National Chocolate Week ~ Cappuccino Thumbprint Biscuits

Welcome to National Chocolate Week!  Last year I celebrated by making a chocolate related treat each day, but by the time the end of the week arrived not only had a gained a large amount of weight but I was also getting pretty sick of the sight of chocolate.  Such a travesty!!!!  So ... I'm not promising that much for this year ... maybe one or two posts ... maybe not!?!?!?  We'll see what happens ;0)

Tomorrow night I'm off to a wine tasting with Oz Clarke and then off to the Playhouse to see James Martin for the Love Cooking show.  I absolutely refused to pay the price of the ticket when they were first released but that wonderful sister in law of mine managed to win some tickets!  I only mention this now so as you know that there won't be any chocolate type post tomorrow cause I'll be too busy being a rotten old lush and drooling over James lol

Anyhoo, back to Chocolate Week [sigh!] and a small explanation for how I came to make this recipe.  I spent the weekend "trying" to clear out the stack of food magazines that have been growing in a steady pile by my side of the bed.  The stack was threatening to take over my marriage so some tough action was required!  This recipe was in one of the magazines that had to go but the idea of a Thumbprint Biscuit with white chocolate in place of the jam sounded like my kind of a Thumbprint Biscuit, the recipe had to be saved and made.  So pleased I did, these treats are yummy ... and I'm not even that fond of coffee!

Cappuccino Thumbprint Biscuits
285g plain flour
100g cocoa powder
2 tbsp ground coffee (I used a vanilla flavoured ground coffee from Whittards - could spend my salary in that store!)
2 tsp sea salt
225g unsalted butter, softened
285g caster sugar plus more for rolling
2 large egg yolks
2 tbsp double cream
200g white chocolate

Preheat the oven to 180C/fan 160C. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt into a large bowl and stir in the ground coffee.

In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with a fork, until pale and fluffy. Gradually add the egg yolks and cream, whisking as you add them, until well combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula, then gradually whisk in the flour and cocoa.

Take large teaspoons of the dough, roll them into balls and place 2cm apart on two baking sheets lined with baking paper. Using your thumb or the end of a wooden spoon, press gently in the centre of each biscuit to create a dent.

Place the trays into the oven and bake for 10 mins, rotating the trays halfway through cooking so that they cook evenly.

Remove the trays from the oven. If any of the biscuits have closed up, open out the indents again by pressing with the end of a wooden spoon. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Meanwhile, melt the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of boiling water. When melted, spoon a little into the indent of each biscuit. Leave to cool, until the chocolate has set, then serve with a caffe latte, if you like. The biscuits will keep, in a sealed container, for up to a week.

Makes about 40 biscuits
Delicious, May 09

• This recipe makes a large batch, so for a smaller quantity, store half of the dough mixture in the freezer for up to 1 month.
• Once you’ve mastered the biscuits, start experimenting with different flavoured chocolates for the filling. For a fiery version, melt some chopped fresh chilli into a good quality dark chocolate.