Kingston biscuits. They are an Australian biscuit, an oaty, buttery sandwich cookie with a delicious, creamy milk chocolate filling in the middle.

They are yummy, but I try really hard not to buy packet biscuits, what with all the additives and preservatives, when I can easily bake up some cookies myself. So when I saw a recipe for a homemade version of Kingstons, I jumped all over it.

And they took absolutely no time to make! The biscuits are a one-bowl, mixer affair, that are quickly rolled and baked until golden, then sandwiched together once they cool, and ready for you to pop in your mouth.

I’ve been baking a lot of famous Australian things lately. There was the mocha icebox cake and the caramel slice, and now there’s these Kingston sandwich cookies.

So sticking with the Australian theme, a famous Australian pastry chef is Philippa Sibley. She is Australia’s queen of desserts and she has a book, PS Desserts, which the owners of the cupcake shop I work at gave me for my birthday.

There are some quotes in her book that I love, which epitomise my attitude towards baking and food, and I want to share them with you here. I’ll let you make of them what you wish.

“Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart.” – Erma Bombeck.

“Don’t wreck a sublime chocolate experience by feeling guilty.” – Lora Brody.

“I want a good body – but not as much as I want dessert.” – Jason Love.

“Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first.” – Ernestine Ulmer.

MILK CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT SANDWICH COOKIES
I have forgotten where I adapted this recipe from, but I think it was Gourmet magazine.
And I’m sorry its all metric and that I didn’t convert it to cups! Try my conversions page if you don’t have a scale and need some help.

For the biscuits
65g rolled oats
160g unsalted butter, softened (3/4 cup)
160g raw caster sugar
55g maple syrup
1 cup plain flour
75g dessicated coconut
1/4 tsp salt

For the filling
200g milk chocolate, chopped
3 tbsp Nutella

To make the biscuits, preheat the oven to 160 C (320 F) and line a few trays with baking paper.

In a food processor or blender, process the oats until they are fine. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until pale and creamy, 2 – 4 minutes.

Turn the mixer onto a low speed and add the maple syrup in a slow stream.

Add the flour, coconut, fine oats and salt and mix until incorporated.

Roll teaspoons of the mixture into small balls and line up on the trays, leaving 5cm (2 inches) spreading room. Flatten the balls with the lightly floured base of a glass.

Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. You should have 40 cookie halves. Allow them to cool.

To make the filling, melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring between each burst.

Once the chocolate is completely melted and smooth, stir in the Nutella. Allow to cool to a spreadable consistency.

Spread a couple of teaspoons of chocolate filling onto a cookie and sandwich it together with another cookie. Repeat until all the cookies have been used up. Makes 20.