Terry’s Chocolate Orange Rocky Road

December 9, 2025December 8, 2025 What Jessica Baked Next1 Comment

Rocky road with a tasty Terry’s Chocolate Orange twist! The classic no-bake treat everybody loves.

In December, it’s usual that I’ll share at least one recipe that contains a Terry’s Chocolate Orange.

A couple of favourites include my Terry’s Chocolate Orange Brownies, these Terry’s Chocolate Orange NYC Cookies, and two fabulous cheesecakes: No-Bake White Chocolate Orange Cheesecake and Terry’s Chocolate Orange Cheesecake.

We made and shared an insanely good Malteser Rocky Road this year, and next, a festive spin on that rocky road recipe was in the pipeline…

My sister and I spent an evening making this rocky road creation. We both share the same love for baking and being in the kitchen. I love that baking/cooking brings everyone together, and it was lovely to let my sister take the reins with this recipe. We plan to make this again in a couple of weeks for the Christmas celebrations we have in the diary.

What I like about rocky road is just how simple it is to prepare. Around the holidays we all have limited time to spend in the kitchen, but being able to whip up an easy treat with minimal effort is exactly what we all need!

To prepare this simple no-bake recipe, in a saucepan melt together butter, golden syrup, dark chocolate and one whole Terry’s Chocolate Orange – yes, that’s a lot, but we’re packing in all the flavour here!

Once melted, leave the mixture to cool for about 5 minutes, then pour into the dry ingredients and mix well until everything is coated. Tip this mixture into a square baking tin and leave to chill in the fridge.

The next decoration is optional, but we like to melt white chocolate and spread that across the top of the rocky road. As it’s the time of year to indulge a little extra, we’ve topped our rocky road with a very generous 300g white chocolate layer. Then we decorated with sprinkles and the extra half of the TCO.

This is an extremely decadent and moreish sweet, that’s hard to stop eating. It’s a truly fun, cosy, little Christmas non-bake!

Terry's Chocolate Orange Rocky Road

Rocky road with a tasty Terry's Chocolate Orange twist! The classic no-bake treat everybody loves.

Prep Time 15

Chilling Time 3

Servings 16

Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

150 g butter (salted or unsalted)
4 tablespoons golden syrup
250 g dark chocolate
1 x 157 g Terry's Chocolate Orange
150 g milk chocolate digestives
200 g mini marshmallows
1/2 Terry's Chocolate Orange reserving half for decoration later on

White Chocolate Topping/Decoration:

300 g white chocolate
1/2 Terry's Chocolate Orange
sprinkles

Instructions

Put the butter, golden syrup, dark chocolate and whole Terry's Chocolate Orange in a medium sized saucepan. Gently heat and continue stirring until all the chocolate has melted and you have a smooth mixture. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl, break the digestive biscuits into small chunks and then add your mini marshmallows and 1/2 of the second Terry's Chocolate Orange (broken into small chunks) to the bowl. Stir gently to combine. Now add the melted chocolate mixture and stir together until all the ingredients are well coated.
Tip the mixture in the tin and press down until lightly compact. Pop it in the fridge whilst you prepare the chocolate topping. Melt the white chocolate and then gently pour and spread out over the top of the rocky road. Decorate further with the remaining Terry's Chocolate Orange half and sprinkles of your choice.
Allow to set in the fridge for at least 3 hours or overnight.
When ready to serve, remove the rocky road from the tin and slice up into 16 squares. You can cut the rocky road as big or small as you like. The rocky road will keep stored in an airtight container in the fridge or at room temperature for up to one week.

Recipe inspiration from Taming Twins

Even more great Terry’s Chocolate Orange Recipes!

Terry’s Chocolate Orange Brownies

No-Bake White Chocolate Orange Cheesecake

Terry’s Chocolate Orange NYC Cookies

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Baking · Biscuits and Cookies · Candy and Sweets · Chocolate

Oven Baked S’mores (10 Minute Recipe)

October 23, 2025October 22, 2025 What Jessica Baked Next1 Comment

Easy oven baked S’mores. A classic American sweet with deliciously gooey marshmallow and melted chocolate. A super quick and easy treat made with 3 ingredients and ready in 10 minutes!

S’mores is a popular American dessert. Typically, a s’more, consists of graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate, is made by toasting marshmallows on a campfire.

I wanted to show you this effortlessly easy way to make homemade s’mores in 10 minutes. Perfect for a cosy night in, sitting on the sofa watching one of your favourite films or boxset.

I love the crisp digestive biscuit, with the gooey, oozy marshmallow and chocolate sandwiched in the centre. I made a couple of these for my taste testers, and they adored them. The flavours all work so well with each other, making a fantastic treat, that can be made by anyone regardless of cooking skill level.

