Baking for Beginners: Gluten free Viennese Biscuits

Since going gluten free, tea-break has become a regular source of heartbreak. Tea without biscuits is like a Martini without an olive: quite frankly, not right.

Viennese fingers are the perfect blend of melt-in-the-mouth butteriness and chocolate (and the ideal shape for dunking, if that’s your *ahem* cup of tea). Essentially just piped shortbread, there is no rolling out or shaping to contend with and if you don’t have a piping bag, a freezer bag with the corner snipped off will work, too. The rice flours give these little wonders their delicate texture, but if you can’t get them you can use a gluten free plain flour mix.

Viennese Biscuits (makes about 20 biscuits)

You’ll need

• 100g butter, softened
• 25g icing sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 60g brown rice flour (you'll find rice flour in the 'wholefoods' section of your supermarket if it's not in the baking aisle)
• 40g white rice flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder (check it is gluten free, some brands contain wheat - I use Dove Farms Organics)
• 100g milk chocolate

To make

• Preheat your oven to 180°C (170°C for fan ovens)
• In a large bowl, beat the butter and icing sugar together until smooth Add the vanilla extract and mix well. Sieve the brown rice flour, white rice flour and baking powder into the bowl and combine to form a soft paste.
• Spoon the paste into a piping bag fitted with an open star tip, or a freezer bag with the corner snipped off. Pipe 5cm lines (or, if you’re feeling fancy, squiggles) on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper and bake for 15 minutes. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet, until they are ok to handle.
• Melt the chocolate in the microwave - about 30 seconds should be enough, or do it in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Dip the biscuits halfway in the melted chocolate and place back on the baking sheet to completely cool. Eat remaining melted chocolate with a spoon. It’s ok - you’re preventing food waste. 

There is plenty of room for variation with these biscuits. You can toast some desiccated coconut and sprinkle over the chocolate before it sets; swap 10g of white rice flour for 10g cocoa powder for chocolate biscuits (dipped in white chocolate, they look quite stylish); or substitute the vanilla extract for orange essence for a classic chocolate-orange combination. If you don’t do milk, use dairy-free spread in place of butter and dip in good quality plain chocolate.

This was a guest post by Caleigh from the excellent blog Gluten Free[k]. Want more gluten free recipes? Head straight on over. We've got our eye on this millionaire's shortbread.