Viennese Whirls

These delicious melt-in-your-mouth Viennese whirls are so moreish and totally irresistible! Made with only six ingredients, these delectable biscuits are made sandwiched together with a light vanilla buttercream and smooth raspberry jam. A perfect teatime treat!

What are Viennese whirls?

Viennese whirls or Viennese biscuits are a British biscuit, despite their Austrian name. They are essentially soft shortbread biscuits piped into a swirl shape before baking. The most common and popular version are the Mr Kipling Viennese whirls, which is made up of two shortbread swirl biscuits sandwiched with buttercream and jam.

As with all biscuits, there are variations on this too. This can include the shape they are piped in, dipping them (often in chocolate) and whether or not they are filled.

What is the difference between butter cookies and shortbread?

As with the difference between the meaning of biscuits in different parts of the world, so is there with shortbread, butter cookies and sugar cookies! Here is my definition of them:

Shortbread: a traditional Scottish bake, made with basic ingredients of flour, butter and sugar using the proportions of 3-2-1. That is, three parts flour, two parts butter and one part sugar combined make a basic shortbread recipe. A traditional shortbread is a totally egg free bake. My lemon shortbread is one of my most popular recipes and a delicious way to enjoy shortbread!

Sugar cookies: this is similar to shortbread but with the addition of eggs and normally a little more sugar in the recipe. Here in the UK, we would call these biscuits. This dough can be rolled, cut and shaped more easily, and can make biscuits (or cookies) that have a firmer texture and more of a snap than chewy cookies. My Easter cookies are a great example of a sugar cookie.

Butter cookies: these are firm and brittle when baked, in other words they snap and do not bend. But the key thing with butter cookies is that the dough is much softer and is piped rather than rolled and stamped out like the other two. These Viennese whirls are a perfect example of this kind of bake.

Reasons why you’ll love this easy Viennese swirls recipe

• Basic ingredients only. You only need butter, sugar, flour and cornflour to make this easy Viennese whirls recipe, along with the jam and buttercream for the filling. Since these are staple pantry ingredients in most homes, you can probably make this any time the craving hits!
• No fancy gadgets required. These biscuit swirls can be made entirely by hand. However I do find beating the butter and sugar to pale and fluffy to begin with makes piping the cookies so much easier.
• Wonderfully nostalgic. These delectable biscuits are, for many of us, a delicious throwback to a childhood favourite treat. Personally, I feel homemade versions are so much more enjoyable, both because of the process of making and the flavours you achieve.
• Great for gifting or part of a Holiday Cookie Box. Viennese cookies make for fabulous edible gifting, brilliant for special occasions, festivals or just because!

Ingredients needed to make Viennese whirls

• Unsalted butter: I like to use unsalted butter so I can control how much salt is in my bakes. For best results, use butter at room temperature, for both the biscuits and the buttercream filling.
• Icing (powdered) sugar: gives sweetness to the Viennese whirl cookies. Used in both the biscuits and the buttercream filling.
• Flour: I use plain (all purpose) flour to make these Viennese whirls. Do not use self raising flour, as you want the shortbread not to rise and puff up.
• Cornflour/cornstarch: used in the butter whirls to give a soft and delicate texture to the biscuits.
• Vanilla: for a subtle and delicious flavour in both the piped biscuits and buttercream to fill the sandwich biscuits.
• Jam: used to fill the sandwich biscuits for delicious flavour. Traditionally, raspberry jam is used, but you can use a different jam if you prefer.

