemon/orange extract to the buttercream. Omit the vanilla extract.