Viennese fingers

Viennese fingers dipped in chocolate are a delicious buttery shortbread biscuit. They might look a bit tricky to make, but they’re easier than you think, meaning even children and beginner bakers can give them a try.

These Viennese fingers are an elegant looking buttery shortbread biscuit. When i’m baking with kids, I generally like to stick to really simple recipes, but these, although they might look a little tricky to make are easier than you think, meaning even children can give them a go.

We’ve made Mary Berry’s Viennese whirls before but thought these Viennese fingers might be a little easier. Rather than having to pipe the biscuits out into a swirl you can just pipe in a straight line which is definitely a bit less tricky, especially for small hands.

How can kids help make Viennese fingers?

Viennese fingers are surprisingly easy to make, so very doable for children or novice bakers. Even very young children can help measure out all the ingredients and mix them together.

It’s important the mix is quite soft before you pipe it so you might need to give your kids a hand or do it in a free-standing mixer. My kids like trying their hand at piping so these were a fun biscuit to try. It’s certainly a bit different to rolling out the dough or using cutters.

Piping in a straight line is relatively easy although I find it helps if I hold the bag with them and help them squeeze the mixture out while they guide the bag.

Lastly, we dipped the ends of our biscuits in chocolate. If you have younger children that finds piping too difficult, this is a great, easy job for them.

If you don’t want to add the chocolate, you can miss this step out – the biscuits are tasty enough without it. Or you can use different types of chocolate or even get your kids to decorate the ends with sprinkles.

Where do Viennese fingers come from?

They might sound like they’re from Austria (it’s what I originally assumed), but they are in fact a British invention. Although they’re British born, they are inspired by an Austrian biscuit so I suppose they were named in honour of that. 

What do Viennese fingers taste like?

Viennse fingers are a delicious soft buttery, shortbread style biscuit, topped with a little chocolate. They’re soft and crumbly to eat, and perfect served with a cup of tea.

What’s the difference between a Viennese finger and a Viennese whirl?

The biscuit dough itself is the same in a Viennese finger and Viennese whirl. The difference comes in how you pipe it: Viennese fingers are piped in a straight line, whereas Viennese whirls are piped in a swirl and then sandwiched together. I think this makes Viennese fingers a little easier to make especially for little bakers.

How long do Viennese fingers keep?

These biscuits will keep in an air tight container for up to a week.

What other biscuits can I make?

If you enjoy making these Viennese fingers, why not try one of our other simple kids’ biscuits?

Empire biscuits
Scottish shortbread
Shortbread fingers
Chocolate chip shortbread
Rainbow M&M cookies
Gingerbread men
Chocolate thumbprint cookies
Custard biscuits
Melting moments
Jammie dodgers
Iced biscuits
Bourbon biscuits

Useful equipment

You might need the following baking tools/gadgets to make these Viennese fingers biscuits:

Digital scales
Baking tray
Measuring cups
Wooden spoons
Wire rack

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Difficulty: A wee bit harder
Time: 20 minutes + 10 minutes baking
Serves: 20+

Ingredients

100g butter, softened
25g icing sugar
100g plain flour
1 tbsp cornflour
¼ tsp baking powder

To decorate
100g milk chocolate
Sprinkles (optional)

How to make Viennese fingers

Line 2-3 baking trays with baking/parchment paper

Mix the butter and sugar together

Get your kids to measure the butter and icing sugar out and dd them to a large mixing bowl or free-standing mixer.

Your butter needs to soft before you mix it. If it’s not, get your kids to cut it into small pieces and pop it into the microwave for 10 seconds or so (not long enough to melt it).

Mix the sugar and butter together with wooden spoons, a spatula or the k paddle of your free-standing mixer.

Add the flour and cornflour

Get your kids to measure the flour, cornflour and baking powder and add them to your bowl or free-standing mixer.

Mix it all together until it is well combined and soft. You might need to give your kids a hand to make sure the dough is soft enough otherwise it will be hard to pipe.

Pipe your Viennese fingers

Put the biscuit dough into a piping bag fitted with a medium/large star shaped nozzle.

Pipe straight biscuits about 7-8cm long onto your prepared baking trays.

Once you’ve piped all your fingers out pop your baking trays in the fridge for 30 minutes or so. Chilling your biscuits before you bake them should mean they hold their shape better.

Bake your Viennese fingers

Preheat your oven to 170C/16C Fan / 335F

Bake your biscuits for around 7-10 minutes. Keep an eye on them – they’re ready when they’ve started to turn a nice golden brown colour.

Remove them from the oven and leave them on the baking trays for a few minutes. Then put each biscuit on a wire rack to cool completely.

Decorate your Viennese fingers

We chose to decorate each end with a little chocolate. You can miss this step out if you like, use different chocolate or dip only one half rather then each end.

Melt the chocolate in a small bowl in the microwave or in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water (a double boiler).

Stir the melted chocolate so it’s smooth then get your kids to dip your finger biscuits into the chocolate. We also used a teaspoon to spread the chocolate on to each biscuit.

Put each finger onto a sheet of baking paper to set.

Serve and enjoy.

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If you like these Viennese fingers you might like our Danish butter biscuits, or our other cookie & biscuit recipes or our favourite easy bakes for kids.

This recipe was first published in March 2020 and updated with new pictures in November 2023.