These chocolate dipped viennese biscuits are great both piped into fingers or swirled into bigger zigzag shapes. They can be dipped in dark, milk or white chocolate but the slightly sharp taste of dark chocolate is my favorite as it works well with the sweet, buttery flavor of the crumbly biscuit.
I’ve always known these biscuits to be called ‘Viennese biscuits’ but researching them I have yet to find their origin or any reason as to why they should be called this. What I did discover, however, that it is highly unlikely that these biscuits originated from Austria.
An old English favorite, the Viennese whirl, has biscuits using the exact ingredients as these, filled with buttercream and jam, so perhaps they are just a variation of those. A Spritzgeback (or Spritz as it is more commonly called in the US) is a very similar biscuit to the Viennese biscuit, in that it is piped and made with butter and powdered sugar and is often dipped in chocolate. But Spritzgeback contain eggs whereas the Viennese biscuit dough does not. Also, if made properly Spritzgeback are supposed to be dry and crisp whereas these Viennese biscuits are not – they are rich, buttery, crumbly and soft. So anyhow, I am at a loss as to why these are named as they are, but why does it matter because they taste great!
They are a very satisfying biscuit to make. Not only do they look pretty but they taste really good too. A couple of tips; if you are working in a warm climate then pop them in the fridge for 10 – 20 minutes after piping to ensure that they hold their shape when baking. The other thing that I would suggest is that you measure the ingredients with a set of kitchen scales rather that relying on cup measurements as the biscuit dough will spread if too much butter is added and will be difficult to pipe if it is too dry.
If anybody has any ideas where and why these biscuits got their name (or indeed if you have a different name for them), I would love to know. Please get in touch!
Chocolate Dipped Viennese Biscuits
- Prep Time: 25m
- Cook Time: 15m
- Total Time: 40m
- Yield: 12 - 14 biscuits
Ingredients
- 250 grams soft butter (2 sticks plus 1 tablespoon)
- 50 grams powdered (icing) sugar (just under 1/2 cup)
- 50 grams cornflour (just under 1/2 cup)
- 250 grams plain (all purpose) flour (2 1/4 cups)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste
- 200 grams dark chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190°c /170°c (fan). Line a baking tray with grease proof paper or silicone mat and set aside.
- Place the soft butter, flour, cornflour, icing sugar and vanilla paste into a bowl and using a wooden spoon mix until the ingredients are combined and smooth. Do not over mix the mixture. You can also use a food processor to do this, scraping down the sides between pulses.
- Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle. Pipe out the mixture into zigzag shapes on your prepared baking tray leaving a gap between biscuits as they will expand slightly.
- Place in the middle of your preheated oven for 13 - 15 minutes until they turn pale golden and firm up.
- Remove from the oven and leave on the baking sheets for 5 - 10 minutes before removing and placing on a wire rack to cool.
- Melt the chocolate by breaking it up and placing in a bowl over a simmering saucepan of water.
- Once the biscuits are cool, dip them one by one into the melted chocolate to cover half the biscuit. Let the excess chocolate drip back into the bowl before placing the biscuit carefully onto a silicone mat or onto a lightly greased piece of parchment paper.
- Leave the chocolate to harden before serving.
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