Malteser Biscuits take our favourite malt covered chocolate balls and bake with them! Quick and easy to make with only 5 ingredients, they are the perfect sweet treat. You might also like to think of them as Malteser Cookies nom nom.
Recipes like my Smarties Cookies, Cornflake Biscuits and Anzac Biscuits are all about oven baked yum!
My Malteser Rocky Road and Malteser Fudge take these delicious malt balls and bake with them. My cookies recipes are in the one spot.
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Recipe Highlights
Everything that you will come to know and love about this recipe is shown in the summary points below:
- Quick to bake: these biscuits only take 12 to 15 mins in the oven.
- Easy to find, everyday ingredients: none of which are highly perishable. So you can shop from the cupboard and not leave the house!
- No egg, no milk and no granulated sugar: this recipe uses simple ingredients without a huge long list of them!
- No baking powder needed: save measuring and adding this as it is not needed for the recipe.
- Soft, chewy textured biscuits: the biscuits are not dry or too firm. They have a short bread like texture.
- Made in advance: these biscuits store well in an air tight container. So you can make them, have them at home and be ready when people drop in.
- Lunch box fillers: these cookies are great to add to your kid's lunch box for a special treat during the day.
Top Tip 1: Make these for a bake sale as they won't take hours the night before you need them and will be popular with everyone!
Ingredients
I have taken the photo below for you so that you have a visual guide as to what you need to get from the shops. For exact quantities and detailed how to instructions, please scroll to the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
As you can see, the recipe calls for:
- Butter: regular, unsalted butter is the best choice here. If you chop it into small pieces you will find it much easier to work with than a big wad of butter. It will also cream easier if it is at room temperature.
- Icing sugar: also known as confectioner's sugar. It is a soft, powdered form of sugar often used to dust and decorate baked goods. This delivers better results when sifted.
- Plain Flour: As above with the icing sugar, we need to sift this ingredient. Doing so removes any lumps, bumps and ensures consistency when we mix the biscuit batter together.
- Vanilla Essence: often I use the cheaper alternative, imitation vanilla and you can too. As we use such a small quantity, it really doesn't make a difference.
- Maltesers: these are the crunchy malt covered chocolate balls that we know and love. In USA there is a similar product although not identical called Whoppers.
Top Tip 2: The butter will be easiest to cream when it is at room temperature. So grab it out as a starting point so when you come to use it, it will have softened.
Instructions
Here at the step by step instructions to make the biscuits. You will need hand held electric beaters or a mix master to start with.
- Cream butter with electric beaters (Photo 1)
- Add vanilla essence (Photo 2)
- Add sifted icing sugar (Photo 3)
- Beat till sugar, butter and vanilla is combined (Photo 4)
We cream the butter, then add the sugar and sift the icing sugar into the bowl.
If the butter is very firm, it is a good idea to have a grip on the side of the bowl so that it doesn't slip and slide over the bench top.
Top Tip 3: There is no need to use a mix master, so if you don't have one, hand held electric beaters are totally fine. (Don't run out and buy one for this one recipe).
- Add sifted flour (Photo 5)
- Beat to combine (Photo 6)
- Use a spatula or clean hands to firm up biscuit mixture (Photo 7)
- Crush the Maltesers in a food processor (Photo 8)
How to Make Malteser Biscuits
When using the beaters and adding the flour, you will notice that the mixture is combined but not in one solid batter. So use a spatula or clean hands, to knead this for about 2 minutes and it will be perfect.
If you don't have a food processor, you can add the Maltesers to a zip lock bag, squeeze the air out and then use the back of a spoon to crush. The results will be quite similar.
Top Tip 4: A mini cookie scoop is handy as the biscuits will all end up the same size and you have your hands in the batter slightly less.
- Combine biscuit dough (knead a little) (Photo 9)
- Scoop into individual portions (Photo 10)
- Push the top of the biscuits till they are slightly flattened (Photo 11)
- Top with crushed Malteser pieces (Photo 12)
Best Malteser Biscuits Recipe
The biscuit dough will be soft, buttery and will form one solid ball when kneaded and combined.
If you don't have a cookie scoop, you can use teaspoons and roll the mixture into balls in the palms of your hands.
Top Tip 5: The biscuits will spread when they are baking. So separate them from each other so that they don't spread and bump into each other.
A pre heated oven will ensure that the biscuits only take 12 to 15 minutes to cook.
Don't worry if they seem a little soft when they look ready, as they will firm up as they cool down.
Allow them to cool slightly on the baking trays, as if you move them to quickly to the cooling rack they can break apart.
Once the cookies have cooled somewhat, a silicon flat utensil can be push under each and them transferred to a wire cooling rack.
They will harden as they cool.
Serving Suggestions
A steaming pot of hot tea, a strong cup of coffee or chocolate milk, biscuit in hand and you are set!
These are the homemade sweet treat that you will come to know and love.
