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    Home » British

    Bourbon Biscuit Recipe

    AU$0.20 | £0.08 per biscuit
    By Robyn | Published: May 2, 2021 | Modified: Jun 24, 2020

    TO THE RECIPE
    pin for bourbon biscuits, easy recipe showing a stack of biscuits at the top, and a bottom picture of biscuits being iced with buttercream

    This Bourbon biscuit recipe with two tender, melt in the mouth chocolate biscuits and chocolate buttercream filling, is an easy and delicious way to enjoy the iconic English biscuit. These chocolate sandwich biscuits are a tasty addition to the biscuit tin, and will become a firm family favourite!

    angled shot of bourbon biscuits stacked side by side with a spoon of chocolate buttercream to their right
    Jump to:
    • What are Bourbon Biscuits?
    • Why we love this recipe
    • Biscuit Ingredients
    • Butter vs Margarine in this Recipe
    • How to Make Homemade Bourbon Biscuits
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • My tips for this recipe
    • Storage
    • More Baking Recipes for you
    • More British Recipes
    • Bourbon Biscuit Recipe

    What are Bourbon Biscuits?

    Bourbon biscuits, also known as Bourbon creams, are a classic English biscuit. Two chocolate biscuits are sandwiched together with a chocolate buttercream filling. They go very well with a a cup of tea – either dipped in or served on the side – as well as with a glass of milk.

    Despite their name, there is no bourbon in the biscuits, they are alcohol free.

    Whilst you can easily buy them if you live in the UK, there is nothing better than a homemade bourbon biscuit; and here is the recipe to show you how to make them!

    Why we love this recipe

    • Egg free biscuit – which makes it a great recipe for those with an egg allergy (alongside my egg free chocolate cake)
    • Easy chocolate biscuit recipe – one bowl, 5 ingredient dough.
    • Classic British biscuit recipe – so reminds me and Mr Jones of home 🙂
    • The biscuits transport well, making them a great recipe for picnics and lunchboxes, or if you want to bake them to take in to work (and these chocolate biscuits have been taken to Mr Jones’s work many, many times!)
    stack of homemade bourbon biscuits on concrete tray with bowl of chocolate buttercream behind and a biscuit on plate infront

    Biscuit Ingredients

    • Plain flour
    • Cocoa powder – dutch processed for extra richness
    • Granulated sugar
    • Milk chocolate – for the buttercream, you can also use dark 70% chocolate, which I like, but the rest of my family prefer the buttercream made with milk chocolate.
    • Icing sugar – aka confectioners sugar.
    • Butter or margarine – if you use butter in this recipe, the biscuits will come out of the oven looking different to if you make them with margarine.
    Overhead view of ingredients needed for making bourbon biscuits, all in individual bowls

    Butter vs Margarine in this Recipe

    In some baking recipes you can get away with substituting butter for margarine, and vice versa. In this recipe however, they give different results. They both taste amazing – the main thing in my book! – but the texture and appearance is slightly different.

    • Butter (photo on the left): The biscuits have spread slightly and the edges aren’t as straight and neat (not that my biscuits are ever the neatest!). They have a crisper texture.
    • Margarine (photo on the right): The biscuits have straighter edges and have kept their shape. They have a softer texture.

    Note: The butter ones are darker due to being made with Dutch cocoa powder as opposed to regular cocoa powder in the margarine ones, the colour has nothing to do with the fat used.

    If you are after a traditional English bourbon biscuit, I would recommend using margarine. My Australian taste testing neighbours liked the butter bourbon biscuits but the English taste testers preferred the biscuits made with margarine.

    a collage to show the difference between bourbon biscuits made with butter and margarine.

    How to Make Homemade Bourbon Biscuits

    For detailed recipe please see recipe card below.

