Malted Milk Biscuits – but not as you know them. These treats have classic malt biscuit flavours combined with the stability & snap of sugar cookies. They are very versatile.
I’ve also got a different take on custard creams biscuits which you may enjoy too.
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It’s been a very long time since I published a recipe for biscuits, so I’m quite chuffed to be presenting a bit of an old-timer today. Well, I say it’s an old-timer. It is and it isn’t. Only the flavour is classic, everything else is a little bit different.
Malted milk is a bit of a vintage biscuit flavour here in the UK. The traditional packs that can be picked up in stores are not dissimilar to a thin shortbread biscuit, with a delicate crunch and a cow embossed on them. Oh, sweet joy for cow lovers. They are great for dunking in tea, hot chocolate, a good old cup of Horlicks or a special malted milk hot chocolate.
My biscuits are quite different though, since they have more in common with sugar cookies. I’ve kept the ingredients simple, without too much butter or leavening. This is to ensure that they keep their shape well when baked, have a sturdiness to them and a definite snap. These biscuits are not the type that crumble at the mere sight of teeth. They do have an intentional firmness to them.
Why? Well, I have a malted milkshake cake coming out shortly and I wanted to use them to decorate it.
Unlike a regular sugar cookie, these Malted Milk Biscuits do not necessarily need decorating. The malty flavour alone is enough to render them hard to resist without the need for fancy icing. I have, however, had a bit of fun with these Malted Milk Biscuits and experimented with different shapes, patterns, cut outs and even a buttercream filling – malted milk flavour of course.
Can I tempt you with more yummy cookie recipes? I’ve got stem ginger cookies, Shrewsbury biscuits, chai spiced shortbread, Empire Biscuits and Nutella thumbprint cookies to name a few.
Tips for Making Malted Milk Biscuits
Although this recipe is fairly simple, I do have one or two tips to pass on to you.
- roll the biscuit dough out to around 5mm thick – this is the ideal thickness to ensure a well-baked biscuit results (not too hard and not undercooked)
- don’t overbake these biscuits. Stop baking when they just begin to take on a little extra colour. These biscuits are intentionally firm and robust, but overbaking will result in a tough biscuit
- do rotate your baking sheets midway through the baking time to ensure the biscuits cook evenly
- if cooking biscuits of different sizes, take out the smaller ones as soon as they are ready and allow the larger ones to cook a little longer
Frequently asked questions
No, they are not. My recipe creates much crisper malted milk biscuits with an excellent snap. They have a wonderful malty taste though.
Yes, you can use either Horlicks or Ovaltine, but ensure it is the original version rather than a low fat, light or flavoured variation.
I have found that the best way to store these, and any biscuit, is in a Kilner jar with a clip-top lid. This works far better than a tin, wrapping in foil or tupperware.
Serving suggestions
A cup of tea always goes well with these crunchy malted milk cookies but if you are hankering after a more indulgent drink try any of the following:
Have you made these malted milk biscuits? If you have, did you have a favourite way to serve them? I honestly can’t decide if I prefer them plain or with the malty buttercream filling. It’s a very tough call.
I would love to see your creations though – why not share a picture on Instagram and tag #littlesugarsnaps so I can take a peek. Happy baking.
📖 Recipe
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Malted Milk Biscuits
Ingredients
For the Malted Milk Biscuits
- 200 g/ ⅞ cup Butter room temperature
- 3 tablespoon Malted Milk Powder (I used original Horlicks – NOT the light or chocolate versions
- 300 g/ 2 ⅓ cup Plain flour all purpose flour
- 50 g/ ⅓ cup Rice flour
- 200 g/ 1 cup Golden caster sugar
- 1 Egg – large, free range
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
Optional – For the Malted Milk Buttercream
- 150 g/ ⅔ cup Butter room temperature
- 200 g/ 1 ⅔ cup Icing sugar Confectionary sugar
- 2 tablespoon Whole milk Full fat milk
- 3 tablespoon Malted Milk Powder (Horlicks original)
- ¼ teaspoon Vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the Malted Milk Biscuits
- Cream the butter, sugar and malt powder together with electric beaters
- Add the egg and vanilla extract. Beat again
- Sieve the flours & salt into the bow and stir to combine (or mix briefly with the beaters). Take care not to overmix else the dough will end up tough
- Briefly knead the dough on a worktop, then flatten into a disc, wrap in clingfilm and chill for at least 1 hour
- Roll to 5mm thickness and cut out circles/ shapes. Scoop up the offcuts and reroll to cut a few more biscuits. I used a 5 ½ cm cutter to get approx 38 biscuits cut.
- Place 2 cm apart on baking sheets lined with baking parchment and chill for 30-45 minutes
- Preheat oven to 150C/ 300F/ GM2 and cook for 20-22 minutes until just beginning to colour. Turn the baking sheets midway through the cooking time as necessary to ensure an even bake
- Remove from oven let and cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely
- Keeps well in an airtight tin at room temperature for up to 1 week
Make the Malted Milk Buttercream
- Put the butter into a medium sized bowl and beat with electric beaters
- Add half of the (sieved) icing sugar & malt powder and beat until light and fluffy
- Pour in the milk and vanilla extract and beat briefly
- Sieve the rest of the icing sugar & malt powder into the buttercream and beat until light
- Use to sandwich pairs of biscuits together
Lea
Hi
I was wondering if these biscuits would be great to use as a biscuit base for an ice cream cake ? Or biscuits for icecream sandwiches? They look amazing thank you so much I’m going to try them with icecream base and see how they work 🌼
Jane Coupland
Hi Lea – I think they would be – they are nice and crisp rather than soft – hope your idea works out well.
Ginger
I’ve been looking for a malted mil recipe that tastes like the M & S biscuit. I’m going to try this recipe in hopes It will give me that taste I’ve been looking for.
Jane Saunders
I hope you like them Ginger! They are quite different to typical malted milks in terms of texture, but hopefully you’ll enjoy them even if they are not the same as the M&S biccies!
Janet
Super excited to these. Should unsalted butter be used?
Jane Saunders
Hi Janet, ideally, yes, unsalted butter, but you can use salted if that’s all you have
Jessica
Just try this recipe and it’s really nice. I always use recipes with baking soda in the biscuits and so I was wondering what it will taste like without baking soda. Wonderful recipe and thanks so much for sharing!
Jane Saunders
Thankyou Jessica – it’s always lovely to hear how readers got on.
Shariah
Delicious biscuits! Went down very well with the husband and kids. I love crunchier biscuits and this was perfect. A saved recipe. Thank you!
Jane Saunders
That’s so lovely to hear – thankyou. They may not be traditional malted milks, but they are very tasty!
Sheelagh Smith
Excellent biscuits. I substituted Ovaltine for Horlicks and that worked fine. I also used cornflour instead of rice flour to no ill effect. Will definitely make again. Thanks
Jane Saunders
Thanks for letting me know you liked these Sheelagh – it really does make my day when readers take the time to do so 🙂
Cyna
These biscuit looks so delicious, Jane! Malted milk brings back so many wonderful childhood memories and I have been drooling over the biscuits since I first saw the on your Insta. As always, your photos are also incredibly beautiful.
Jane Saunders
Thank you so much for your lovely comment – it’s rather made my day.