Have I admitted to my fascination with all things British yet?
I don’t know if it’s the wonderfully dreary weather, the brogues, the pubs, the love of football (soccer), or the general awkwardness and forced politeness that seems to take over people, but I’ve always been drawn to the area. Back in college, I spent three months in Glasgow, Scotland studying abroad. Anytime someone found out I was American, I was met with the same question, “Why did you want to come here?”
The people were nice though–welcoming. And the sideways rain was my personal perfect kind of weather. I was there over the fall and winter and the days were so short that it was dark before I even got out of class. (I did talk about my aversion to sunlight in my post for my Blood Orange, Basil, and Bourbon Shortbread, didn’t I?).
While I was there, I discovered a lot of things: I actually really like hummus, the British don’t know how to handle snow, and chocolate tasted really darn good outside of the U.S.
I fell in love with a small tea room hidden in a small alleyway off Argyle Street (aptly name the Hidden Lane Tea Room) where it was impossible to resist the fresh-baked goods lined up on the table as you walked through the door, and I developed an affinity for packaged treats–mince pies from Tesco Express, Tunnock’s Tea Cakes which our host family for the first week packed in our lunches on a trip to the Glasgow Green, milk chocolate covered Digestive biscuits, and of course, Bourbons. The packaged variety of course comes with chocolate biscuits and chocolate buttercream.
As any lover of all things British and baking, I am a huge fan of the Great British Bake Off. Ruby was a contestant on series 4 (season 2 if you’re on Netflix), and while her bakes weren’t always the prettiest, the judges always praised her flavors. That’s why I was so excited to buy her first book, Crumb: A Baking Book. Her recipe for “Dark Chocolate and Orange Bourbons” was the first recipe I tried from the book. The flavor combination was a classic. I remember listening to the Broadway Cast Recording of She Loves Me while I got my fingers dirty and covered in chocolate. Probably too many of these biscuits were consumed that day! They were buttery and crumbly and chocolate-y. I knew I had to put my own twist on the Bourbon biscuit after that.
The flavors of coffee and cardamom also came about from watching too much GBBO, but once I tried it in these cookies, I discovered that it sounded appealing for a reason: it really is a winning combination! Cardamom has a slight citrusy scent and the lemon zest pairs well with it without completely distracting from the chocolate or coffee flavors. I know it sounds weird–lemon with chocolate and coffee?! But there are coffees from areas of Ethiopia and Central America that actually have lemon notes to them, which explains why everything melts together so well once you assemble these little sandwiches.
Trust me, they’re perfect for tea time or–depending on your preference–a coffee break.
| Cook Time | 12 minutes |
| Servings |
sandwiches
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- 240 grams flour (2 cups)
- 1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
- 140 grams butter cold and cubed, (1 stick + 2 Tbsp)
- 100 grams granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
- 2 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 lemon zest only
- 4-6 Tbsp milk
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 2 Tbsp coffee cooled
- 1 tsp instant espresso granules
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Ingredients
Chocolate and Cardamom Biscuits
Coffee Buttercream
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- In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour and cocoa powder. Add in your chopped butter and, with your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour/cocoa mixture until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar, cardamom, and lemon zest. Then, add your milk. I like to start with 2 Tbsp, stir everything with a butter knife, and add 1 Tbsp at a time until everything begins to come together. When you have a bunch of clusters as opposed to crumbs, use your hands to press the dough into one piece. Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line 1-2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove your chilled dough from the refrigerator and, either between two sheets of parchment paper or a surface dusted with cocoa powder, roll your dough until it's about 1/8"-1/4" thick. Cut into rectangles roughly 1 1/4" x 3 1/4". If you're anything like me, your rectangles won't be perfect. I usually find that, by cutting long rows first, you can at least manage two that pair together even if they don't all match perfectly.
- Line your rectangles up on your baking sheet. Using a fork, dock each cookie about 3-4 times. Stick your full baking sheet in the freezer for about 5 minutes.
- After the cookies have chilled for a bit, bake for about 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack before filling.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter on medium high until it becomes light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the instant espresso and vanilla, beating to combine. Slowly add in your powdered sugar, then the cooled coffee.
- Using a butter knife or a pastry bag, spread a thick layer of buttercream onto half of the cooled cookies. Top with the remaining rectangles.
Rolling your chocolate dough out in cocoa powder will keep white pockets of flour from sticking to your cookies.
These should keep in an airtight container for a week. If you want your biscuits to stay on the crisper side, store the buttercream in the refrigerator and fill the cookies as you plan on eating them. Once filled, they'll begin to soften the longer they sit.