Viennese Whirls Recipe
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Meet Viennese Whirls! The cookies you didn’t know you needed, well I guess you do now. These Viennese fancy cookies are right up your alley if you like dense but tender butter cookies.
Viennese Whirls are piped butter cookies sandwiched together with buttercream and raspberry jam. One bite and you’ll be hooked on them.
YES, it’s Biscuit Week
That’s right it’s time for another Bake-Along recipe because we’re into Biscuit Week. And we all know, by now, those snappy little cookies in the UK are called Biscuits. So here we are with the Viennese Whirl.
The Bakes to Choose From
For our Current Bake-Along, Collection 4 on Netflix with Rav, Benjamina, Andrew, and Val, the bakes were:
- Signature Bake: 24 Iced Biscuits
- Technical Bake: Viennese Whirl(Also called a Viennese Fancy)
- Showstopper Bake: Gingerbread (NO!)
We chose the Viennese Whirls becuse they’re great biscuit to know how to make. You don’t need much in the way of special tools, and they’re tender buttery taste!
This Butter Cookie Recipe
There are a couple of differences between MY Viennese Whirls and Mary Berry’s Recipe. Don’t get me wrong though, this is just a version of her recipe.
For Mary Berry’s Viennese Whirls Recipe, you need to MAKE Raspberry Jam. I skipped that step and used some I had put up last summer. It worked just fine and they turned out just like the time I made them WITH homemade jam. You can even use store-bought Raspberry Jam. When I HAVE to buy jam I buy Bonne Mamam, it’s SO tasty, like homemade!
They ALSO call for TWO-star tips for piping the cookies AND the buttercream. I didn’t have two so I skipped it for the buttercream and they turned out fine.
One more difference that’s not TOO important I put the buttercream on the cookie first. Then went in with a teaspoon of jam, pressed the spoon lightly into the buttercream, and slid the jam onto the frosting. When I made them before I put the jam on the bottom and then had a HECK of a time getting the buttercream to lay on the jam nicely, it just squished out.
What Size Star Tip Do I Need for This Recipe?
Mary’s recipe calls for a Large and a Medium Star tip. No sizes, no clues just that. As you read above I skipped the medium Star Tip because I didn’t have it. I was kind of clueless on the size and decided to USE what I had on hand. I had a Wilton 4B Star Tip so that’s what I used. The star tips they used in the tent were a little different than this tip. That’s OK!
It’s not THAT important. I would say don’t go smaller than the rough 1/2 inch opening of the Wilton 4B it will be harder to pipe!
What if I don’t have a Wilton 4B Star Tip?
No big deal ANY 1/2 inch or so tip will work. You don’t NEED a star tip to make these, it’s just to look pretty. And if you don’t have ANY 1/2 inch tips you could in a pinch use the collar you drop inside the piping bag as your tip. OR use a disposable bag cut to a 1/2 inch opening. I hope that help!
What you need to Make these cookies:
- A mixer, either a stand mixer or a hand mixer would work, but you need to BEAT this cookie dough until creamy, I used the KitchenAid Paddle with a Spatula, it scrapes the sides while it’s mixing–HANDY!
- Flour
- Very soft butter
- Powdered Sugar
- Raspberry Jam-the original recipe has you MAKE jam which is great but it’s as easy to use a good homemade jam
- Piping Bags
- A large star tip for piping the cookies-the original recipe ALSO called for piping the buttercream with a star tip but since I didn’t have a second one I just put it on with a round tip, you can use EITHER!
- Parchment Paper
- Baking Sheets
- Corn Starch
Other GBBO Biscuits
Viennese Whirls
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 1/10 cup butter softened, 250 grams
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar 50 grams
- 1 .88 cups all-purpose flour 225 grams
- 1/4 cup cornstarch 25 grams
- pinch salt
- 1/2 Cup Raspberry Jam
Buttercream
- 7 TBSP butter softened, 100grams
- 1 3/4 cup powdered sugar 200 grams
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- preheat the oven to 375˚
- line two baking sheets with parchment, draw 28 1 1/2 inch circles on the parchment, and then flip it over so you don’t get it on your cookies–these are piping guides you don’t HAVE to pipe with them
- beat the butter and powdered sugar for the cookies together until light and fluffy
- add the flour, cornstarch, and a pinch of salt to the bowl and beat again until the dough is very light
- put it in a piping bag fitted with the large star tip-really any size tip will work here the opening on mine is less than an inch and it worked well
- pipe 28 whirls on your prepared baking sheets, just pipe a circle and then make sure the center is filled in
- bake the cookie for 10-12 minutes, take them out before they brown up, don’t let them burn
- cool on the baking sheets
- meanwhile whip the butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla together until light and fluffy
- load the buttercream in a piping bag fitted with whatever tip you want to use
- when your cookies are completely cool set them in pairs according to size and shape
- then pipe a generous dollop of buttercream on the bottom halves
- top with a scoop of jam
- gently press the top on and set on a serving plate, be careful these cookies are VERY DELICATE and will be crushed easily
Thank you so much for the American measurements! I love the GBBO show and probably have watched every episode a half dozen times, possibly way more. I have wanted to make these for so long, but couldn’t find a recipe with American measurements. I will subscribe!