Edd Kimber's Custard Creams

I seem to be going down a nostalgic baking route just lately, and so making custard creams is no exception. There is something just so simple but yet totally satisfyingly good about these classic biscuits. I can always remember that at Christmas time, when I was little,  my mum would always buy that certain biscuit selection box named 'Family Circle'... I know cringe right - do you remember that certain box too? 
Filled with the definitive's such as the bourbon cream, happy faces, milk chocolate digestive, jam sandwich creams and not forgetting the choc chip cookie! 

I'm with Edd here, for the simple fact that he explains to us (on his blog), how homemade custard creams will never replicate the same texture as shop-bought ones. The difference being that commercial cookies rarely use butter. But stuff with butter always tastes better right?! So that's why we stick with the butter (hand in hand), but they still taste pretty damn good, for the better even!

I would also just like to give you a few hinters on how I found Edd's recipe. 

Firstly, when Edd states 'if the butter is very cold you may need to bring it together in mass by hand' I most certainly needed to. When you pour out what looks like a heap of breadcrumbs onto your worktop, you really just need to stick at it and work those bingo wings (if you have any that is?) until, after what feels like watching paint dry...it FINALLY comes together. Yesss! 

Next thing, buttercream filling. It's almost not a buttercream because it's that flippin' stiff. Edd mentions in an edit- 'you may want to add a little milk to loosen it slightly'. Let me tell you...you most definitely will need to as it's that hard to spread. I did go to the effort of putting it into a piping bag too, however I later decided that it just wasn't worth it trying to squeeze it out. So instead I just used a palette knife to spread the filling onto the biscuit. But heck, does it taste good! Ahh the cooks's perks of getting your fingers covered in the stuff as you precariously un-fill the piping bag.

 
Word of warning! The biscuits are very delicate to handle and can easily snap into two (not saying that some of mine did) shhh!! So just have the odd spare waiting if you do, it's handy if you manage to cut out an odd number of biscuits, as don't forget you technically need two to make one, (if that makes any sense?) 

Custard Creams

Ingredients (makes about 15 finished biscuits with a 4cm round cutter):

225g plain flour

50g custard powder
30g icing sugar
175g unsalted butter, chilled and diced
1/4 tsp vanilla bean paste or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Filling:

50g unsalted butter, room temperature
200g icing sugar
2 tbsp custard powder
Edit: You may need a little milk

Head over to Edd Kimber's blog here for the method.