Another thing I really like about this recipe is how it can easily be customised. Try swapping milk chocolate for dark or white chocolate, or you can even use a hazelnut/pistachio-filled chocolate, or a Reese’s peanut butter cup.

Bonfire Night is around the corner on 5th November, so these baked s’mores will make a great dessert to enjoy that evening whilst watching fireworks!

The marshmallows lightly toast and go squidgy in the oven during baking

I have a sweet tooth, but with a lot of the recipes I share, I usually make a big batch of that food. With this recipe, you can make just what you need for that serving. If you fancy just one for yourself, then you can make just a single s’more. If you have a guest coming over, then you just double the recipe!

For each s’more, you’ll need two biscuits (digestives are my go-to, but rich tea will also work), a square of chocolate (around 4 small squares conjoined) and 2-3 regular marshmallows.

Place each biscuit on a lined baking tray, on one biscuit, pop the chocolate and on the other biscuit, place the marshmallows on top. Bake for 3-4 minutes, or until the chocolate is melted, and the marshmallows are lightly toasted. Allow to cool for a few minutes and then sandwich together before devouring!

Homemade S’mores are incredibly delicious! I’m not going to lie, they’re very messy, and you’ll end up with chocolate almost everywhere. But I think that’s the fun of it and they taste amazing!

Oven Baked S'mores (10 Minute Recipe)

Easy oven baked S'mores. A classic American sweet with deliciously gooey marshmallow and melted chocolate. A super quick and easy treat made with 3 ingredients and ready in 10 minutes!

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 5

Servings 1

Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

2 digestive biscuits
1 block of 4 squares of milk chocolate still joined together
2-3 regular sized marshmallows

Instructions

Preheat oven to 200°C / 180°C Fan / 400°C / Gas Mark 6. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
Place the digestive biscuits on the baking tray - the smooth side down. Top one biscuit with the chocolate and top the second biscuit with the marshmallows.
Bake in the oven for 3-4 minutes, until the chocolate is melted and the marshmallows are lightly toasted. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a couple of minutes, before carefully sandwiching the two biscuits together to make the s'more. Check the temperature is not too hot before eating.

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Baking · Biscuits and Cookies · Chocolate

Chocolate Chunk Shortbread (Marks & Spencer Copycat Recipe)

April 6, 2025April 16, 2025 What Jessica Baked Next10 Comments

The popular Marks & Spencers inspired shortbread filled with chocolate chunks and M&S Gigantic Milk Chocolate Buttons.

Marks & Spencer have the most delicious shortbread squares filled with chocolate chunks. When I’m out and about, but haven’t had time to bake my own shortbread, then M&S’s will be the only place I buy shortbread from!

I tried to make my shortbread recipe today as similar to the Chocolate Buttons Shortbread available to buy in the Marks & Spencer food hall.

But of course, this homemade version is far superior!

I’ve made this recipe as easy as possible. Blog readers LOVE an easy bake, so we’re baking the shortbread straight in a square cake tin and not worrying about rolling it out and cutting into different shapes.

Easy, no-fuss recipes are something I enjoy sharing on the WJBN blog.

My taste tasters all think this shortbread is better than the original. It’s freshly baked, a little thicker in texture, but shares all the same qualities in taste and crumbly texture as the M&S shortbread.

These delicious shortbread squares contain just five ingredients: butter, sugar, flour, semolina and chocolate. Semolina is an optional ingredient. If you don’t have it to hand, then don’t worry as the shortbread will be fantastic even without the semolina.

Lush, buttery and crumbly shortbread squares. This recipe makes 12 very large squares, but I would definitely recommend slicing into 16 smaller squares as it’s extremely rich, but nonetheless very, very tasty!

Chocolate Chunk Shortbread (Marks & Spencer Copycat Recipe)

The popular Marks & Spencers inspired shortbread filled with chocolate chunks and M&S Gigantic Milk Chocolate Buttons.

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Total Time 40

Servings 12

Ingredients

200 g butter (salted or unsalted) softened
100 g caster or granulated sugar
300 g plain flour
50 g semolina optional
150 g Marks & Spencer Gigantic Milk Chocolate Buttons roughly chopped
50 g dark or milk chocolate roughly chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C Fan / 350°F / Gas Mark 4. Line a 20cm / 8-inch square cake tin with parchment paper and set aside.
Start by preparing the shortbread dough - cream the softened butter and sugar until light and creamy.
Now add the flour and the semolina, mix until a crumbly dough forms. Be careful not to overwork the dough at this point, only mix until it comes together. Now fold through the chopped chocolate.
Transfer shortbread dough to a 20cm / 8-inch square cake tin and press down gently. Carefully score 12 squares from the dough, making sure not to cut all the way through. Bake for 25-30 minutes until slightly golden in colour. Leave the shortbread to cool for 5 minutes, then using a sharp knife, slice all the way through where you scored the shortbread before baking.
Finally, sprinkle with a small amount of extra sugar before devouring! The shortbread will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.