What do you need to make Viennese whirls

• Baking tray*: to chill and then bake the Viennese whirls biscuits on. I would recommend at least couple of baking trays so you can chill the piped dough and bake on the same trays.
• Digital kitchen scales*: I provide all my measurements in cups too, however I would encourage all bakers to weigh out ingredients using weighing scales when baking. A set of digital kitchen scales is so useful and an essential baking tool for me.
• Measuring spoons*: a set of measuring spoons is essential for any baker. This is because these are more accurate than using everyday teaspoons and tablespoons, which can vary greatly in size.
• Mixing bowl*: used to make the biscuit dough in.
• Handheld electric mixer*: a useful tool to make life easier in the kitchen! You can, of course, make this whole recipe entirely by hand. But it will be quite the workout for your arm!
• Sieve*: useful to remove any lumps from the dry ingredients before blending everything together.
• Spatula*: to help with scraping down the mixing bowl and transferring the Viennese whirl dough into your piping bag.
• Piping bag*: used for piping the biscuits into swirls before chilling.
• Piping nozzle*: I used a 1M nozzle here, to create the pretty swirl of the biscuits in these Viennese whirls as well as for piping the buttercream.
• Cooling rack*: to cool the baked biscuits on.

How to make Viennese whirls

This Viennese whirls recipes are so so easy to make, just mix together the ingredients to form the dough before piping into swirls, then chill before baking. Once baked, make a simple buttercream and use with some raspberry jam to sandwich the shortbread whirls together before digging in!

For the biscuits

Step 1: Draw circles about 2″ in diameter on two pieces of parchment paper, leaving a couple of inches gap between the circles. Then flip the paper over (so the drawn side is face down) and place them on the baking trays. Set aside.

Step 2: Cream the butter and icing (powdered) sugar together for a few minutes until paler and really soft. Beat in the vanilla then gradually mix in the flour and cornflour (cornstarch) until everything is combined. Do not over mix (see notes). Transfer to a piping bag fitted with an open star nozzle.

Step 3: Pipe swirls of dough using the circles drawn earlier as a guide. Keep the piping a little smaller than the drawn circles to allow for the biscuits to spread slightly during baking. Pop the baking trays in the freezer to chill for half an hour.

Step 4: When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Bake the biscuits for 9-10 minutes one tray at a time, turning the tray halfway through baking if needed for even browning of the edges. Allow the whirls to cool and firm up on the tray before transferring to a wire rack,

For the buttercream and decoration

Step 1: To make the buttercream, beat the butter until very soft and pale. This will take a few minutes. Add in half the icing (powdered) sugar and mix together until smooth. Beat in the vanilla before adding the second half of the icing (powdered) sugar and mixing again until smooth. Add a little milk as required if the buttercream is a little stiff. Beat the buttercream on high to make it lovely and light and fluffy. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle.

Step 2: Stir the jam to loosen it. Transfer to a piping bag if you wish, or you can use a teaspoon to spread the jam onto the biscuits.

Step 3: Pipe some buttercream onto the flat side of half of the biscuits. Pipe or spoon some jam over the buttercream, then top with one of the undecorated biscuits, gently pressing together. Dust with additional icing (powdered) sugar if you wish. Enjoy!

Viennese whirls recipe tips

Below I share all the top tips I can think of, including potential problems, to help you make the perfect Viennese whirls biscuits.

Why is my dough too crumbly? How can I fix it?

If you find the recipe results in a dry dough, no need to fret! Simply add a few drops of milk to the cookie dough and mix to bring it together. Then continue to pipe and shape as before.

A word of warning here: you want the dough to be pipeable but still fairly stiff. If too much milk is added, the Viennese whirls will not hold their shape as they bake and you will have a collapsed (but still delicious!) biscuit instead.

How to pipe Viennese whirls

There are a few tips that will make it easier to pipe the biscuits. For a start, be sure not to overfill your bag: I find half full at most is best, so you can twist the top tightly and so be able to squeeze the dough out more easily. Hold the bag upright and pipe a circle from the outside in, swirling into the top point before twisting slightly and lifting to separate the dough. I like to use a lightly dampened finger to tuck in the top tip of the piped whirl to prevent it catching during baking.

How can you tell when the Viennese whirls are cooked?

