(More) Chocolate biscuits to bake!

Who doesn’t love a beautiful recipe book? Or even better chocolate biscuits? I recently received a gorgeous recipe book from my sister and found a recipe for these mouthwatering chocolate biscuits. They are the perfect sweetness and the perfect size.

About the recipe book

The recipe book Huiskos, Nostalgie is die beste geurmiddel (Home Cooking, Food that connects with your soul), by Herman Lensing, is absolutely beautiful. The book itself is exquisite with rustic and indeed nostalgic type of photographs to accompany the recipes and a personal memory by the author on the side. It is Lensing’s sixth cookbook and tells his food story from long ago till now.

In his introduction he describes home cooking as honest food which you’ll find in your mom, your granny or a loved one’s kitchen. These honest, authentic and simple recipes can be cooked with ease because the ingredients are also easy to find and the recipes are straightforward. And what I really love about this recipe book are all the wonderful memories he shares with each recipe. The recipes that come from friends, relatives or journeys throughout South Africa.

The book consists of more than 80 recipes, including yummy desserts like ice cream, cassata (traditional cake from Sicily), trifle and then some typical South African recipes including melktert and malvapoeding. Different breakfast ideas, side dishes, meat and vegetables recipes, definitely glorious food for the soul and also in many cases comfort food.

Chocolate biscuits

I’ve made numerous chocolate biscuits (and cookies) in my lifetime and also written about many different recipes on this blog – from biscuit cake, Nigella Lawson’s emergency brownies, Rachel Allen’s double chocolate cookies and many more. So Herman Lensing’s Best Chocolate Biscuits Ever was a no-brainer, I just had to make them and I was definitely not disappointed. They are scrumptious.

Here it the recipe:

Ingredients:

170 g (200 ml) castor sugar
55 g (60 ml) butter (softened)
5 ml vanilla
2 eggs
140 g (250 ml) flour
60 g (150 ml) cocoa powder
5 ml baking powder
60 g (120 ml) icing sugar

Method:

Put the castor sugar, butter and vanilla in a medium sized mixing bowl. Beat until mixture is soft.
Crack in one egg at a time, beating between each addition.
Mix in the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder until mixture is soft.
Put the dough in the fridge for 3 hours.
Preheat the oven to 180 ˚C.
Line two baking sheets with baking parchment and grease or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
Roll the cold dough in walnut-sized balls.
Roll them in the icing sugar making sure each one is covered properly.
Arrange on the baking sheets, placing dough balls about 2cm from each other.
Bake for 12 – 15 minutes or until the biscuits have bursted at the top.
Allow biscuits to cool down on the baking sheet.
Store in a airtight container.