Simply pop on a plate to serve or wrap in lolly bags with a pretty ribbon if you want to give as gifts or take to a bake sale or morning tea.
How to Guide
How to Store
Store in an air tight, sealed container.
They don't need to be refrigerated.
They will last 3 -4 days (if the temptation to eat them doesn't succeed 🙂 )
How to Freeze
You can freeze this recipe.
It is best to make the dough, omit the Maltesers, then wrap it tightly in cling wrap.
Once ready to use, remove from the freezer, place in the fridge and let thaw.
Then add the crushed Maltesers and bake.
How to Reheat
The biscuits won't need to be reheated after they have been baked.
Serve at room temperature.
Expert Tips
Here are my top tips and tricks so that you can master the recipe from the 1st time and every following time:
- Ensure the oven is pre heated.
- Silicon baking mats are my preference over baking paper or alfoil.
- Once you have used the beaters, you will then need to use clean hands or a spatula to knead the batter (push it together).
- A mini cookie scoop will ensure the biscuits are a uniform size.
- Let them cool before moving them off the baking tray! They are soft and fragile so need to cool, firm and then you can move them.
- Store in an air tight container.
Substitutions and Variations
Here are my switch in out up and downs that you might like to consider:
- Using vanilla extract instead of vanilla essence is FINE!
- Try a gluten free flour instead of the plain flour.
- Use dark chocolate Maltesers instead of milk chocolate.
- Try white malt balls or white chocolate Maltesers or a combination of both!
- Nuttelex: I haven't tried it for this recipe and the Maltesers are not vegan as they have chocolate. However using Nuttelex and an alternative for the Maltesers (Maltybites) would result in similar biscuits.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Maltesers honeycomb or biscuit?
Maltesers are often thought of as being honeycomb as the texture of the malt balls is like that of honeycomb.
Despite this, Maltesers are not honeycomb.
What chocolate is in Maltesers?
Regular milk chocolate is the smooth coating surrounding the malt balls.
Are Malteser biscuits vegetarian?
Yes, Malteser Biscuits are suitable for vegetarians.
What are American Maltesers called?
In American, Whoppers are the closest similar candy to Maltesers.
What brand of chocolate is Maltesers?
Maltesers are owned and made by the Mars Incorporated brand.
Why is it called a Malteser?
Maltesers are marketed as being 'the lighter way to enjoy chocolate'.
As the malt ball is soft and dissolves in your mouth and the milk chocolate coating is quite thin, they are 'lighter' than a solid ball of chocolate.
How many calories are in a Malteser Biscuit?
There are 162kcal calories in each Malteser Biscuits.
This recipe makes approximately 24 individual biscuits.
More Sweet Treats
Getting your bake on is such a fun and enjoyable thing to do. You might like to give any or each of the following recipes a go and 'bake on':
- Nutella Biscuits
- Kit Kat Biscuits
- Mars Bar Cookies
- Cherry Ripe Balls
- Milky Way Biscuits
- Coffee Slice
- Chocolate Caramel Slice
- Rocky Road Cakes
- Mars Bar Cakes
Get your biscuit bake on my friends, from my kitchen to yours!
Adrianne xx
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📖 Recipe
Malteser Biscuits
Equipment
- 2 Baking Trays
- 2 Baking Mats
- 1 Large mixing bowl
- 1 Spatula
- 1 Mini Cookie Scoop
- 1 Food processor
- 1 Cooling rack
Ingredients
- 250 grams butter unsalted, chopped into small pieces, Note 1
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence Note 2
- 1 cup icing sugar sifted
- 2 cups plain flour sifted, Note 3
- 140 grams Maltesers Note 4
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C / 350-375°F / Gas Mark 4-5.
- Line 2 baking trays with silicon baking mats.
- Add butter to a large mixing bowl. Use electric beaters to beat till soft and creamy. Add vanilla essence and beat till combined.
- Add sifted icing sugar and continue to use beaters to mix in, then add sifted flour and beat till combined.
- Use a spatular or your hands, to knead the mixture till soft and firm.
- Add Maltesers to food processor and pulse till roughly chopped into pieces.
- Use a mini cookie scoop to portion the biscuit mixture across the baking trays, with 12 biscuits per tray.
- Bake for 12 to 15 mins.
- Allow to cool slightly, then use an oven mit and flat utenstil to transfer cookies onto wire rack to cool. Store in an air tight container.
Notes
- Note 1 The butter will be easier to work with if you chop it into smaller pieces to start with. Otherwise you are trying to cream a big solid block of butter.
- Note 2 You can use the cheaper imitation vanilla to the same amount as an alternative.
- Note 3 You can use a gluten free plain flour here if you wish. And a gluten free switch in or gluten free brand of malt balls.
- Note 4 You can grab a share packet of these. If the quantity is not exactly the same as specified in the recipe card, it won't make too much difference.
Barbara says
Great recipe and easy to make.
Adrianne says
Thank-you Barbara!