Squiggle Top Cookies – Pihikete Honikoma me te Tiakarete
When I went to translate Squiggles in to te reo Māori (the Māore language), I really didn’t know how to do that. So, the Māori translation is simply Hokey Pokey and Chocolate Biscuits. Whatever you want to call these little morsels, they are delicious and hit every note of nostalgia to me. These were always are part of our birthday celebrations growing up and the Hokey Pokey ones are always my favourite! Although they look like a lot of work, if you use store brought honeycomb, these are so easy! They start with a simple shortbread pihikete (biscuit), a simple buttercream is whipped and added on top, honeycomb is pressed in and chocolate finishes it off.
What are some tips when working with tiakarete (chocolate)?
There are a few things to consider. Gently melt chocolate at all times, especially if you are coating something and want the chocolate to be beautiful once it is set. I am not one to temper my chocolate to a perfect temperature but I do like to gently melt it from room temperature in a heat proof boil that sits on a pot of barely simmering water. This gives the chocolate time to melt gently. Once it is 90 percent melted, remove from the heat and gently stir until the remaining chocolate is melted. It is now ready to use. When you are dipping the pihikete (biscuits), work quickly. Use a fork and a spoon. Use the fork for dipping the biscuit in to chocolate, scoop it up and give it a shake. Now use the spoon the drizzle the chocolate over the top. Give it a good shake to remove excess chocolate and gently remove the excess from the bottom of the biscuit. Then place on baking paper to set on the bench. I don’t like them to set in the fridge as the rapid change in temperature can often leave weird patches on the chocolate. Remember, don’t take it all too seriously. Baking is fun and a place to play!
Squiggle Top Cookies – Pihikete Honikoma me te Tiakarete
Ingredients
The Biscuits – Ngā Pihikete
- 80 g pata kūteretere (softened butter)
- ¼ C puehu huka (icing sugar)
- He kini tote – a pinch of salt
- 1 tsp iho hūperei (vanilla essence)
- 1 ¼ C puehu parāoa noa (plain flour)
- 3 tbsp miraka (milk)
The Golden Syrup Butter – Te Pata Mīere Koura
- 90 g pata kūteretere (softened butter)
- ¼ C puehu huka (icing sugar)
- 3 tbsp mīere koura (golden syrup)
- 1 tsp wanira (vanilla)
- He kini tote – a pinch of salt
The Hokey Pokey/Honeycomb – Te Honikoma
- 80 g honikoma (honeycomb, store brought – I used Kāpiti but crunchie bars also work)
The Chocolate – Te Tiakarete
- 250 g tiakarete honikoma (hokeypokey chocolate, Whittakers – not sponsored)
- 100 g tiakarete (chocolate, I used sea salt and caramel brittle because I love the crunch but use what you have).
- 2 tbsp 2 Tbsp noni (oil)
- 2 tbsp kōkō (cocoa)
- 50 g 50g tiakarete mā (white chocolate, I used buttermilk but use what you have).
Instructions
The Biscuits – Ngā Pihikete
- Pre-heat the oven to 170 °C.
- Add the pata kūteretere (softened butter), puehu huka (icing sugar) and tote (salt) into a bowl and whip for a few minutes.
- Add the iho hūperei (vanilla), puehu parāoa noa (plain flour) and miraka (milk). Mix together with your hands for a couple of minutes until you get a smooth dough. Do not knead it too much, you are just bringing the ingredients together.
- Sprinkle a large piece of baking paper with flour. Roll the dough on to the baking paper until it is around 3mm thick.
- Cut the cookie shapes out with a 5cm cookie cutter (with a crinkle edge if you want the true squiggle shape). These biscuit don't spread too much so only need 2cm in between each one.
- Once you have used up the dough, remove the excess. Roll the excess dough on to another piece of baking paper and cut them out too. You should get around 25-30 cookies.
- Refrigerate the cookies on the trays for 20 minutes. Then bake for 12 minutes in a 170 degree oven. Leave to cool.
The Golden Syrup Butter – Te Pata Mīere Koura
- Add the pata kūteretere (softened butter), puehu huka (icing sugar) mīere koura (golden syrup), wanira (vanilla) and tote (salt) into a bowl. Whip for five minutes until light and fluffy.
- Pipe or spread a blob on to each of the 25 cooled pihikete (biscuits). Make sure it doesn't spill too much over the sides of the biscuits.
The Hokey Pokey/Honeycomb – Te Honikoma
- Cut the honikoma into chunks and press in to butter filling on top of the biscuits. I like to press it it in to all of the butter mix to make it nice and high.
The Chocolate – Te Tiakarete
- Melt the tiakarete honikoma, (hokey pokey chocolate) tiakarete parauri (dark chocolate), noni (oil) and kōkō (cocoa) in a heat proof bowl over a pot over barely simmering water. Gently melt 90 percent of it, remove from the heat and stir gently until it is all melted.
- Dip each biscuit in to the chocolate using a fork to dip it in and shake off the excess. Then use a spoon to drizzle it over the top.
- Place on to baking paper. Allow to set at room temperature for 20 minutes or so.
- Melt the tiakarete mā (white chocolate) and add it to a piping bag with a fine, round nozzle (you can also use a teaspoon).
- Pipe V's of the tiakarete mā (white chocolate) on to each pihikete (biscuit) to give that squiggle vibe!
- Allow the pihikete (biscuits) to completely set on the bench before storing in a sealed container in the fridge. You could also buy a second hand cookie tin and send it to someone you love!
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