Just look at ALL those amazing chocolate chunks in this shortbread. I just can’t get enough of this recipe. Make sure you try a piece while it’s still slightly warm, fresh from the oven…

Try my Chocolate Shortbread next!

Show some love to someone special with these adorable Valentine’s Shortbread Hearts

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Baking · Biscuits and Cookies · Chocolate

Millionaires Shortbread

March 27, 2024March 28, 2024 What Jessica Baked Next5 Comments

Classic Millionaires Shortbread. This favourite sweet treat consists of three decadently delicious layers: buttery shortbread, creamy caramel, and chocolate.

One recipe from over ten years of blogging that I’m yet to share is a recipe for Millionaires Shortbread. This is a classic treat, widely available in most bakeries, coffee shops, and tea rooms.

Millionaires shortbread consists of a layer of buttery shortbread, followed by a caramel layer, and then the caramel layer is topped with melted chocolate. There are so many amazing variations you’ll find all over the internet, but you can’t go wrong with the traditional flavour combination.

This bake will remind you of a Twix bar! So if you’re a fan of this chocolate bar, then you’ll love this homemade version even more!

Recipe Rundown:

Shortbread Layer: This mixture will look very crumbly or short before pressing it into the tin. Don’t worry, as this is how you want it to be. The crumblier your shortbread dough, the better. Also, always be super careful not to overmix shortbread dough; the general rule is to handle as little as possible. Press the mixture into the tin until it’s in an even layer, prick with a fork all over, and bake for 25–30 minutes until pale golden.
Caramel Layer: Making caramel requires patience and gentle heating; be extremely careful as caramel gets very hot and will burn if it touches skin. This caramel takes about 7–10 minutes to make. Start by mixing all the caramel ingredients listed together, gently heating until dissolved, then gradually increasing the heat until the caramel gets hotter and starts bubbling. When the caramel is a light golden colour and has thickened, it’s ready to pour over the cooled shortbread layer. Leave this to set in the fridge for about an hour before resuming.
Chocolate Layer: Your choice of chocolate is up to you. I went for Cadbury Dairy Milk, but equally, a combination of dark and milk chocolate is great—just dark chocolate, white chocolate, or even blonde or caramelised white chocolate.

We love our shortbread recipes on the blog, sharing an array of truly wonderful recipes. Scottish Shortbread, Valentine’s Shortbread Hearts, and even Chocolate Shortbread.

We gave our millionaire’s shortbread an Easter decoration, using a mixture of crushed/whole Cadbury Mini Eggs. Why not top an already decadent recipe with even more decadence? My taste testers (me included) loved the crunchy topping the mini eggs added. With Easter only a few days away, you can make this yummy bake and top with leftover (if any!) Easter chocolate!

Don’t worry at all if your chocolate cracks when you slice it up. In all honesty, my chocolate cracked, but this recipe was too tasty not to share. If you want to ensure the chocolate doesn’t crack, just warm up your knife in some hot water.

However, our bakes don’t need to look perfect; it’s 100% all about the taste here with every single recipe.

Millionaires Shortbread

Classic Millionaires Shortbread. This favourite sweet treat consists of three decadently delicious layers: buttery shortbread, creamy caramel, and chocolate.

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 45

Chilling Time: 3

Total Time 4

Servings 16

Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

Shortbread:

225 g butter (salted or unsalted) softened
110 g caster or granulated sugar
320 g plain flour

Caramel:

397 g can sweetened condensed milk
90 g butter (salted or unsalted)
100 g dark/light/demerara sugar
1 tablespoon golden syrup this is 15g

Chocolate Layer:

250 g dark/milk/white chocolate I used Cadbury Dairy Milk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C Fan / 350°F / Gas Mark 4. Line an 20cm/8-inch square cake tin with parchment paper - leaving some overhang ensuring it's easy to remove the finished bake from the tin.
Place the shortbread ingredients: softened butter, sugar, and flour in a large mixing bowl. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients until a crumbly, slightly sticky dough forms.
Press the shortbread dough into the lined baking tin, making sure it's an even layer. Prick the shortbread all over with a fork, now bake for 25-30 minutes until pale golden in colour. Leave to cool completely.
Place the caramel ingredients in a medium saucepan/deep frying pan. Place the pan over a medium heat, gently heat until all the sugar has dissolved and the butter has melted. Continue to stir until the mixture has started to bubble - turn the temperature down if it bubbles too much. Keep stirring until the caramel has turned a deeper golden colour and is thicker is texture. This should take about 7-10 minutes to achieve.
Carefully pour the hot caramel over the shortbread base. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
Melt your chosen chocolate, once melted pour over the set caramel layer. Decorate the top further with any other decorations you desire - we went for crushed/whole Cadbury Mini Eggs. Place the Millionaires Shortbread back in the fridge for at least 2 hours, before slicing into 9 larger pieces, or 16 smaller pieces.
The shortbread will keep for up to one week stored in an airtight container at room temperature.

