kingston biscuits and my gas supply

kingston biscuits and my gas supply

• 29 Aug 2012

At work we seem to be go to meetings all the time. You know the kind of meeting that puts your teeth on edge because it takes you away from your real work. So that we'll attend, we're bribed with the promise of morning tea. Well that morning tea consists of tea, coffee and a packet of Arnotts Assorted Cream Biscuits. At the last meeting I chose a butternut cookie but I noticed that the Kingstons seemed to be the most popular.

When I was ripping and tearing through my old magazines last month, I came across some recipes in an old Australian Gourmet Traveller magazine that replicated a number of those iconic Arnott's biscuits. You know the ones - Monte Carlos, Ginger Nuts, Iced Vo-Vo's and yes, even Kingstons. 



The Kingstons have been renamed as Chocolate Filled Oat Crunch and with a morning tea at work last Friday, I looked through my cupboards and decided I had enough of the ingredients to whip up a batch. I didn't have any demerara sugar in the cupboard but I had raw sugar so I used that instead.



I did a test run of 2 cookies and whilst they tasted yummy, they spread a bit too much. I chilled the mixture for 20 minutes and baked another 2 cookies. They did the same. I decided to add an extra tablespoon of flour, coconut and rolled oats and this time when I baked the cookies, they held their shape.


I used teaspoons of the mixture which I rolled into small balls before baking. The recipe was supposed to make 18 cookies but somehow I managed to make close to 40 filled cookies.



If you don't feel like sandwiching the cookies with chocolate, the cookies are pretty yummy on their own. They taste just like little Anzac biscuits and are perfect served with a glass of milk or with a nice cup of tea.



Here's the original recipe for you.

Chocolate-Filled Oat Crunch Gourmet Traveller 2006 - makes 18 biscuits. 
Ingredients
180 gm butter
120 gm demerara sugar
90 gm (¼ cup) golden syrup
150 gm (1 cup) plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
60 gm desiccated coconut
60 gm (⅔ cup) rolled oats
150 gm milk chocolate, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 160ºC. Using an electric mixer, cream butter, sugar and golden syrup until pale and fluffy, then add flour, bicarbonate of soda, coconut and rolled oats and beat on slow speed until just combined.

Roll teaspoons of the mixture into balls and place onto baking paper lined oven trays. Leave a little room for spreading. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden. Cool biscuits on a wire rack. 

Melt chocolate in a heat proof bowl placed over a pan of simmering water. Cool to a thick consistency, then spread over the base of half the biscuits and sandwich with remaining biscuits. Biscuits will keep in airtight container for 5 days.



In some good news the gas supply to my building has been updated but in the process we lost these lovely old gas pipes. When I realised they were about to disappear I took a few snaps to remember them by. I know it's hard to believe but I've always liked these old pipes filled with character but unfortunately not enough gas to keep my oven working! Hopefully now the pipes have been upgraded I'll be able to make meringues again.

Another weekend is just around the corner, so until then

Jillian