Viennese Biscuits
These delicious buttery Viennese biscuits are delicate and the rich dark chocolate and pistachio just make them moreish and addictive.
Super easy to prepare, don’t worry if you’re not an expert at piping, they’ll still look amazing once they are baked. And because they are so simple and delicious, they make a great recipe for Christmas edible gifts.
If you like this pistachio biscuit recipe, you might also like my raspberry pistachio biscuit.
If you decide to give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment below and rate it – it’s really helpful to me and the other readers. And don’t forget to take a picture and tag it #thegourmetlarder on Instagram! I love seeing what you come up with 🙂
RECIPE HIGHLIGHTS
- Ease: Easy
- Great for: Everyday baking or afternoon tea.
- Taste: Sweet, buttery, orange and chocolaty.
- Texture: Soft delicate.
WHAT LARDER INGREDIENTS WILL I NEED FOR THIS RECIPE?
For this Viennese biscuit recipe all you need are these 8 ingredients:
Butter – adds structure and flavour. I use salted butter for most of my baking as it intensifies the flavours, but feel free to use unsalted if you prefer. Make sure it’s at room temperature before using.
Powdered / icing sugar – adds refined sweetness and structure, as well as ensures that melt-in-the-mouth texture.
Medium egg yolks – build structure and richness to the recipe. Make sure they are at room temperature before use.
Vanilla extract, sugar or vanilla paste – adds flavour and enhances the other ingredient flavours in the recipe.
Plain or all-purpose flour – to build structure, as we do not use any other raising agents.
Orange zest – adds that perfect citrus flavour. See the variations section for alternatives.
Dark or milk chocolate – any good chocolate works well for adding that beautiful flavour.
Crushed pistachios – for that added flavour and decorative colour.
I highly recommend adding a good pinch of salt to your biscuit doughs. It would seem counter productive, but it’s not. Salt, helps balance out the sweetness and richness. It also elevates the other ingredients, bring out the best characteristics of any recipe. In a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory way, salt intensifies the mouths ability to taste sweetness. It is the sodium that sends signals to move glucose into the sweet taste receptor cells, thus triggering the cells to register sweetness. The result is that salt not only alerts our ‘salt sensitivity’, but also triggers our ‘sweet sensitive’ taste buds.
WHAT VARIATIONS AND SUBSTITUTIONS CAN I MAKE?
Biscuit flavours – can easily be changed. Try some of these flavours:
- Lemon and cardamom (add the zest of a lemon and 2 tsp of ground cardamomto the biscuit dough)
- Dried cranberry and tahini (add 50g dried cranberry and 1 Tbsp of tahini to the biscuit dough)
- Walnut and maple syrup (add 50g chopped walnuts and 1 tbsp of maple syrup to the biscuit dough)
And if you want to create a two-tone effect, add 1 tbsp dutch cocoa powder to half the mixture and fill both mixtures next to each other in the piping bag.
Decorate – with different finishes such as sliced almonds, crystalised orange, sprinkles or even powdered freeze-dried fruit.
Fillings – can take these biscuits to the next level. Sandwich the biscuits together with some buttercream or even a little jam. A simple buttercream using 100g soft butter, 200g icing sugar and a little vanilla mixed together is all you need.
NUTRITION
Serving: one Viennese biscuit
Nutrition information can vary for a recipe based on factors such as precision of measurements, brands, ingredient freshness, or the source of nutrition data.
I strive to keep the information as accurate as possible but make no warranties regarding its accuracy.
I encourage you to make your own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
STORAGE AND FREEZING OPTIONS
These cookies are best enjoyed on the day of baking, alternatively, store them in an airtight container for up to 3 days, they will soften as time goes by.
Freezing: These cookies can be frozen in an airtight container.
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EQUIPMENT SUGGESTIONS
For this recipe, you ideally need a piping bag and a nozzle to create the finger length shape. Other recommendations include:
Small saucepan – 1 litre
When it comes to baking, I highly recommend using metric measurements and a digital scale, rather than cup measurements. You will find it much easier, less messy and you will get far better, consistent results weighing your ingredients. 🙂
READY TO MAKE YOUR OWN VIENNESE BISCUITS ?