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Biscuits and Cookies · Candy and Sweets · Chocolate · No-Bake

Malteser Slice

February 28, 2024February 27, 2024 What Jessica Baked Next8 Comments

Easy no-bake Malteser Slice! A decadent treat consisting of a soft, fudge-like biscuit layer with whole Malteser chocolates folded through, then decorated with milk and white chocolate, and even more Maltesers/Malteser Bunnies! One small square of this is not enough.

Inspired by my Crunchie Slice, I’ve put a spin on the original and swapped the Cadbury Crunchie bars for Maltesers.

These bars consist of crushed biscuits mixed with condensed milk and melted butter, and then they have whole Maltesers folded through. Once you slice it up, you have chunks of crunchy Malteser balls in each bite!

This slice hosts a whole load of different textures, a deliciously soft and slightly fudge-like biscuit layer, crunchy Maltesers, and a smooth and creamy chocolate topping.

I popped some more whole Maltesers on top of my chocolate layer before the chocolate had set, along with a pack of White Malteser Bunnies, because it’s nearly Easter and I’m loving all the Easter chocolate right now!

Like the Crunchie version of this recipe I shared last year, to make this Malteser Slice, you’ll start by blitzing some digestive biscuits until they’re a fine crumb texture. After that, you’ll mix in melted butter and a tin of condensed milk. Once fully combined, you’ll fold through an entire sharing bag of Malteser’s.

I love Malteser’s, and since sharing this Malteser Brownies recipe, I’ve been wanting to share another Malteser-inspired bake, with hopefully many more to come in my future recipes!

The slice is quick and easy to whip up, uses minimal ingredients, and is a whole lotta fun to make! I cut the slice up into bigger squares purely for my photography, but I recommend cutting the slice up into small squares as it’s very rich.

I couldn’t stop myself reaching for piece, after piece of this amazing Malteser Slice…

Now, all that needs deciding is what flavour slice will I make next?

Malteser Slice

Prep Time 20

Chilling Time 1

Servings 16

Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

350 g digestive or malted milk biscuits finely crushed
100 g butter (salted or unsalted) melted
397 g tin sweetened condensed milk
175 g sharing pack Maltesers left whole
200 g dark or milk chocolate
1 tablespoon butter (salted or unsalted) this is 15g
50 g white chocolate this is optional
Maltesers and Malteser Bunnies for decoration

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, combine the biscuit crumbs, with the melted butter and condensed milk. Stir until throughly combined. Now fold through the 175g pack of whole Maltesers.
Transfer this mixture to a lined 20cm square cake tin (or other suitably sized tin) and press down until compact and smooth on top.
Melt the chocolate and butter over a bain-marie, or in the microwave until smooth. Pour and spread the melted chocolate over the top of the biscuit layer. Now melt the white chocolate if you want to two types of chocolate for your topping. Pour spoonfuls of the melted white chocolate on top of melted chocolate already on top of the biscuit layer.
Using as toothpick, swirl the two chocolates together, creating a swirl effect. Top with extra whole Maltesers, and Malteser Bunnies/Reindeer's if desired.
When ready to serve, slice up into 16 squares or smaller pieces if desired. The slice will keep in the fridge for up to a week.

Crunchie Slice

If you love Maltesers, try these great recipes next!

Chocolate Malt Cupcakes

Malteser Brownies

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Baking · Biscuits and Cookies · Chocolate

Valentine’s Shortbread Hearts

January 17, 2024January 16, 2024 What Jessica Baked Next2 Comments

Special shortbread biscuits to celebrate Galentine’s/Valentine’s Day next month! Show your love with these adorable shortbreads.

Starting 2024 on WJBN on a sweet note with a stunning shortbread biscuit recipe.

2023 was a brilliant year, memorable for so many good reasons, both personally and professionally. December saw the most blog views all year, so we ended the year on a real high! Lots of you were viewing recipes and making these over the festive period from all corners of the world.

I’m ready to start the year, and I have many ideas ready to bring to the blog. In the past, I haven’t shared a lot of ‘Valentine’s’ themed recipes, but I wanted to do something about that and start a new tradition this year!