If you are wondering what these biscuits should look like when they are done baking, it will go from looking a little wet on top when baking to looking dry. The edges of the Viennese whirls will be just beginning to turn golden too. The biscuits will firm up as they cool, to a wonderful buttery melt-in-your-mouth biscuit.

Why do my Viennese whirls go flat?

There are a few reasons why they went flat. It could be that the ingredients were not correctly measured out, so there was less flour in the mixture. It could also be that the dough required more time to chill and firm up before baking, as this will help hold the shape better.

How do you store Viennese whirls

Store this bake in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days.

Can you freeze Viennese whirls?

Freeze the biscuits before assembling (so without the buttercream and jam filling) for up to three months. Make sure they are completely cool before placing in a freezer safe container.

Viennese whirls variations

• Chocolate Viennese whirls. Substitute 30g of flour for the same weight of cocoa powder. Fill with a chocolate buttercream instead of vanilla if desired.
• Lemon Viennese whirls. Add the zest of a lemon into the biscuit dough as well as into the buttercream. Use lemon curd instead of raspberry jam in the filling.
• Coffee and caramel Viennese whirls. Add 1 tbsp instant coffee to the dough and the buttercream too. Swap the jam in the filling for caramel when sandwiching the biscuits together.

Tips and techniques to make Viennese whirls

• I would highly recommend using weighing scales to make this type of biscuit, as they can be temperamental and tricky to pipe or hold their shape when baked if the quantities are not accurate.
• Use butter at room temperature when making both the biscuits and the buttercream. This will make it a lot easier to mix the ingredients resulting in a better finished bake.
• Always use icing (powdered) sugar in both the cookies and the buttercream filling. Icing sugar dissolves more easily into each mixture, giving smoother finished results without the ‘crunch’ of sugar crystals.
• When making both biscuit and filling, beat the butter and sugar on high until much paler and really soft and spreadable. Doing this will make piping both mixtures much easier.
• Once the flours have been added to the mixture, you do not want to beat it any more than required to mix it all together. Overmixing the dough will result in tougher baked biscuits as it will overwork the gluten in the flour.
• Always use a strong piping bag to ensure it does not burst during piping, especially when preparing the biscuits. Ensure you use an open nozzle too (I used a star tip for the extra decoration it gives) to make it easier to pipe the dough.
• Freezing, or at least chilling, the dough piped biscuits before baking will help them hold their shape better as it gives the butter chance to firm up again once softened during mixing.

Troubleshooting

If you have any other questions about this recipe Viennese whirls, please leave me a comment below, I would love to help. And if you do make this recipe for Viennese whirls, please do consider leaving a rating and review below. I would really appreciate your feedback to grow my website and it really helps others looking for a similar recipe too. Additionally, you could also post a picture on Instagram and tag me when you share it with the world. You already know I would love to see!

More recipes from my blog for you to enjoy

Do check out these other delicious recipes on my blog too:

Mini Victoria sponge cakes: These adorable mini cakes are a total winner every time! Light and fluffy vanilla mini cakes sandwiched with beautiful strawberry jam and delicious vanilla buttercream. They are so simple, but these Victoria sponge cup cakes are always enjoyed by everyone!

Custard cream biscuits: For all in the know, these are the perfect British tea time treat! Melt in your mouth custard biscuits sandwiched with simple vanilla buttercream in this nostalgic and homely bake. A perfect biscuit to enjoy with a cup of tea!

Mini cherry bakewell tarts: This recipe is the only one you will ever need for the perfect mini cherry bakewell tarts. Beautiful buttery pastry, rich cherry jam, scrumptious almond frangipane. All topped with a layer of icing and, of course, the obligatory cherry on top!

Happy baking, my friends! x

Recommended equipment I used *

Baking tray	Digital kitchen scales
Measuring spoons	Mixing bowl
Handheld electric mixer	Sieve
Spatula	Piping bag
Piping nozzle	Cooling rack