Star Biscuits with Milk Chocolate Ganache; tender buttery biscuits sandwiched together with a creamy milk chocolate ganache and stamped with a festive star.
this refreshed post was originally published in November 2020 – this post contains affiliate content
Festive baking shouldn’t be restricted to the celebration of cinnamon and brandy butter.
Not everyone loves the thought of old-fashioned dark fruit cakes or steamed puddings. Some prefer the subtlety of shortbread or the creaminess of chocolate, touching upon tradition without feeling stuck in Victorian London. Today’s recipe captures that feeling perfectly.
While here at Maverick Baking we love to cherish every flavour of this indulgent season, sometimes simplicity is what we all crave. You know the urge you develop for the freshness of vegetables after consecutive days (weeks tbh) of stodgy winter fare? These little festive biscuits are like a refreshing break from heavy desserts, while still offering sweet satisfaction.
Let’s talk about these biscuits, these Star Biscuits with Milk Chocolate Ganache.
Embrace the welcome gentle crunch of a buttery biscuit with a whisper of nutmeg, melting into an unbelievably creamy milk chocolate filling. They are not basic chocolate biscuits but nor are they excessively rich dessert-like bites. These Star Biscuits with Milk Chocolate Ganache capture a blend of textures and flavours that is both decadent and light.
This beautiful balance of flavour is helped massively by using a good quality chocolate. I made the ganache in this recipe using a delectably creamy 44% cocoa milk chocolate from the ever-reliable Cocoa Runners.
They have recently launched a wide range of baking and cooking chocolate, specially crafted for people like you and I who just can’t stay out of the kitchen. They have created couverture chocolate in milk, dark, and mega dark varieties, to staples like cocoa powder. Using chocolate from companies like Cocoa Runners, who truly care about the composition of chocolate, can vastly improve the flavour and texture of your bakes with no extra effort on your part. I’m talking about chocolate that is well-balanced with actual cocoa and milk, rather than being mostly sugar and dodgy vegetable oil blends. It will help you make bolder brownies and less grainy ganache. Seriously, it’s worth a pop.
You can use code MaverickBaking10 to get an exclusive 10% off at Cocoa Runners!
Making a milk chocolate filling for these soft, crumbly biscuits is one of the things that makes them so wonderfully accessible. They’re a treat for your friends and family of any age. Little ones will enjoy stamping out the shapes or leaving these Star Biscuits out for Santa, while the adults will utterly relish in helping you devour them!
The biscuits are nice and simple to make, whether you do it alone or with loved ones. A little bit of easy rolling and cutting is always enjoyable, even if it doesn’t have an end result in an extravagant gingerbread sculpture. You’ll have to wait a short while to chill the biscuit dough before baking, but we’re all extra busy on the run-up to Christmas, so this waiting time is a perfect opportunity to catch up on other things!
You’ll need some biscuit cutters to make these Star Biscuits. A round biscuit cutter set is a great addition to any kitchen, you can use them to make everything from shortbreads to scones. Similarly, a wee star-shaped cutter or two is especially handy at this twinkly time of year. Otherwise, a bowl, spoon, and rolling pin will see you through.
I hope you’ll love these Star Biscuits with Milk Chocolate Ganache as much as we have. Stay healthy, stay happy, and thanks as always for stopping by.
Want to save these Star Biscuits with Milk Chocolate Ganache for later? Pin the image below.
To make these Star Biscuits with Milk Chocolate Ganache, simply follow the recipe below.
Star Biscuits with Milk Chocolate Ganache
Notes
BE A MAVERICK: why not try out this recipe using a white chocolate or dark chocolate ganache instead?
These Star Biscuits with Milk Chocolate Ganache will keep well for up to 4 days in an airtight container. No need to refrigerate them, unless you are fond of a firmer chocolate filling!
Ingredients
For the milk chocolate ganache:
- 300ml (1 ¼ cups) double or whipping cream
- 250g (9 oz) milk chocolate pieces (I used Cocoa Runners 44% cocoa milk chocolate)
- Small pinch of salt
For the biscuits:
- 170g (11 tbsp) soft salted butter
- 100g (½ cup) sugar
- 1 large egg
- 275g (2 ¼ cups) plain flour
- Small pinch of nutmeg
Instructions
For the milk chocolate ganache:
- Pour your cream into a small saucepan and set over a medium heat until gently steaming and hot to the touch.
- Add the chocolate and salt to the hot cream and allow to stand for 1 minute.
- Stir the mixture until smooth, and set aside to cool and thicken slightly at room temperature while you make your biscuits.
For the biscuits:
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
- Add the egg and mix until evenly combined.
- Add the flour and nutmeg and stir gently until combined and the mixture forms a stiff dough.
- Tip the dough out onto a generously floured surface and knead softly for a few seconds until it is smooth all over.
- Roll out the dough to about ½ a centimetre (or ¼ inch) in thickness.
- Use a round biscuit cutter to stamp out as many rounds as you can from the sheet of dough. Carefully transfer the biscuit rounds to a greaseproof paper lined baking tray, you may need 2-3 trays in total.
- Re-roll the scraps of dough to repeat until you have used as much of it as you can.
- Use a small star-shaped cutter to stamp out star shapes from the centre half of the biscuit rounds, leaving the remaining half untouched.
- Place your tray(s) of dough circles into the freezer for 20 minutes (if you can’t use a freezer, refrigerating for 45 minutes should do the job), meanwhile preheat your oven – 180 C / 160 C fan / 350 F / gas mark 4.
- Once the biscuit rounds have chilled, bake them in the preheated oven for 9-10 minutes for soft and crumbly biscuits. If you prefer a crisper biscuit, bake for an extra 2-3 minutes.
- Allow the biscuits to cool completely on their trays.
- When cooled to room temperature, spread your slightly thickened ganache onto the full biscuit rounds before sandwiching them with the star-stamped biscuit rounds.
- Enjoy!