So here we have some delicious shortbread biscuits, dipped in chocolate, and the prettiest pink heart sprinkles.

I already have a Shortbread Biscuits recipe on the blog, but recently I discovered a different shortbread and adore it.

The new recipe has semolina added to the shortbread dough. Semolina gives shortbread an extra crunchy texture and reminds me of shortbread you can get in tins, but of course better because they’re homemade.

Shortbread is a bake that just cannot be beaten. It’s simple, but when made well, it’s hard to beat.

What Ingredients You’ll Need:

Butter – salted or unsalted is absolutely fine. Butter is essential in shortbread dough, no margarine or alternative, it just won’t taste like shortbread should, and they will spread/not keep their shape!
Sugar – only a little caster/granulated sugar is needed, shortbread is all about the buttery flavour, but isn’t overly sweet.
Plain Flour – just enough to bind the dough together.
Semolina – adds a lovely crunch to the shortbread biscuits. It’s optional, but I really recommend it!
Chocolate – any type of chocolate you like. You can half dip the shortbread hearts, or drizzle them with the chocolate.
Sprinkles – pretty ‘n’ pink sprinkles are great for Valentine’s! Even some freeze dried strawberries/raspberries would be great.

I refilled a tin of already eaten shortbread from Christmas with this new batch

Show your love and appreciation for someone special with a surprise batch of homemade chocolate-dipped shortbread.

Get your friends around, have a Galentine’s night, and bake and decorate these biscuits. Decorate with a combination of chocolate. I did half my shortbread half-dipped in milk chocolate and the remaining dipped in white chocolate. I then piped some remaining contrasting chocolate on top of the chocolate already on each shortbread.

Fun to make and wonderful for the upcoming Valentine’s Day! I can’t think of a more delicious way to say I love you than with these!

Valentine's Shortbread Hearts

Special shortbread biscuits to celebrate Galentine's/Valentine's Day! Show your love with these adorable shortbreads. I can't think of a more delicious way to say I love you than with these!

Prep Time 50

Cook Time 20

Total Time 1 10

Servings 20

Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

200 g butter (salted or unsalted) softened
100 g caster or granulated sugar
300 g plain flour
50 g semolina
100 g dark or milk chocolate
100 g white chocolate
Sprinkles I used cute pink heart sprinkles

Instructions

Start by preparing the shortbread dough - cream the softened butter and sugar until light and creamy.
Now add the flour and the semolina, mix until a crumbly dough forms. Be careful not to overwork the dough at this point, only mix until it comes together.
Wrap the dough up in clingfilm and chill it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. This step stops the biscuits spreading when baking.
Preheat oven to 170°C / 150°C Fan / 325°F / Gas Mark 3. Line two large baking trays with parchment paper.
Lightly flour a work surface with extra flour, roll the shortbread dough out until it's roughly the thickness of a pound coin. Take a 6cm heart cutter, and cut out roughly 20 from the dough, re-rolling and continuing to cut out more biscuits.
Transfer the unbaked shortbread biscuits onto the baking trays, sprinkle with a little extra sugar, and bake for 15-20 minutes until pale golden in colour - you don't want these too golden. They should be slightly firm to the touch when ready. Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the baking trays, then move to a wire rack and leave the biscuits to cool completely on there.
Once the biscuits are cool, melt the two types of chocolate. Dip one biscuit at a time on one side into the chocolate. Allow to set, before drizzling the remaining chocolate on each biscuit. Finish with some sprinkles of your choice.
Once the chocolate has set, the biscuits are ready to enjoy. They'll keep in an airtight container/tin for up to 1 week.

Valentine’s Day Recipe Inspiration!

Chocolate Truffles

Homemade Crêpes

Jammy Dodgers

Chocolate Shortbread

White Chocolate Cheesecake with Raspberry Coulis

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Baking · Biscuits and Cookies · Chocolate · Christmas

Chocolate Shortbread

December 5, 2023December 3, 2023 What Jessica Baked Next9 Comments

Rich, homemade Chocolate Shortbread. Divine cocoa flavour is celebrated in this buttery, crumbly, and slightly salted chocolate shortbread recipe. Made in one bowl AND no chilling!

This intensely chocolatey shortbread recipe is a perfect Christmastime treat. It’s not overly sweet, slightly bittersweet, and has a salty hit in each bite.

A slice of shortbread anytime of the year is lovely, but around Christmas, I feel it’s even more special. Whether you have friends or family stopping by, want a gift to share with neighbours, or simply want to treat yourself to some baking and a sweet for an afternoon or evening dessert.

My chocolate shortbread has the flavour of a chocolate brownie. Rich, decadent, but without either a cake or fudgy texture, but instead the delectable, crumbly texture of shortbread.

