Walnut and Chocolate Ganache Biscuits

1¼ cups walnut pieces, roasted until lightly golden
1 cup icing sugar
2 tablespoons plain flour or plain gluten-free flour (I used Orgran brand)
¾ teaspoon ground mixed spiced
finely grated zest 1 orange
3 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger 
1 egg, lightly beaten

Chocolate ganache
1 cup cream
200 grams dark chocolate

To cook
1 cup icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 170°C.

Place all the ingredients except the egg in a food processor.

Process until the mixture is finely chopped but not smooth. Add the egg and pulse to form a soft, sticky dough. It should look like chunky peanut butter. Scrape into a bowl, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm.

Liberally sprinkle the bench and your hands with icing sugar.

Scoop out small teaspoons of dough and drop onto the icing sugar. Roll into marble-sized balls. They will triple in size when cooked. Flatten the tops lightly with a fork then sprinkle with extra icing sugar to give a good coating. Place on lined baking trays about 3 cm apart. Chill one tray of cookies while the first tray is in the oven.

Bake for about 10 minutes until golden and the tops have a crackled effect.

Cool on the tray for 2 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.

Ganache: Put the cream in a small saucepan and bring to just below boiling point. Remove from the heat, add the chocolate and stir until smooth. Tip into a bowl and cool to a thick, spreadable consistency.

Spoon the ganache into a piping bag with a fluted nozzle. Pipe a layer onto the smooth side of half of the cookies then sandwich with the remaining cookies. Place in the fridge for 1 hour to set the ganache. Makes about 20 doubles depending on their size

Cook’s tip: Unfilled cookies will keep for 3 days in an airtight container. Filled cookies will soften after 1 day.