Bourbon biscuits
These easy homemade Bourbon biscuits are as delicious as the classic shop bought ones. Chocolate biscuits with a chocolate buttercream filling, they’re perfect with a cup of tea.
Bourbon biscuits are a classic UK bake. Take two delicious chocolate biscuits and sandwich them together with some chocolate buttercream, and you can have your very own homemade version.
Kids will love this easy recipe for home-made Bourbon creams meaning you’ll never need to get shop bought ones again.
What is a Bourbon biscuit?
Bourbons are a classic biscuit in the UK, and a firm favourite in many households. They’re a simple chocolate biscuit sandwiched together with chocolate buttercream.
Originating in London in the 1910s, they’ve long been a favourite treat to have with your afternoon tea.
How can kids help to make Bourbon biscuits?
Bourbon biscuits are really easy biscuits to make which meant they are perfect for baking with kids. Be prepared for a bit of mess though – that’s going to be unavoidable when you’re using cocoa powder and icing sugar in the same recipe!
Unlike some of our other easy biscuit recipes, like our chocolate fork biscuits or custard creams, these biscuits need to be rolled and cut out. This adds a fun step for children, as it can be a bit like playing with playdough. Keep an eye on how the biscuit dough is rolled out however so it ends up nice and even. If you find it sticking to your rolling pin, either sprinkle over a bit of flour or put a sheet of baking paper on top.
We used a ruler to mark neat rectangles to cut out. If you find it easier, you could get your kids to use a round cutter instead. They’d look a little less like the classic Bourbon, but will taste just as good.
Kids will also enjoy getting assemble and decorate the biscuits and if they have a steady hand, they can help to press the distinctive little holes in each unbaked biscuit.
What can I use instead of self raising flour?
If you don’t have any self raising flour (it’s easy to find in the supermarkets here in the UK, but less so in other countries), you can swap it for an equal amount of plain or all-purpose flour and add teaspoon of baking powder and a pinch of salt.
What can I use instead of golden syrup?
If you don’t have any golden syrup, which again, is common here in the UK, you can swap it for an equal amount of corn syrup. You could also use something like honey, which is the right texture but will change the flavour a bit.
How do you store Bourbon creams?
Bourbons will keep in an air tight container at room temperature for up to five days. If you want to keep them for longer, you can freeze them for up to three months. To freeze them, wrap them in cling-film / glad-wrap and put them in a freezer bag. Make sure you defrost them fully before you serve them.
What other easy chocolate biscuits for kids can i make?
If you enjoy making these Bourbon biscuits, why not try one of our other simple kids’ chocolate biscuits?
Chocolate thumbprint cookies
Custard biscuits
Chocolate fork biscuits
Chocolate chip shortbread
Smarties cookies
Double chocolate chip cookies
Chocolate chip cookies
Chocolate crinkle cookies
Brownie cookies
Chocolate dipped biscuits
Chocolate marshmallow cookies
Useful equipment
You might need the following baking tools/gadgets to make these Bourbon creams biscuits:
Digital scales
Baking tray
Measuring cups
Wooden spoons
Palette knife
Piping bag
Wire rack
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Ingredients
For the chocolate biscuit
200g butter
100g caster sugar
250 self raising flour
20g cocoa powder
2 tablespoons golden syrup
For the chocolate cream filling
150g butter
350g icing / confectioners sugar
25g cocoa powder
a splash of milk
How to make Bourbon biscuits
Line 2-3 baking trays with baking or parchment paper.
Cream the butter and sugar together
Get your kids to measure out the butter and sugar and add them to a large mixing bowl or free-standing mixer. The butter needs to be soft so that it will mix in, so if it’s not cut it into a few pieces and pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to soften it (not melt it).
Using the k-paddle of your free-standing mixer, a hand held mixer or wooden spoons, beat the butter and sugar together until they are light and fluffy.
Add the flour, cocoa and golden syrup
Measure out the flour and cocoa powder and add them to your mixing bowl. If you have young children, hold the tablespoon while your child measures in the golden syrup, or vice versa. If your children are older, they can probably do this themselves.
Mix everything together
Start using your mixer or wooden spoons and mix everything together, before kneading it and bringing it together into a nice ball of dough that doesn’t crumble apart with your hands.
Wrap the dough in cling film / glad wrap and chill it for 10 minutes.
Make the bourbon biscuits
Lightly dust your work-surface with flour, then get your kids to help roll the dough out so it is about 4mm thick. Make sure you rotate the dough 90 degrees every few rolls, so that it rolls out evenly and doesn’t stick onto your work-surface.
