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Classic Romany Creams Recipe
5 from 87 votes

Classic Romany Creams Recipe

Classic Romany Creams are cocoa-flavored cookies with a tender texture that balances sweetness, cocoa, and subtle coconut. The dough combines cocoa powder, butter, sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, and desiccated coconut, creating a chocolatey biscuit with a slightly chewy coconut bite. These biscuits can be cut into shapes or rolled into balls for a textured cookie.

Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
fridge time:
30 mins
Total Time
1 hr 5 mins
Servings: 30 sandwiched cookies
Calories: 178 kcal
Course: Dessert, Snacks
Cuisine: South African

Ingredients

  • 120 millilitre water boiled
  • 5 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 225 grams butter at room temperature. You can use salted butter, just leave out the ½ teaspoon salt, unsalted
  • 220 grams caster sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 350 grams all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 120 grams desiccated coconut medium grain coconut, not fine
  • 200 grams milk chocolate or dark chocolate

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Mix the cocoa powder with the boiled water until dissolved, then set it aside to cool slightly.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, add the room-temperature butter, caster sugar and vanilla extract.
  3. Using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy, around 2-3 minutes.
  4. Add the cocoa powder mixture to the creamed butter and sugar mixture. Beat until well incorporated, approximately 1-2 minutes. Don't worry if it looks slightly curdled at first, adding the flour will resolve that.
  5. Sift the all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt into the bowl with the cocoa mixture.
  6. Next, add the desiccated coconut to the mixture.
  7. Using a rubber spatula or a large spoon, fold the ingredients together until mostly combined.
  8. Set the spatula aside and use your hands to bring the dough together until well combined.
  9. Tip the dough onto a large piece of clingfilm. Shape it into a rough, flat circle of approximately 2.5cm (1") thickness. Cover it completely with the cling film and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.
  10. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F. Line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.
  11. Sprinkle some flour on the work surface and roll out the chilled dough to a thickness of about 6mm.See note 1
  12. Take a fork and scrape rough lines across the entire surface of the rolled-out dough. Also, scrape lines in the opposite direction to create a rough, textured, criss-cross pattern.
  13. Use a round 5cm diameter cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. For the Romany Cream shape, use your fingers to gently pinch the sides of each cut-out cookie into more of an oval.See note 2
  14. Place the cut-out cookies on a lined baking sheet or cookie tray, leaving approximately 2.5cm (1") between each cookie. If the trays are not going into the oven immediately, place them in the fridge. This helps the cookies retain their shape during baking.
  15. Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 14-15 minutes or until they achieve a dark, golden brown colour. See note 3
  16. Allow the cookies to cool on their trays for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack.
  17. Pair up the cookies for sandwiching by matching similar shapes and sizes.
  18. Break the chocolate into smaller pieces and place it in a small microwaveable bowl. Melt the chocolate in 30-second intervals, stirring between each, until fully melted.
  19. After melting the chocolate, let it sit for around 5 minutes to firm up slightly. This prevents the chocolate from being too runny and running off the cookies.
  20. Spread a teaspoon of melted chocolate on one cookie, leaving its paired-up friend without chocolate, as it will be the top half of the sandwich.
  21. For best results, spread chocolate on several cookies first before sandwiching them. Allowing the chocolate to set a bit prevents it from oozing out once sandwiched.
  22. Once sandwiched, allow the chocolate filling to be fully set before handling the cookies or transferring them to cookie tins. This ensures they maintain their shape and integrity.

Notes

  • Sprinkle a small amount of flour when rolling out dough to prevent sticking but avoid using too much to prevent floury baked surfaces.
  • Feel free to use any cookie cutter shape or roll dough into balls and flatten with a fork for variation.
  • If rolling dough thinner than 6mm, reduce baking time and start checking at around 12 minutes.

Nutrition Information

Calories 178kcal (9%) Carbohydrates 23g (8%) Protein 4g (8%) Fat 9g (14%) Saturated Fat 4g (20%) Polyunsaturated Fat 1g (6%) Monounsaturated Fat 3g (15%) Sodium 58mg (2%) Potassium 109mg (2%) Fiber 2g (8%) Sugar 12g (24%) Vitamin C 0.1mg (0%) Calcium 17mg (2%) Iron 1mg (6%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 30 sandwiched cookies

Amount Per Serving

Calories 178

% Daily Value*

Calories 178kcal 9%
Carbohydrates 23g 8%
Protein 4g 8%
Fat 9g 14%
Saturated Fat 4g 20%
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g 6%
Monounsaturated Fat 3g 15%
Sodium 58mg 2%
Potassium 109mg 2%
Fiber 2g 8%
Sugar 12g 24%
Vitamin C 0.1mg 0%
Calcium 17mg 2%
Iron 1mg 6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.