    1. Mix the flour, cocoa powder and sugar.
    2. Add the butter or margarine.
    3. Mix together until the mixture forms a smooth paste.
    4. It will look very crumbly at first but use your hands and keep mixing!
    5. Roll out out the dough.
    6. Cut into an even number of shapes with a cutter or a knife.
    7. Place the biscuits on a lined baking tin.
    8. Carefully press the blunt end of a skewer along the longer edges of the biscuits for decoration. Bake.
    9. Once cool, make the chocolate buttercream
    10. When the biscuits are cold, make the chocolate buttercream bu mixing butter with icing sugar.
    11. Add melted chocolate.
    12. Mix until smooth.
    13. Place a spoonful of buttercream on half the biscuits, and sandwich them together.
    a collage showing steps 1-6 of making bourbon biscuits. Mixing the ingredients, kneading them, rolling the dough and cutting into rectangles
    collage of steps 7-12 of making bourbon biscuits: pricking the holes, the chocolate buttercream ingredients and mixing, and topping the biscuits with the buttercream

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Do bourbon biscuits contain alcohol?

    No they don’t!

    Why do Bourbon biscuits have holes?

    Apparently, McVities, the company that makes them commercially, explains the holes let steam out, which prevents the biscuits from cracking.

    Why is it called a bourbon biscuit?

    It is named after the former French Royal House of Bourbon, although originally they were called Creola biscuits.

    Do bourbon biscuits contain egg?

    No they don’t.

    My tips for this recipe

    • Keep mixing the dough – it doesn’t seem crumbly at first, and you wonder how on earth it will hold together, but it does! If it doesn’t come together, even after mixing well with your hands, add half a teaspoon of milk.
    • If you are short on time, I find a cookie cutter much quicker than measuring and cutting the dough. Whilst the biscuits are traditionally rectangular, I often make them square or round.
    • Transferring biscuits to the tray: slide the spatula under the long side of the rectangle rather than the short one to help keep the rectangular shape of the biscuit.
    • Don’t attempt to fill the biscuits with the chocolate buttercream until they are completely cold, otherwise the buttercream will melt and result in a bit of a mess.
    overhead photo of a sidestack of bourbon biscuits running from top to bottom of picture, to show the buttercream filling

    Storage

    Store in an airtight container and eat within 3 days. The buttercream causes them to go soft after this time. But honestly, they won’t last that long!

    More Baking Recipes for you

    • Chocolate Fudge Slice
    • Lemon Biscuits
    • Maltesers Rocky Road
    • Nanaimo Bars

    More British Recipes

    • Chelsea Buns
    • Eton Mess
    • Leftover Lamb Shepherd’s Pie
    • Cheese Welsh Cakes

    This recipe was originally published in May 2020. It has since been updated with better images and more informative text. The recipe remains the same.

    Bourbon Biscuit Recipe

    Author: Robyn

    This bourbon biscuit recipe makes the best homemade bourbons! Two chocolate biscuits sandwiched together with chocolate buttercream make this classic English biscuit jar favourite!
    5 from 6 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 12 mins
    Cook Time 9 mins
    Course baking, Snack, Snacks | Lunchbox
    Cuisine British
    Servings 10 biscuits
    Calories 162 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    Biscuit Dough

    • 100g (⅔ c) plain flour ($0.12 / £0.05)
    • 25 g cocoa powder ($0.27 / £0.13)
    • 40g (⅙ c) granulated sugar ($0.05 / £0.03)
    • 85 g butter/margarine *please see notes below ($0.48 / £0.25)
    • splash milk, if needed ($0.01 / £0.01)

    Chocolate Buttercream

    • 30g (1 oz) milk chocolate ($0.75 / £0.15)
    • 20 g butter/margarine ($0.12 / £0.06)
    • 35g (¼ c) icing sugar ($0.13 / £0.07)

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat the oven to 180˚C/ 355 ˚F
    • Lightly grease a baking sheet.
    • Combine the flour, cocoa and sugar in a roomy mixing bowl.
    • Add the margarine and beat together until the mixture forms a smooth paste, it is easier to start off mixing with a spoon and then use your hands.
    • It will look very crumbly at first, but it will come together.
    • If it doesn't seem to be getting less crumbly, add ½ teaspoon of milk.
    • Bring the dough together to form a ball.
    • Place the dough in between 2 sheets of baking paper, and roll out out to a thickness of 4-5mm (.15" -.19")
    • Cut into an even number of shapes with a cutter or use a knife to cut rectangles 7cmx 3.5 cm (2.8" x 1.4")
    • Transfer to the prepared baking sheet.
    • If you want to add some decoration to the biscuits, carefully press the blunt end of a skewer along the longer edges of the biscuits, taking care not to press right through the dough.
    • Place in the oven and bake for 8-9 minutes.
    • Leave for a minute on the tin, and then move to a wire rack to finish cooling
    • When the biscuits are cold, make the chocolate buttercream.

