Homemade Tim Tams
Homemade Tim Tams. Chocolate cookies filled with malted chocolate buttercream and dipped in milk chocolate!
I am incredibly excited about two things today! These homemade Tim Tam cookies (which are beyond ridiculous ) and my friend Sarah’s new cookbook The Sugar Hit!. I’m going to tell you about both of them.
First, let’s talk about this cookbook.
If you’ve been following my blog for some time or have read a handful of my Sunday Thymes posts, you know that I am a huge fan of Sarah’s blog and recipes! She makes some of the most creative, decadent, and playful sweets out there.
Sarah’s incredible eye for design, graphics, and photography drew me in years and years ago and ever since, I’ve been absolutely hooked.
Like any true fan girl, I sent her an email at one point (in blog years, it was a century ago) telling her just how much I admire her work and I’ve been lucky enough to call her a friend ever since.
As you can imagine, I was incredibly excited when she announced last April that she was publishing a cookbook! I knew right away that it would be, in no other words, epic.
Now that I have a copy in my kitchen, I’m even more blown away than I expected to be. If you’re a dessert or sweets lover, you will absolutely adore this cookbook. It is filled to the brim with wildly fun and whimsical sweets (from breakfast, brunch, and holiday treats to midnight snacks and everything in between!), tips, and baking inspiration.
If that wasn’t enough, every single recipe is accompanied by a gorgeous photograph. It exceeded even my wildest expectations! I mean, how can you not smile when you see recipes like Passionfruit S’More Cones, ‘Like a Fat Kid Loves’ Milkshakes, Filthy Cheat’s Jam Doughnut, and Eggnog Bread Pudding with Cinnamon Caramel Sauce?
Sarah poured her heart and soul into this book and it shows with each turn of the page. So, when I was trying to choose a recipe from the cookbook to share with all of you–I struggled because I wanted to make every.single.one!
At the end of the day, my heart was stolen by a recipe for homemade Tim Tams. If you’re not familiar with Tim Tams (and you most likely aren’t), they are a household cookie staple in Australia. [Spoiler alert: Sarah lives in Brisbane, Australia!]
Tim Tams are basically the Australian equivalent of an Oreo–but 10,000,000 times better. Essentially, they are two chocolate malt sandwich cookies sandwiched with a malted chocolate filling and enrobed in milk chocolate.
During college, I studied abroad and lived in Brisbane, Australia for six months. Ironically, Sarah and I lived within blocks of each other at one point in our lives without ever realizing it! While I lived there, I became privy to the Tim Tam phenomenon (and equally as phenomenal Tim Tam slams!) and have been enamored with these little cookies ever since.
When I spotted a recipe for homemade Tim Tams in Sarah’s cookbook, I was sold. I debated making my own adaptation of this recipe, but the original was too good not to share.
Now that I’ve made said recipe, I can confidently declare that Sarah nailed it and this homemade version of a Tim Tam is significantly tastier than the pre-packaged version.
Although dipped chocolate cookies always appear to be complicated and fussy, don’t be intimidated by this recipe, as it is much simpler than it appears to be (the cookie dough comes together in minutes, the ingredient list is simple, and these cookies can be made start to finish in under an hour and a half!).
If you don’t have the patience to cut these cookies into rectangles–I used a ruler to make this easier–you can also use a biscuit cutter and cut them into rounds. Additional tip? Buy good-quality milk chocolate for dipping (do not substitute with milk chocolate chips).
If you’re looking for a special treat to bring to holiday or cookie-swap parties over the next few months, these Homemade Tim Tams are the perfect choice! I personally guarantee that you will win over all of your family and friends with these things.
In the mean time, don’t forget to get your hands on a copy of The Sugar Hit! cookbook! It’s a true winner.