When I made my Scottish Shortbread recipe for the blog back in 2015, I fell in love with the idea of baking shortbread by pressing the dough straight into a tin rather than rolling, then cutting the dough into shapes. We’re cutting the prep in half, which means we get to eat our shortbread even sooner!

Saving time is always helpful around December and the weeks leading up to Christmas, when we’re often pushed for time.

Like with most biscuit or cookie recipes, this one is just a base recipe.

Switch the recipe up by adding some freshly grated orange zest, tossing in some nuts, or combining some dark, milk, or white chocolate chips into the shortbread dough.

Once baked, you can dip the shortbread pieces into melted chocolate or drizzle it over.

There are so many exciting ways to make this recipe your own!

This recipe is found in ‘The Great British Book of Baking’. I was given this as a Christmas present from a work colleague last Christmas, and ever since spotting this recipe in the book, I’ve been excited to try it! It certainly did not disappoint, and it has me intrigued to try more!

Chocolate Shortbread

Rich, homemade Chocolate Shortbread. Divine cocoa flavour is celebrated in this buttery, crumbly, and slightly salted chocolate shortbread recipe. Made in one bowl AND no chilling!

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Total Time 45

Servings 12

Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

200 g butter (salted or unsalted) softened
100 g caster sugar
260 g plain flour
40 g cocoa powder
Pinch of salt omit if using salted butter

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4. Lightly grease a 20cm cake tin with extra butter.
Cream the butter for a minute to soften. Now add the sugar and cream for a further 2 minutes until lightened in colour and fluffy.
Add the flour, cocoa powder, and the pinch of salt (if using), and mix until a dough comes together - don't over work the dough, just mix until there's no visible specks of flour remaining.
Transfer the shortbread dough to the greased cake tin and press down until compact. Score into 12 triangles, making sure you don't slice all the way through. Prick each piece of shortbread once or twice with a fork, and bake the shortbread for 25-30 minutes until the top is firm to the touch - mine was in the oven for a full 30 minutes.
Once baked, allow the shortbread to cool in the tin. Remove from the tin and sprinkle with a little extra caster sugar/or icing sugar if you prefer. Slice into 12 triangles and serve. The shortbread will keep for up to 1 week, stored in an airtight container/or a covered plate.

Try these festive-inspired biscuit/cookie recipes next!

Snowball Cookies

Butter Cookies

Scottish Shortbread

Terry’s Chocolate Orange NYC Cookies

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Baking · Biscuits and Cookies · Christmas

Snowball Cookies

November 22, 2023November 21, 2023 What Jessica Baked NextLeave a comment

5 Ingredient Snowball Cookies – whipped shortbread filled with pieces of toasted pecan, and a generous coating of icing sugar.

Last year I ran out of time to bake these for Christmas. I had so many ideas, but I knew I needed to make sure I baked these cookies this year.

Being from the UK, these Snowball Cookies aren’t something I was too familiar with. I’m sure my US/North American readers will be familiar with these. I now know they’re a popular cookie that features on Christmas cookie platters. They’re also known as Mexican wedding cookies/Russian tea cakes.

I love that these cookies look like little snowballs, they’re super fun and perfectly festive!

I added toasted pecans to my batch, but you can substitute the pecans for other nuts, such as hazelnuts, pistachios, or even walnuts. Also, mini chocolate chips can be used instead.

The cookie dough is a shortbread dough, but this is possibly one of the lightest shortbread textures I’ve eaten before. It’s just like the texture of whipped shortbread, super airy, with a texture that melts once it hits your mouth.

To make the dough, you start by creaming the softened butter until smooth, then right after that add icing sugar and beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Now, a couple of teaspoons of vanilla is added, followed by the flour – which is mixed until a soft dough comes together. Finally, some chopped and toasted pecans are added. After this, the dough is covered and chilled for at least 30 minutes before rolling.

Once chilled, small portions of the dough are rolled out, and then baked. Once baked, the cookies are cooled for 5 minutes, then they’re rolled in more icing sugar. Then the cookies are left to cool completely, before being rolled in a second coating of icing sugar. The finished cookie has a snowy whiteness, resembling a snowball!

These cookies would make a wonderful addition to a Christmas treat box gift for family and friends.

You’ll enjoy these cookies for their delectable melt-in-the-mouth texture, and beautiful buttery flavour. I really mean it when I say, it’s hard to stop at just one!

I lost count of how many I devoured while taking photos! My hands/camera, just about everything was covered in icing sugar…

But, I’m not complaining, as these cookies are simply divine!

Snowball Cookies

5 Ingredient Snowball Cookies - whipped shortbread filled with pieces of toasted pecan, and a generous coating of icing sugar.

