Gypsy Creams

5 from 22 votes

Do you remember Gypsy Creams?

Those beautifully light, crunchy oat biscuits with a luscious vanilla cream filling, bring back a wave of nostalgia for many!

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Prep Time:20

Cook Time:15

fridge time:1

Total Time:1 35

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: British

Keyword: golden crunch creams, mcvities, discontinued biscuits, sandwich cookies, oat cookies, vanila cookies

Servings: sandwiched cookies

Calories: 298kcal

Ingredients

For the biscuits

225 grams unsalted butter softened to room temperature
120 grams caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon golden syrup like Lyle's Golden Syrup
1 tablespoon boiled water
200 grams all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
½ teaspoon salt
125 grams oats

For the vanilla filling

100 grams unsalted butter softened to room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
200 grams icing sugar
1-2 teaspoons milk (if needed)

Instructions

Make the biscuits

Prepare a couple of baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, add the room-temperature butter and caster sugar.
225 grams unsalted butter, 120 grams caster sugar
Using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy, around 2-3 minutes.
Combine the vanilla extract, golden syrup and boiled water with the creamed butter and sugar mixture. Beat for approximately 1 minute until well combined.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon golden syrup, 1 tablespoon boiled water
In a bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Use a fork to mix them together, then add them to the creamed butter mixture.
200 grams all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, ½ teaspoon salt
Next, add the oats to the mixture as well.
125 grams oats
Mix all the ingredients on a low speed until they come together into a cohesive ball of dough. If you prefer, you can also mix the dough by hand to avoid overworking your electric mixer.
Divide the dough into equal-sized portions, aiming for around 24g for large biscuits and 20g for smaller ones. You can use a scale for precision if desired.
See note 1
Roll each portion of dough into a ball and arrange them on the lined baking trays, ensuring they are spaced about 5cm/2" apart to allow for spreading. No need to flatten the balls.
Chill the trays in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4.
Bake the biscuits for 14-15 minutes or until they turn golden brown on top.
Allow the biscuits to cool on the trays for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack.
See note 3

Icing and sandwiching

As the biscuits cool, prepare the icing. In a large mixing bowl, combine the softened butter and vanilla essence and sift in the icing sugar.
100 grams unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 200 grams icing sugar
To prevent a cloud of sugar dust, start by roughly combining the icing sugar with the butter using a spatula to help contain the sugar.
Using an electric mixer, beat the icing for 3-4 minutes until it becomes light and fluffy. If the icing appears too stiff, add one teaspoon of milk, or two if necessary. The icing should be relatively stiff to ensure the cookies hold together without sliding apart.
1-2 teaspoons milk
Once the biscuits have cooled down, spread a dollop of icing on half of them.
See note 4
Finally, top each iced biscuit with another biscuit. Gently wiggle the two biscuits to ensure an even spread of icing between them.
Let the icing harden before handling the biscuits extensively or storing them in a cookie tin. Speed up the process by chilling them in the fridge for a while.

Notes

Note 1: You can eyeball the portions instead of using a scale if you prefer. However, having them all the same size is beneficial, especially since these are sandwiched biscuits.

Note 2: If fridge space is limited, initially place all dough balls on one tray, then redistribute them onto separate trays after chilling.

Note 3: If you notice variations in biscuit sizes, use a round cookie cutter right after baking, while they are still warm, to gently recut the biscuits into uniform rounds, ideal for sandwiching.

Note 4: Use the icing while it's still soft, as it spreads more easily. If it dries and hardens, it may be challenging to get a good spread on the biscuits.

Nutrition