snacks:

yo-yos

Published 13th August 2017

Are they yo-yos or are they melting moments – the eternal question. I have always called them yo-yos, so I thought I would consult Dr Google to find out the difference…Yo-yos are made with custard powder and melting moments use cornflour. This recipe uses both, but predominantly custard powder, therefore yo-yos they are!

Yo-yos have to be one of my favourite biscuits, but every time I make them, they disappear so quickly and it’s not because everyone has more than normal, it’s because a batch is deceiving. When you make these biscuits, you roll out all the balls, flatten them with a fork and think you have biscuits for weeks. But then, you have to make them into a ‘yo-yo’, halving the number of biscuits you have. So, we just make sure we savour them, and I get angry when people have more than 1 in a sitting as they take longer than your average biscuit to make.

 
 
Yoyto.jpg
 
 

Usually, I will make these with a fairly plain icing to join them together with some custard powder to make it a little fancy. If I have them, I will add the pulp of 1-2 passionfruit to add some zing. You can also add 1 tbs of cocoa to the icing for something different again.

Paired with a cup of tea, these are a great go to when the kids are asleep, and then I don’t have to share them (waste them) with the kids, saving me 2 biscuits! Don’t get me wrong, I do share them with the kids, and they love them…not surprisingly.

They will keep in an airtight container for about a week, if they last!

 
 
 
Yo-yos1.jpg
 
Yoyto.jpg

 

Ingredients:

Makes ~20 biscuits

  • 185g butter

  • 1/3 cup icing sugar

  • 2/3 cup custard powder minus 2 tbs

  • 2 tbs cornflour

  • 1 1/2 cups plain flour

Icing

  • 1 cup icing sugar

  • 1 tbs butter, melted

  • 1 tbs custard powder

  • Pulp of 1-2 passionfruit (optional)

  • Boiling water

 

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and line 2 baking trays with baking paper.

  2. Using a stand mixer, beat butter and icing sugar until creamy.

  3. Add custard powder and cornflour and beat to combine.

  4. Add flour 1/2 a cup at a time, beating between each addition until mixture comes together.

  5. Spoon out teaspoon sized balls and roll until smooth. Using a fork, press down the ball until less than 1cm thick. Place onto a baking tray and repeat with remaining mixture.

  6. Bake for ~ 15 minutes or until golden brown.

  7. Allow to cool completely. Once cool, pair biscuits up with similar sized biscuits

  8. To make the icing mixture, place the icing sugar and custard powder in a bowl, add melted butter, passionfruit pulp, if using, and mix to combine. Add boiling water as needed to make a thick icing mixture.

  9. Spread a small amount of icing onto 1 biscuit in each pair and sandwich the other one on top. Repeat with remaining biscuits.

    **This part can be tricky if your icing is too runny as the top biscuit will slide off the bottom, so if you have accidentally added too much water, add some more icing sugar to thicken up the mixture. Also, getting them to stay upright can be tricky, so once sandwiched together, place them straight into a container, using the side and the other biscuits to support one another while the icing sets.