These Hundreds and Thousands Biscuits are a take on a New Zealand childhood classic. Buttery shortbread is topped with a pink royal icing and finished with rainbow nonpareil sprinkles.
Hundreds and Thousands Biscuits
Hi hi! Just popping in to share this recipe for Hundreds and Thousands Biscuits. These are my favourite New Zealand childhood biscuit (what we call cookies in New Zealand), and we still make sure to get a few packets when we go home now, because they are just so, so good!
Hundreds and Thousands biscuits are named after the sprinkles on the top, which is the name that we use for Nonpareils - I guess because there's hundreds and thousands of them? They are a basic vanilla biscuit, topped with icing and then finished with sprinkles. They may be basic but they are so, so good - we have holiday cookie 'sampler' boxes that you get from the supermarket around the holidays and the hundreds and thousands biscuits were always the first ones to go!
I developed this recipe for Bake from Scratch Magazine's Holiday Cookie Issue this year, but it is such a classic that I have to share it here with you too!
How to make Hundreds and Thousands Biscuits
I combined two of my favourite things to make this recipe - my Great Grandma's famous shortbread recipe, and Hundreds and Thousands Biscuits. The cookie has a vanilla shortbread base, then a royal icing top that sets up hard, and is topped with sprinkles. These are super easy to make, and only have a few steps:
- Make the Shortbread Dough - This dough is super easy to make. You cream together butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt. You then dump in the flour and mix to combine, and that's it! It gets wrapped up and hangs out in the fridge for a bit to hang out.
- Roll out the cookies - Grandma's shortbread was a slice and bake but I turned these into a roll-out situation because they are easier to cut neatly. You roll the dough out between two pieces of parchment paper (easiest and cleanest way to do it), then freeze it down which makes cutting out the cookies super neat and easy.
- Bake the Shortbread - Shortbread gets baked at a lower temperature, and we aren't looking to brown it up much, just to bake it until it's set and super tender and buttery.
- Make the Icing - I use royal icing to finish these off. I made this one with egg whites, but you can use meringue powder if you don't want to do raw egg whites.
- Add the Sprinkles - They aren't hundreds and thousands biscuits without them! I wait a few minutes before adding the sprinkles so that they don't sink.
FAQ for Hundreds and Thousands Biscuits
Yep! You can store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days. Once you add the icing and the sprinkles, the sprinkles will start to bleed, so just keep that in mind. You can also freeze the cut-out cookies before baking.
There is a bit more icing than you need in the recipe. This is because you need enough to be able to comfortably dip the cookies into the icing without them snapping and to get a good coating. It can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container with some plastic wrap on the surface, to be used in another project.
I just use regular nonpareils for these. I use the colour combination you can get just at the grocery store, but you could mix it up with lots of different colours - Sprinkle Pop and Layer Cake Shop both sell super cute sprinkles!
A few wee tips for Hundreds and Thousands Biscuits
- Leave a few minutes between dipping the cookies in the icing and adding the sprinkles. If you add them too soon, then the sprinkles will sink, which isn't the end of the world. I just prefer them a little raised up. I dip about 5 or 6, then wait, then add the sprinkles. Once you get started there isn't too much down time because you can be waiting for others to dry while dipping more.
- This shortbread works well for cut-out cookies too. I made it quite thin to mimic the hundreds and thousands biscuits. If you wanted to make more detailed cut-outs, you could roll it a bit thicker.
For more New Zealand Recipes, check out:
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Hundreds and Thousands Biscuits
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 32 cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Cuisine: New Zealand
Description
These Hundreds and Thousands Biscuits are a take on a New Zealand childhood classic. Buttery shortbread is topped with a pink royal icing and finished with rainbow nonpareil sprinkles.
Ingredients
Shortbread Biscuits
- 215g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 80g powdered sugar, sifted
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 310 grams all-purpose flour
Royal Icing
- 2 tsp water
- Pink gel food colouring, optional
- 2 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 400g confectioner’s sugar, sifted
Instructions
SHORTBREAD BISCUITS
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla bean paste on high speed until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Add the flour, and mix on low until just combined.
- Dump the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, and press out into a rectangle. Wrap tightly, and refrigerate for at least two hours, or overnight, to allow the butter to firm up.
- Place the wrapped dough on the bench for 10-15 minutes to allow it to soften slightly. Cut four pieces of parchment paper the same size as a half baking sheet (13” x 18”). Unwrap the dough, divide in two, and place each piece between two sheets of parchment paper. Using a rolling pin, bang the dough gently to help flatten out, then roll to slightly smaller than the size of the parchment paper. Aim for something that is roughly 9"x13" (23x33cm) dimensions but don't worry about having square edges, this is just a guide to know about how thick to roll it. If you have some wrinkles in the parchment paper, which will then in turn cause wrinkles in your dough, peel the sheet off and smooth it back onto the dough, then continue rolling. If you find it cracking, leave to stand for a few more minutes to soften out.
- Once you have rolled your dough, transfer both pieces, still between the two sheets of paper, to a baking sheet, and place in the freezer to firm up, 15-20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 325˚f (170˚c). Line three baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a 2 ½” fluted cookie cutter, cut circles of dough, and transfer them to the prepared baking sheet (you can fit quite a few cookies on a baking sheet, as they do not spread much). If the dough starts to soften, return to the freezer to firm up. Re-roll scraps, freeze briefly, then cut out the rest of the dough.
- Place the cut out cookies in the freezer for 10 minutes. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 12-13 minutes, until the shortbread is set and only just beginning to go golden. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for 15 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely. Store in an airtight container until you are ready to ice.
ROYAL ICING
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the water and food colouring. Add in the egg whites and confectioner’s sugar, and mix well to combine. Use immediately or store in the fridge with a piece of plastic wrap pressed directly against the surface of the icing.
- Dip each cookie in the royal icing, and then wait 2 minutes before sprinkling with the sprinkles. Place on a wire rack and leave to set at room temperature for at least an hour to allow the icing to set.
Store leftovers in an airtight container.
Keywords: Hundreds and thousands biscuits, sprinkle cookies, shortbread cookies, shortbread sprinkle cookies
these are so pretty! I can't wait to try them!!
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Love this! They look so good. Do you store in a fridge or panty? Also how long are they good for?
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Hi! Thank you! I mentioned in the FAQ section that the sprinkles start to bleed, so they are best eaten within a day or so. store at room temp 🙂
Store them in a panty???!!!!!!! LOL Thanks for the laugh Randi 🙂
Hi Erin,
These are also a classic Aussie biscuit, not going to argue which country had them first or we might start world war three (at least between Australia and New Zealand).
I don't tend to buy biscuits but if I do these are at the top of the list. I love shortbread so I will have to give these a try.
Have a safe a Merry Christmas.
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Hi! Yay yessss they are by Arnott's in Australia right? They are so, so good, I hope you give them a try! Merry Christmas x
It would be helpful to know what the dough should look like. Is it super crumbly ?
Hi! It's not super crumbly, it should be pretty soft but if it is really cold then it may split when you are rolling it out. I did a walkthrough of these on my IG stories, it is saved in my highlights if you'd like to check it out!
Can you use meringue powder instead of the egg whites?
Yep you can if you like! I would use a meringue powder based royal icing recipe though instead of subbing on this one 🙂 I like this one https://sweetopia.net/2012/01/royal-icing-recipe-free-illustrated-recipe/
Made those for Valentine's Day for my kiwi husband and what a hit! They were buttery, melting in your mouth. The icing wasn't too sweet, it was perfect!
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Ahhh so happy you loved! My kiwi husband loves them too!