Snowy chocolate crackle biscuits

Roll balls of dough in icing sugar to give these chocolate biscuits their ‘crackle’ effect. They make perfect presents for kids to make at Christmas time

Prep:30 mins
Cook:45 mins
plus 1 hour chilling

Easy

Nutrition per serving

kcal 92
fat 4g
saturates 2g
carbs 12g
sugars 9g
fibre 1g
protein 1g
salt 0.06g

Ingredients

200g dark chocolate, chopped
125g unsalted butter, softened
300g soft light brown sugar
2 eggs
150g plain flour
60g cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
2-3 tbsp milk
100g icing sugar

Tip

Make it double chocolate…

Roll the dough in cocoa powder for a more chocolatey version.

Method

Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water (make sure the base doesn’t touch the water), or in a microwave in short bursts. Set aside to cool.
Beat the butter and sugar using electric beaters, then beat in the eggs, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and chocolate. Pour in the milk to make a soft dough, but don’t overmix it. Cover and chill for 1 hr.
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line one or two baking sheets with parchment. Put the icing sugar in a bowl. Scoop heaped tablespoons of dough and roll each ball in your hands before dropping it into the icing sugar and rolling it around. Put on baking sheets and repeat, spacing the balls apart.
Bake for about 12-15 mins until the biscuits feel firm when touched. The biscuits should puff up and cracks should open up, too. Leave to cool on the trays, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Will keep for up to a week in an airtight container.