Sometimes the easy recipes are the best and these chocolate biscuits are the proof! Their cracked appearance looks like the soil at the farm in the middle of a drought, but trust me, they’re moist and delicious with just the right amount of crunch. This recipe is adapted from Miette’s Chocolate Sables but these biscuits are a less perfect, rustic version that are not quite as rich. I love their rough and ready look and crumbly texture; they’re perfect way to satisfy a craving for chocolate!
cracked earth chocolate biscuits
ingredients
- 115g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 115g caster sugar
- pinch salt
- 1tsp vanilla paste
- 145g plain flour
- 30g cocoa powder {I use Callebaut 100% cocoa powder, it is delicious!}
- 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda {bi-carb soda}
- 60g dark chocolate, grated {use 70% cacao chocolate if you can get it}
- demerara sugar for sprinkling {or just use white sugar}
method
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and line two baking trays with baking paper.
- In a mixer with a paddle attachment beat the butter, sugar, salt and vanilla until pale.
- Combine the dry ingredients {flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and grated chocolate} in a separate bowl and stir to combine, and importantly, evenly distribute the baking soda through the flour.
- Once the butter is pale reduce the speed of the mixer and add in the mixed dry ingredients. Gently, on a low speed, mix until all of the flour is combined.
- Remove the bowl from the mixer and use your hand to quickly and roughly finish off combining the mix, it doesn’t need to be a perfectly smooth dough, but just combined.
- Especially as it is summer I pop the mix onto some cling wrap and roll into a log about 30 cm long and 4 cm square. Secure the ends and place in the fridge for 20-30 minutes to firm up. Feel free to make the log as large as you would like though…you might like your biscuits larger…just remember the biscuits spread out when cooking and you’ll have to cook them a little longer if they’re larger.
- When firm pull out of the fridge, unwrap the log onto a chopping board and use a sharp knife to cut it into rounds approximately 1 cm thick. Place the rounds on the prepared trays approximately 5cm apart, so they have room to spread.
- Sprinkle each biscuit with demerara sugar.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes until firm then remove from the oven, place on a cooling rack…and good luck not pinching some whist they’re still warm!
Served best with a cuppa, I’ll be munching on these little chocolate biscuits whilst looking for a new challenge from the newest cookbook to join the family, Rose Petal Jam. Bliss.
Emmy xx