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 15

Total Time 1

Servings 36

Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

100 g pecans (substitute with hazelnuts, pistachios or walnuts optional
225 g butter (salted or unsalted) softened
90 g icing sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
280 g plain flour

Coating:

150 g icing sugar you might not need all of this

Instructions

Start by toasting the pecans (or nut of your choice), if using. Heat oven to 150°C / 130°C Fan / 300°F / Gas Mark 2. Spread the pecans out on a baking tray and toast in the oven for 8-10 minutes. Allow the nuts to cool, before chopping finely.
To make the cookie dough: Cream the butter for a minute until softened. Now add the 90g portion of icing sugar and cream for another 2-3 minutes, until fluffy and lightened in colour.
Now add the vanilla extract and mix to combine. Add the flour and continue to mix until it's incorporated fully. Finally, fold through the chopped nuts, if using.
Cover and chill the dough for 30 minutes, or up to 3 days. If you chill the dough longer than a few hours, it will need about 30 minutes at room temperature to warm up before rolling. Preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4. Line 3 large baking trays with parchment paper.
Take 20g portions of the dough and roll into balls. Place the balls of cookie dough at least 2 inches apart - you'll need about 3 large baking trays to bake all the cookies at once.
Bake the cookies for 15 minutes, until the bottoms are just turning golden, and the tops are lightly browned. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking trays for 5 minutes, then take the remaining icing sugar (150g), and roll each cookie lightly and very carefully in the icing sugar. They will be slightly sticky at this point.
Now place each cookie on a wire rack and allow to cool completely. Once cool, take the cookies and coat in the icing sugar once again - this is when the sugar really coats the cookies.
Enjoy the cookies right away, or keep them stored in an airtight container/or covered plate for up to one week.

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Baking · Biscuits and Cookies · Chocolate · Christmas

Terry’s Chocolate Orange NYC Cookies

November 11, 2023December 19, 2025 What Jessica Baked NextLeave a comment

A chocolate orange flavour spin on the popular NYC cookies! Thick cookies filled with chunks of Terry’s Chocolate Orange segments, vanilla, orange zest, and chocolate chips!

I’m kicking off the run of Christmas recipes today with these decadent NYC cookies! As I do from November onwards every year, I’m sharing Christmas-inspired recipes right through until the New Year! This year, I hope to entice you to make some festive recipes, and I have plenty for you to choose from.

My Terry’s Chocolate Orange Cheesecake, No-Bake White Chocolate Orange Cheesecake, Terry’s Chocolate Orange Cookies, Terry’s Chocolate Orange Traybake, Terry’s Chocolate Orange Cupcakes, or how about some Vegan Chocolate Orange Brownies?

Can you tell I’m obsessed with Terry’s Chocolate Orange?!

I’ve made sure these cookies are well and truly packed with TCO, with three whole chocolate oranges needed!

I have shared a Terry’s Chocolate Orange cookie recipe previously, but this time, rather than a chocolate cookie dough, I went for an orange-flavoured cookie dough (without cocoa powder added).

I baked a NYC-style cookie similar to Levain Bakery/Crème in London a few years ago, sharing my Chunky Milk Chocolate Pecan Cookies. It’s been a while since I baked some super chunky/thick cookies, so I couldn’t wait to get in my kitchen and bake some!

Enjoy one of these cookies dipped in a mug of hot chocolate or warm with a scoop of ice cream!

They’re the taste of the Christmas season, filled with gooey chocolate orange segments and freshness from orange zest. I add some vanilla extract to my cookie dough, but this can be substituted with orange extract for a more delicious orange flavour.

I love a bit of festive baking; it’s lovely filling the house with freshly baked goods.

It’s my favourite time of year, with so many recipes featured on my Christmas menu. Butter Cookies, Gingerbread Men, Vegan Sausage Rolls (Easy Puff Pastry Sausage Rolls), Cheese and Mustard Puff Pastry Pinwheels, and Cinnamon Rolls.

You need a little patience with this cookie recipe. The secret to a super-thick cookie with crisp edges and a gooey centre is freezing the cookie dough for at least 90 minutes before baking. I leave mine overnight for an even thicker cookie and bake the cookies for exactly 17 minutes (until the edges are nicely browned), so they have incredible soft centres.

As the cookies cool on the baking trays, another finishing touch I do is press a few extra chocolate chips and a segment of Terry’s Chocolate Orange on the top of each cookie.

I hope you enjoy baking these in the lead-up to Christmas!

Terry's Chocolate Orange NYC Cookies

A chocolate orange flavour spin on the popular NYC cookies! Thick cookies filled with chunks of Terry's Chocolate Orange segments, vanilla, orange zest, and chocolate chips!

