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Romany creams

Chocolate sandwiched cookies

Romany creams

 

How does a recipe get its name? To many South Africans, “Romany creams” conjures up images of chocolate-coconut biscuits (cookies, in America!) sandwiched together with rich milk chocolate.

But, where did the name originate?

In the mid-1960s, Pyotts collaborated with Cadburys Chocolates in Port Elizabeth to produce a chocolately variation of a traditional English treat known as “Gypsy creams”, which consisted of two round-topped biscuits sandwiched together with a creamy white filling. Do you remember seeing Gypsy creams in South Africa?

Today, the familiar Pyotts logo on Romany creams has been replaced by Bakers. The range of flavors has expanded and packaging has changed, but the original Romany creams are to me, still the best.

Below is a quick and easy recipe, using basic ingredients, that gives a product pretty close to what I remember as being the perfect Romany cream.

As we are coming up for Valentine’s Day, I made a batch of hearts as well. Happy Valentine’s Day to you all!!

Print
Romany creams

Rating  4.8 from 4 reviews

Prep time:  30 mins

Cook time:  15 mins

Total time:  45 mins

South African chocolate-coconut cookies sandwiched together with rich milk chocolate.
Ingredients
  • 1 stick (4 ounces) butter
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa, mixed with
  • 2 tablespoons hot water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1½ teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 3½-ounce slab Cadbury’s milk chocolate
Instructions
  1. Cream the butter, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl.
  2. Mix in the cocoa and vanilla.
  3. Add the coconut, flour and baking powder and mix until the dough comes together. If necessary, add a few more drops of water, but keep the dough stiff.
  4. Shape into 36 balls, flatten with a fork, and arrange on a large baking sheet.
  5. Bake at 350˚F for about 15 minutes. The biscuits will harden as they cool down.
  6. Melt the chocolate in a bowl or double boiler over boing water (or microwave on low heat, stirring frequently) and sandwich the biscuits together with the molten chocolate once the biscuits have cooled to room temperature.
Notes
The number of hearts one would get from the batch, depends on the size of the heart-shaped cutters used. I got 2 medium, 20 small and 8 baby sandwiched hearts.
For daintier cookies, make the balls slightly smaller.
3.2.2265

Stiffish dough ready to shape
A batch of Romany creams
Romany creams
Heart-shaped Romany creams
Romany cream hearts

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nuno says

    June 2, 2019 at 10:34 AM

    I have tried this and it is excellent. I doubled up on the cocoa though which gives a better colour. The final effect is best if you scratch/crosshatch the surface rather than simply pressing with a fork.
    For me made 20 (40 doubled up)
    Conversions:
    I used 120g butter=4oz butter
    Gas mark 4-5 (or 180C) for 350C

    Reply
    • Aileen says

      June 2, 2019 at 12:43 PM

      Thank you for your useful input, Nuno. So pleased they were enjoyed!!

      Reply
      • Nuno says

        June 16, 2019 at 7:42 AM

        I think I could have made them smaller and more biscuity so will try that next…all ovens are different…and the effect of different altitude (according to my grandmother who judiciously retested her recipes in a new oven in Johannesburg, having moved there from a lifetime by the coast).

        Reply
        • Aileen says

          June 16, 2019 at 6:38 PM

          Thanks, Nuno! Yes–ovens and altitude can be tricky, especially for some recipes. I hope these turn out just right!

          Reply
          • Nuno says

            July 24, 2019 at 1:03 PM

            Biscuitiness improved by adding golden syrup: caster sugar in a 1:2 ratio and gas mark 6 for 10
            minutes

  2. Milly Kulenkampff says

    February 27, 2014 at 3:24 PM

    I’ve made this recipe twice, and each time the Romany creams have been a huge hit. The flavor is spot on and delicious.

    Reply
  3. Lucy says

    February 14, 2014 at 11:33 AM

    Haha! Romany Creams, the distant (but far nicer, IMO) cousin of the Oreo! I wonder if Oreos also evolved from Gypsy creams.

    Reply
    • Sandra S Grant says

      December 29, 2020 at 4:28 PM

      I made these I only go 14 doubles I think I should have made smaller balls also thought they were a bit flat how high are they supposed to rise
      But everyone loved them

      Reply
      • Aileen says

        January 3, 2021 at 12:35 PM

        Sandra, they do rise a bit, but one doesn’t want them too thick as they’re being doubled up with chocolate in-between. The amount of rising is pretty much in line with what one would expect from a biscuit of this type.
        Pleased they were enjoyed, thanks for sharing!

        Reply

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Published books: "South African Cooking in the USA" and "Essential South African Cooking in the USA: 25 Traditional Recipes".

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The three founder members of Cape Point Press are Brown and Aileen Wilsen and their daughter, Kathy Farquharson. They lived in and around Cape Town for most of their lives and their move to America is not an unfamiliar story. Blending their past with the future in this great land is challenging and exciting.

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