These viennese whirls are a delicious take on a traditional British Biscuit. These delectable cookies are filled with raspberry jam and buttercream for a treat you can't resist.

I was rummaging through an old recipe book a few weeks ago and came upon an interesting sounding dessert recipe called viennese whirls. I had never, ever heard of such a thing, but they sounded delicious.

Two cookies (biscuits) sandwiched together with raspberry or strawberry jam, it said. So, I looked them up online to see if this was even something people still made. I was pleasantly surprised... they do, and now they have buttercream icing added to the jam (my original recipe did not include this).

These cookies contain incredibly simple ingredients that most people have laying around. I was glad I had the ingredients because I had to make them.

When I made them the first time, I only ended up with 3 measly sandwiches. Not near enough for our family of 5 to enjoy, so I doubled the recipe and still wound up with spectacular results.

These are very simple to make. A lot of recipes I have found go to the trouble of piping the cookies out at a particular size, I just eyeballed it. And it worked amazingly well. If they don't pipe out right, no biggie, you can just put them back in the bag and start over.

Converting Viennese whirls to American measurements

Since these cookies are predominantly British, the recipes are all by weight. Which is great if you have a kitchen scale. Weighing your ingredients is never a bad idea. In fact, a lot of recipes turn out better if you do.

That being said, I know not everyone has a kitchen scale. Not everyone wants to have a kitchen scale. And if you see these cookies, you might not want to wait to get said kitchen scale.

I'm happy to report that you can, despite what some people say, convert the weights to American measurements and not have too much of a problem. I made this recipe several times and measured things out by weighing them and putting them into the corresponding measuring cups. I reflected those measurements in the recipe below.

Heck, my original recipe just said "a few drops of vanilla essence" so I took a guess and added what I thought was appropriate and it worked out amazingly well. And the buttercream? Best I've ever made in my life, hands down, I'll never make it another way again.

how to make Viennese whirls

Like I said, these cookies are really easy to make. I found several tutorials online that went to the trouble of making templates to pipe the cookies onto. You don't really have to do all of that.

A trick I've noticed with this recipe is to make sure your butter is incredibly soft. You don't want it melted by any means, but leaving it out for a while to get nice and room temp soft is your best bet.

You'll begin by creaming together your butter and some powdered sugar. Add in your vanilla and then gradually add your flour to the butter mixture making sure you mix well between each addition.

How to pipe Viennese whirls

The next step is to pipe your dough out onto a cookie sheet. It doesn't need greased, you don't need a template or anything crazy, just a medium sized star tip and a bag.

I surprisingly possess a medium star tip, I did not, however possess a pastry bag. So, I improvised with a zip loc bag and a pair of scissors. It worked well.

The best part of piping out the dough is if it is too big, too small, doesn't look right, you can just throw the dough back into the bag and start over. No biggie.

To pipe these out, you'll want to start on the outside edge of the cookie and work your way into the center where you'll finish it up before moving on to the next one.

I made my cookies about an inch in diameter, just eyeball it, they'll be fine.

After that you'll bake them, cool them, fill them with delicious raspberry jam and some buttercream and enjoy their melt-in-your-mouth goodness.

Tips to make your Viennese whirls perfect

• Make sure your butter is nice and soft before you start making your cookies. Don't try to soften it on the stove or in the microwave. Just wait on the room to work its magic. It's worth the wait.
• Mix the powdered sugar and butter really well. You want it nice and light and fluffy. If it isn't, your mixture will wind up too stiff and you'll have trouble piping it.
• If your dough seems too soft, pipe it out and then put the cookies in the refrigerator before you put them in to bake. Only a few minutes....
• If you don't want to go to the trouble of piping the buttercream, you can simply spread it thickly onto the other cookie, no one will notice.

This is a great recipe and you'll want to make them again and again. I know they're going to be on our dessert menu in the near future.

Other Recipes You'll Love:

• Maple Pumpkin Pie
• Homemade Christmas Jam

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