Crumbly Christmas Chocolate Biscuits

Asked by ketan.chachad. Answered on 13th December 2014

Full question

Hello, Recently I baked the Christmas Chocolate Biscuits, following the recipe carefully. But the biscuits turned out really crumbly. I cooled them on a wire rack as suggested in the recipe. But they were crumbling when I was lifting them from the wire rack after pouring the chocolate topping and the sprinkles. Also can you let me know the shelf life of these biscuits and how can I make them last longer?

Our answer

Nigella's Christmas Chocolate Biscuits (from Christmas and on the Nigella website) are a chocolate shortbread-type cookie. As they are a shortbread they have a high proportion of butter and sugar (and no egg) so they are quite tender and crumbly. Usually they would be most likely to crumble if they are moved before they have cooled enough.

Make sure that the cookes are cool before adding the icing and let them stand until the icing has set. It could be that some of the icing was causing the cookies to stick to the wire rack so you may want to just use a small. sharp knife to make sure that they are free from the rack before lifting them off. It could also be that the cookies were not quite baked enough and all ovens can vary so you may need to give them a couple of extra minutes in the oven. The cookies should be set on the outside and around the edges, though the centre may still look a little soft.

The biscuits will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days. They can also be frozen for up to 3 months in resealable containers or freezer bags. To thaw the biscuits remove them from their containers and put on a wire rack at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour.