Chocolate Peppermint Thins

Preheat the oven to 160°C fan bake.

Biscuits: Beat the butter, sugar and peppermint extract together until pale and creamy.

Beat in the egg yolk. Sift over the combined flour, salt and cocoa and beat until well combined.

Divide into two pieces. Flatten each one into a disc, wrap individually in plastic wrap then chill until firm. 

Roll each piece of pastry out between two sheets of baking paper to 5mm thick. 

Chill again if soft. Stamp out desired sized biscuits (mine are 5cm) then place on a lined baking tray. Re-roll the pastry scraps and stamp out more biscuits. Chill again until firm. 

Bake for about 9 minutes, until they look dry on the surface. Transfer to a cooling rack.

Filling: Beat the egg white in a bowl until frothy then gradually beat in 2 cups of the icing sugar to make a soft paste. 

Sprinkle the remaining icing sugar on the bench and tip out the paste. Knead in the icing sugar until the paste is smooth and silky and no longer sticky.

Roll large teaspoons of the paste into a ball and place on half of the biscuits. Flatten with your fingertips so it’s almost the same size as the biscuits. Place a second biscuit on top then press together gently to spread the paste right to the edges. Makes 20 filled biscuits depending on the size of the cutter used

Cook’s Tips: The biscuit dough is very soft and needs to be kept chilled. I work with one piece at a time and keep popping it back in the freezer for a few minutes each time it softens, otherwise it’s too soft to stamp out. 

Peppermint extract is very concentrated and you need a lot less than if using peppermint essence. Add it in tiny drops, otherwise it can be overpowering.