If you find the dough sticking to your rolling pin or worktop, you can roll the dough out in between two sheets of baking/parchment paper.
Cut rectangles 6 x 4 cm (2.5 x 1.5 inches) out of your dough and use a small palette knife to transfer them to your prepared baking trays. Gather up any remnants from the edges, roll them out again and cut out some more rectangles. Repeat this until all the dough is used up.
Space the biscuits apart on the baking trays so they have a little room to spread when they bake.
Using the blunt end of a wooden skewer gently poke indents in the top of the biscuits.
Pop the biscuits in your fridge to chill for 15 minutes before baking them.
Bake the Bourbons
Preheat your oven to 180C / 160C Fan/ 350F while your biscuits are chilling.
Bake the Bourbons for approximately 10 minutes. They’ll still be a little bit soft when they come out of the oven but will harden as they cool.
Leave the biscuits to cool on their baking trays for a few minutes before putting them on a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the chocolate cream filling
Add the butter, icing sugar, cocoa powder and a splash of milk to a large mixing bowl or free-standing mixer. Using the k-paddle of your mixer or hand held mixers, beat it all together, slowly at first. Once the icing sugar and cocoa powder has mixed in a little, you can turn the speed up and mix it for a few minutes until it is nice and fluffy.
Assemble the Bourbon biscuits
Pipe, or spread the chocolate cream filling onto the base of one of your biscuits, then sandwich another on top.
Repeat that those steps with the rest of the biscuits, then serve and enjoy.
Bourbon biscuits
Equipment
- Digital scales
- baking tray
- Measuring cups
- Wooden spoons
- Palette knife
- Piping bag
- Wire rack
Ingredients
For the chocolate biscuit
- 200 g (⅞ cup) butter
- 100 g (½ cup) caster sugar
- 250 (2 cups) self raising flour
- 20 g (¼ cup) cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons (40g ) golden syrup
For the chocolate cream filling
- 150 g (⅔ cup) butter
- 350 g (1 ¾ cups) icing / confectioners sugar
- 25 g (¼ cup) cocoa powder
- a splash of milk
Instructions
- Line 2-3 baking trays with baking or parchment paper.
Cream the butter and sugar together
- Measure out the butter and sugar and add them to a large mixing bowl or free-standing mixer. The butter needs to be soft so that it will mix in, so if it's not cut it into a few pieces and pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to soften it (not melt it).Using the k-paddle of your free-standing mixer, a hand held mixer or wooden spoons, beat the butter and sugar together until they are light and fluffy.
Add the flour, cocoa and golden syrup
- Measure out the flour and cocoa powder and add them to your mixing bowl.
Mix everything together
- Start using your mixer or wooden spoons and mix everything together, before kneading it and bringing it together into a nice ball of dough that doesn't crumble apart with your hands.
- Wrap the dough in cling film / glad wrap and chill it for 10 minutes.
Make the bourbon biscuits
- Lightly dust your work-surface with flour, then roll the dough out so it is about 4mm thick. Make sure you rotate the dough 90 degrees every few rolls, so that it rolls out evenly and doesn't stick onto your work-surface.
- Cut rectangles 6 x 4 cm (2.5 x 1.5 inches) out of your dough and use a small palette knife to transfer them to your prepared baking trays. Gather up any remnants from the edges, roll them out again and cut out some more rectangles. Repeat this until all the dough is used up.Space the biscuits apart on the baking trays so they have a little room to spread when they bake.
- Using the blunt end of a wooden skewer gently poke indents in the top of the biscuits.
- Pop the biscuits in your fridge to chill for 15 minutes before baking them.
Bake the Bourbons
- Preheat your oven to 180C / 160C Fan/ 350F while your biscuits are chilling.
- Bake the Bourbons for approximately 10 minutes. They'll still be a little bit soft when they come out of the oven but will harden as they cool.
- Leave the biscuits to cool on their baking trays for a few minutes before putting them on a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the chocolate cream filling
- Add the butter, icing sugar, cocoa powder and a splash of milk to a large mixing bowl or free-standing mixer. Using the k-paddle of your mixer or hand held mixers, beat it all together, slowly at first. Once the icing sugar and cocoa powder has mixed in a little, you can turn the speed up and mix it for a few minutes until it is nice and fluffy.
- Pipe, or spread the chocolate cream filling onto the base of one of your biscuits, then sandwich another on top.
- Repeat that those steps with the rest of the biscuits, then serve and enjoy.
Notes
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