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 17

Chilling Time 1 30

Total Time 2 2

Servings 12

Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

230 g butter (salted or unsalted) cold and cut into small cubes
160 g caster or granulated sugar
160 g dark or light brown sugar
1 large orange zest only
300 g plain flour
200 g self-raising flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 Terry's Chocolate Oranges save 12 segments for decoration and break the remaining chocolate into chunks - I used 1 dark chocolate and 2 milk chocolate
100 g dark/milk or white chocolate chips
2 medium or large eggs beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract this can be substituted with orange extract or left out

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, cream the cold butter for about 30 seconds until softened slightly. Add the orange zest to the sugars, and rub the orange zest into the sugars until combined. Now add the sugars to the butter and mix again until just combined. You don’t want to make this mixture creamy and fluffy.
Now add both types of flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and salt. Mix until you have a fine, breadcrumb texture. Save 12 segments of Terry's Chocolate Orange for decoration later on. Now stir through the remaining chocolate.
Add the beaten egg and vanilla and just mix until a dough comes together; be careful not to overmix. Weigh roughly 125g portions of the cookie dough and roll into a ball - this doesn't need to be perfect just lightly press them together. Place on a lined baking tray or container and freeze for at least 90 minutes, or overnight for a thicker cookie.
When ready to bake the cookies, preheat oven to 200°C / 180°C Fan / 400°F / Gas Mark 6. Line two large baking trays with parchment paper and place the trays in the oven for 5 minutes to heat before spacing the rolled cookie dough balls out leaving at least 2 inches between each to allow room for spreading.
Bake the cookies for 17 minutes, until lightly golden and crisp around the edges. Allow the cookies to cool for a few minutes, then if you desire, press a few extra chocolate chips and top each cookie with a Terry's Chocolate Orange segment.
Leave the cookies to cool on the baking trays for 5 minutes then transport to a wire rack and allow the cookies to cool slightly before serving. Cookies will keep stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Some favourite Christmas recipes!

Gingerbread Men

Butter Cookies

Vegan Gingerbread Loaf Cake

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Biscuits and Cookies · Candy and Sweets · Chocolate · No-Bake

Halloween Chocolate Bark

October 14, 2023December 9, 2023 What Jessica Baked Next2 Comments

The easiest of recipes! This Halloween Chocolate Bark is a great treat to rustle up for trick-or-treaters, serve at a Halloween party, or to use up any leftover chocolate and sweets!

We’ve kicked off Halloween on the blog with my Ghost Cupcakes, now we move onto another devilishly delicious treat…

Pick your favourite chocolate for the base of your chocolate bark. I made this recipe with my sister, we went for Cadbury Dairy Milk, then swirled some melted white chocolate through the milk chocolate. We’ve topped our bark with Reese’s Pieces, chopped Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and crushed Oreos. All our favourite chocolate and confectionery!

You could also top the bark with Halloween-inspired sprinkles, gummy sweets – we didn’t do this because all the sweets we found weren’t vegetarian. But toppings are totally individual, next time we even discussed adding some pretzels for extra crunchy texture.

This chocolate bark is perfect for making to give out to any trick-or-treaters and Halloween parties.

Kids will love getting involved in making this! It’s a super fun and easy treat to whip up, there’s absolutely no baking involved, and it takes only 30 minutes to set in the fridge. It can be topped differently depending on the season – I’m already thinking of a (dare I say it?) Christmas-inspired one!

This chocolate bark tastes just so good, you may or may not want to open the door to any trick-or-treaters. I don’t blame you if you keep it all to yourself!

It’s like creating your own chocolate bar, you can add all your favourite chocolates and sweets – make a bark completely unique to you!

Halloween Chocolate Bark

The easiest of recipes! This Halloween Chocolate Bark is a great treat to rustle up for trick-or-treaters, serve at a Halloween party, or to use up any leftover chocolate and sweets!

Prep Time 15

Chilling Time 30

Total Time 45

Servings 12

Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

360 g dark or milk chocolate
100 g white chocolate
90 g bag Reese's Pieces
5 snack size Reese's Peanut Butter Cups each chopped into quarters
5 Oreos broken into a mixture of big and small pieces - you can add more

Instructions

Line a large baking tray/sheet with baking paper or a silicone baking mat.
Melt both types of chocolate, separately in either the microwave, or in a bowl atop a pan of simmering water (make sure it's not directly touching) - this is known as a bain-marie.
Spread the melted milk chocolate over the baking tray/sheet into an even layer, about 1/2-inch in thickness.
Top with the Reese's Pieces, chopped Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and the crushed Oreos. Add any additional toppings you desire.
Place the chocolate bark in the fridge for 30 minutes, or until ready to serve. Cut into pieces as big or small as you like. The bark will keep in the fridge for up to a week.