This article was written for Annabel & Grace, which is now part of Rest Less.
So with an open mind I tried them. I wanted to take them as a gift to a friend who has just moved house, and I was popping in for a coffee but I doubt their store cupboard is stocked yet with biscuits! The recipe makes 16 but I have to admit a couple didn’t make it into the bag and they lived up to Nadiya’s description!
For the biscuits:
60g black olives, pitted
200g plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp fine sea salt
90g caster sugar
80g soft brown sugar
60g dark chocolate (70 per cent)
125g unsalted butter, melted
2 tbsp whole milk
1 egg, beaten
For the decoration:
200g dark chocolate (70%)
1. Preheat the oven to 180℃/Gas 4. Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper or a silicone mat. Dry the olives on kitchen paper, dabbing off any excess oil or liquid. Chop up roughly into pieces.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugars into a bowl. Chop up the chocolate and add along with the olives and mix together.
3. Mix the butter, milk and egg together and add to the dry ingredients. Mix it all well and bring the dough together.
4. Place tablespoonfuls of the mixture on the sheet, leaving space for them to spread while baking. Bake for about 12 minutes and leave to cool on a wire rack.
5. Line a tray with greaseproof paper. Carefully set the biscuits on the tray so they are ready to dry.
6. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water and place inside a ziplock bag or a piping bag. Snip off the end and drizzle the biscuits with chocolate. Leave to set, then serve.
Nadiya’s tip
These biscuits are very delicate so when you take them out of the oven, leave them to cool on the tray for at least 15 minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack. If you try to move them when they are warm, they’re likely to break.