Chocolate Apricot Sandwich Biscuits

This recipe came from a Sunday magazine, which will have to remain nameless as there's no indication on the page I have torn out... also missing was the quantity of flour needed to complete the biscuits, but I got through that hurdle reasonably quickly, plus the second hurdle of the amazing amount of chocolate originally specified - enough to coat half of Belgium...

Here I present some delicious chocolate apricot sandwich biscuits, first tested on the Army in one of its traditional inter-warfare exercises known as "Afternoon Tea".   As you can see, the biscuits weren't entirely regular or, a we say in the Army, uniform, which could be considered to be a disadvantage.  I hope that you can do better than this!

Chocolate Apricot Sandwich Biscuits

Chocolate Apricot Sandwich Biscuits

8oz/225g plain flour

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

8oz/225g butter, softened

8oz/225g icing sugar

3oz/70g cocoa powder

2 egg yolks (large)

1 tsp vanilla extract

8oz/225g dark chocolate

1tsp vegetable oil

Small jar of apricot jam

Sift together the dry ingredients and have ready.   Cream (on a low speed or you will decorate yourself!) the butter, sugar and cocoa powder until it is light and fluffy – this will take about 2-3 minutes.   Add the egg yolks and the vanilla essence, continuing to beat. Now tip in the flour mixture and beat it all together slowly until it becomes dough.  Chill the dough, roughly shaped into a flat disc, wrapped in plastic, for about half an hour.

Preheat oven to 190 deg C, and line two baking trays with non-stick parchment.   Cut the dough in two and roll each out to ½”/5mm thick.  This is best done between parchment, or you could use the old-fashioned method and have a lightly floured surface and rolling pin.   Use a 2”/4cm cutter and cut as many rounds as possible from the first rolling, then press all the scraps together and repeat.  Try not to over-work the dough (as Mary Berry would say).   Put the biscuits 1”/2cm apart on baking trays and bake for 7-9 minutes (watching carefully as the chocolate will start to burn before you notice).  Cool the biscuits on the trays and then put them onto a rack to finish. 

Melt the chocolate and oil to a glossy, smooth mixture.  Now coat half the biscuits with apricot jam and sandwich them with the other halves, pressing them together so the jam comes to the sides.  Dip each biscuit into the chocolate (I had to assist this process with a pastry brush).  Allow the finished biscuits to cool on more parchment until the chocolate has set.  You could also use the fridge.   The quantity was originally noted to be 32-36, but I reckon it only made 18 or so finished biscuits.