    To Make the Buttercream

    • Melt the chocolate in the microwave or over a pan of boiling water.
    • Beat the butter/margarine until soft, then sift the sugar into it, and pour in melted chocolate. Mix to combine.
    • Spread a teaspoonful of the buttercream onto half the biscuits (taking care as they can be crumbly), then top with the other biscuits, moving around slightly to squidge the filling to the edges – not too much or the filling will escape!
    • Store in an airtight container.

    Notes

    Estimated costs: Australia $1.93. Per biscuit = $0.20 (using margarine)
    UK £0.75. Per biscuit = £0.08 (using margarine)
    America – I am yet to calculate the estimated ingredients costs to make this recipe in the US. If you would find it useful please contact me and I’ll get calculating 🙂 
    *Butter or margarine – if you use butter in this recipe, the biscuits will come out of the oven looking different to if you make them with margarine. Butter – will produce crispier biscuits that will spread slightly and the edges won’t keep their shape as much. Margarine – produces softer biscuits that keep their shape when baked. See image comparisons in the main body of the post above. They both taste delicious though 🙂
    Cocoa powder – dutch processed for extra richness
    Chocolate: You can swap 70% dark chocolate for the milk chocolate in the buttercream if you’d prefer. This makes a darker and richer chocolate filling, which I love, but younger family members didn’t enjoy so much.
    Cocoa powder – dutch processed for extra richness
    Icing sugar – aka confectioners sugar

    Nutrition

    Calories: 162kcalCarbohydrates: 18gProtein: 2gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 3gSodium: 100mgPotassium: 62mgFiber: 1gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 376IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 9mgIron: 1mg
    Keyword chocolate buttercream, egg free baking, eggless chocolate biscuit

    HAVE YOU MADE THIS RECIPE?

    I’d love to see your creation!

    Tag me! #atmrsjoneskitchen
    Tag me! @atmrsjoneskitchen

    Or just leave a comment below!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sarah says

      May 26, 2020 at 8:12 pm

      5 stars
      Yum, they look so much better than store brought ones! We have little ones who are egg free at mothers group and this looks like the perfect treat for our get togethers 🙂

      Reply
      • Robyn says

        May 28, 2020 at 7:50 am

        Thanks Sarah, these would be a great egg free biscuit to take to your group!

        Reply
    2. Sylvie says

      May 25, 2020 at 10:39 am

      5 stars
      What a treat! They would be so perfect with my afternoon tea. Cant wait to try them!

      Reply
      • Robyn says

        May 28, 2020 at 7:49 am

        They are the perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea Sylvie!

        Reply
    3. Adrianne says

      May 24, 2020 at 6:42 pm

      5 stars
      These Bourbon Biscuits look fabulous Robyn!! I love the contrast in colour between the biscuit and the filling. I can’t wait to give these a go.

      Reply
      • Robyn says

        May 28, 2020 at 7:48 am

        Thanks Adrianne! The filling is lighter, but no less full of chocolate flavour 🙂

        Reply
    4. Sally says

      May 24, 2020 at 5:29 pm

      5 stars
      The biscuits look so delicious, and I love the idea of dunking one in my coffee! Funny how they are called bourbon biscuits but with no bourbon in them!

      Reply
      • Robyn says

        May 28, 2020 at 7:47 am

        Thanks Sally! They go really well with a cup of coffee – I have researched this many times! I know, a little misleading without the addition of bourbon!

        Reply

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    Robyn Jones, Recipe Developer & Food Photographer

    Robyn Jones

    Recipe Developer | Food Photographer | Writer

    Hi! I'm Robyn, a toddler mum with a passion for all things food! Having moved internationally 7 times in the past 12 years I have developed a love of making international recipes into family friendly ones you can make in your own home, with local ingredients; wherever you live!

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