HAPPY BAKING!
Viennese biscuits
INGREDIENTS LIST
- 125 g butter (room temperature)
- 100 g icing sugar (US powdered sugar)
- 5 medium/US large egg yolks (room temperature)
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract or 1/4 tsp of vanilla paste
- 1 pinch fine sea salt
- 1 whole orange (zested)
- 225 g plain or all-purpose flour
Decoration
- 80 g milk or dark chocolate (chopped)
- 3 tbsp whole roasted pistachios (crushed)
Preparation
- Line a baking tray with baking parchment or a silicone mat.
- In a medium mixing bowl, cream together the butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg yolks, one at a time, until all 5 egg yolks have been incorporated.
- Mix in the vanilla extract, salt, orange zest and flour until smooth. You may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple of times with a rubber spatula.
- Spoon the dough into a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle and pipe 5cm (2 inches) lengths onto the baking tray leaving at least 1cm between each one.Alternatively, you can pipe rosettes.
- Once all the dough has been piped out, place the tray in the fridge for 15 minutes and preheat the oven to 180°C fan / 400°F / Gas 6.
- Baking: Place the tray on the middle shelf of the oven for 12-15minutes and bake until the biscuits are a nice pale golden-brown colour.
- Cool on the baking tray for five minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.
- Once the biscuits have cooled, place the chopped chocolate in a medium-sized heatproof bowl. Melt the chocolate in the microwave for a few seconds or over a pan of gently simmering water (double boiler method), stirring occasionally.
- Once smooth and completely melted, dip the biscuits one at a time and place them back onto the baking tray. Then sprinkle with the crushed pistachios.
TOOLS YOU’LL NEED
- A baking tray (see equipment suggestions on blog page)
Notes & Tips
- Piping nozzle size – is quite important. The biscuit dough is fairly firm and you will want to use a large nozzle. I use a star shape, which has a 1.5cm opening which works well for me.
- Make different shapes – you don’t have to stick to long finger shapes. Pipe S shapes or circles.
- Melting chocolate – is super easy if you follow these tips: 1. Choose a saucepan that is not too big and a heatproof bowl that fits snuggly on top. 2. Fill the saucepan with enough water that it will not run dry while boiling. 3. Make sure there is a gap between the bowl and the water, they must not touch. 4. Keep the water to a simmer only. No water or steam must go inside the bowl with the chocolate or it will seize up.
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RECIPE TIPS
- Piping nozzle size – is quite important. The biscuit dough is fairly firm and you will want to use a large nozzle. I use a star shape, which has a 1.5cm opening which works well for me.
- Make different shapes – you don’t have to stick to long finger shapes. Pipe S shapes or circles.
- Melting chocolate – is super easy if you follow these tips: 1. Choose a saucepan that is not too big and a heatproof bowl that fits snuggly on top. 2. Fill the saucepan with enough water that it will not run dry while boiling. 3. Make sure there is a gap between the bowl and the water, they must not touch. 4. Keep the water to a simmer only. No water or steam must go inside the bowl with the chocolate or it will seize up.
PLEASE LET ME KNOW HOW IT TURNED OUT FOR YOU!
If you tried these Viennese Biscuits or any other recipe on my website, please let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you. Also, please leave a star rating whilst you’re there!
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PIN THIS RECIPE FOR LATER
Thought it was suspect because no raising agent in recipe but tried it anyway as I love viennese biscuits. Did not work. Found another recipe with self raising flour and they turned out great.
I am sorry to hear that this recipe did not work for you. This particular biscuit dough is made using egg yolks to help it rise. If a leavening agent is added the biscuits would lose their traditional shape and pattern. Their are many recipes on the internet using leavening agents, but I particularly like this recipe because it is much richer in taste because of the egg yolks.