makes
14
prep
30 minutes
cook
20 minutes
difficulty
Easy
makes
14
serves
preparation
30
minutes
cooking
20
minutes
difficulty
Easy
level
Ingredients
- 260 g (9 oz/1¾ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 35 g (1¼ oz/⅓ cup) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 200 g (7 oz) butter, softened
- 80 g (2¾ oz/½ cup) dextrose
- ¼ tsp liquid stevia
Banana cashew cream
- 150 g (5½ oz/1 cup) raw cashews
- ½ banana (about 60 g/2 oz), mashed
- 1 tbsp (about) freshly squeezed lemon juice
Chilling time: 15 minutes
Instructions
For the banana cashew cream, soak the cashews in cold water for 1 hour. Drain the cashews, rinse well and drain again. Put the cashews in a blender with the banana and most of the lemon juice and blend until smooth. Add a little more lemon juice or water to balance the flavour (it should have a slight tangy kick) and to get a thick, spreadable consistency. Transfer to a bowl and pop it in the refrigerator, covered, until required.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 140°C/275°F (fan-forced). Line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
Sift the flour and cocoa powder into a large bowl. Set aside.
Beat the butter, dextrose and stevia with an electric mixer until light and creamy, scraping down the side of the bowl as necessary. Add the sifted flour and cocoa in two batches and mix on low speed until just combined and the mixture has a crumble-like appearance. Transfer to a clean work surface and knead lightly to bring the dough together.
Divide the dough in half and roll between two sheets of non-stick baking paper to 5 mm (¼ in) thick. Cut into rounds using a 6.5 cm (2½ in) cookie cutter, re-rolling the dough as necessary. You should get about 28 rounds. Put the cookies on the prepared trays as you go, about 2 cm (¾ in) apart. If you find the mixture becomes too soft to roll, particularly if the weather is hot, chill the mixture for 15 minutes or so to firm up and then continue.
Bake for 20–25 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the trays.
Before serving, spread a little of the banana cashew cream on half of the biscuits. Place the remaining biscuits on top of the cream and sandwich the biscuits together.
The unfilled biscuits will keep for up to a week in an airtight container. The banana cashew cream will keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
These biscuits also work well with tangy as the filling - just make a double batch.
Recipe and image from by Caroline Griffiths (, $39.99 hbk) .
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.