Homemade Tim Tams
Ingredients
Cookie Dough:
- 1 stick (4 oz; 115 g) unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup (115 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup (30 g) unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 1¼ cups (150 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
- pinch of kosher salt
Filling:
- 1 stick (4 oz; 115 g) unsalted butter softened
- 1¼ cups (125 g) powdered sugar sifted
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon malted drink powder such as Ovaltine
Coating:
- 7 ounces (200 g) milk chocolate (60% cocoa solids)
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
Instructions
- Prepare the Cookies: Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl, add the egg and continue beating until the egg is incorporated and the mixture lightens in color. Add the cocoa powder and beat until there are no lumps. Finally, add the flour and salt on low speed until incorporated. The dough will be very soft. Turn the dough onto a piece of parchment paper on a work surface, top with another piece of parchment paper, and roll out into a large rectangle about ¼-inch thick. Put the dough on a tray and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) with a rack in the center position and line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Take the dough out of the freezer and slice it into 28 small (1¼ x 2½ inch) rectangles. Seperate the rectangles and spread them out on the lined baking trays. Bake for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the Filling: Cream the butter until soft, sift in the remaining ingredients and beat until well combined. Spread a heaped teaspoon of filling onto half of the cookies, on the bottom side. Top with the remaining cookies, then place in the refrigerator to chill while you prepare the coating.
- Prepare the Coating: Place the chocolate and coconut oil in a heat-proof bowl and melt together in the microwave on High (100%) in 30-second bursts, stirring well after each burst. Once the chocolate is mostly melted, remove and stir gently until smooth.
- Take a chilled cookie and carefully coat it in the chocolate – this is easiest if you use your hands – then put it on a lined baking tray. Chill in the refrigerator completely before enjoying.
63 Comments on “Homemade Tim Tams”
I struggled to get these into nice rectangles, felt like 30min freezing the fought was not enough and it did not come off the parchment paper so the shape would be ruined as I tried to move from paper to pan. What did I do wrong?!
Hi! I haven’t heard that feedback before. My only thought is that the dough got way too warm (are you working in a hot kitchen?) – did you use a scale to measure your ingredients? I highly recommend always doing that for best results. If the dough was rolled out to 1/4-inch thickness, 30 minutes in the freezer should absolutely be plenty enough time for it to get chilled enough to cut out. But if your dough was super soft, etc. time always might need to be adjusted! It should very, very chilled coming out of the freezer, otherwise it would not slice cleanly and the parchment would stick.
Thank you! I think it was just my rolling consistency, but I’ll also use a scale next time. We just moved back to USA from Australia and these definitely are our best bet to recreate something that truly reminds us of our time there, rectangles or not 🙂 they taste great!
These look amazing. I’ve done part one to make the biscuits but they are a bit softer than the harder crumbly tim tam biscuits. Still delicious, but not quite there with that crunch. Should I have cooked them a little more? Can I pop them back in now they have cooled or will that destroy them?
They shouldn’t be soft once baked – or cooled. They should be crisp – I wonder if they were not baked long enough or you haven’t let them cool sufficiently? I haven’t heard this feedback before, so it’s hard to troubleshoot without more information.
these look so good! Do you have an ideas for a substitute of coconut oil?
Coconut oil will thin the melted chocolate slightly and help it set quicker (coconut oil solidifies at 76/77°F) after dipping. You can leave it out if you want – it isn’t essential – just helps with both those things mentioned above!
they were delicious
I made these yesterday and they turned out amazing.
I didn’t have any malted milk powder so I made a peanut butter frosting and dipped in semisweet chocolate instead of milk to counter the sweetness. With a little sea salt these were a huge hit.
I’ll get some malted milk powder soon and try the original. These are really special. I love the way the dough bakes up. Kind of porous and lite. I also love the coconut oil trick. Makes melting and dipping less of a pain and adds a wonderful shine and texture.
Hi again!
Sorry, I have another question, is Milo drink powder well to use in the recipe?
Thanks.
Sure, that could work too!
Hi! I am addicted to Tim Tams the first time I tried it. When deciding to make some, I found your website and it is so amazing! Can I replace coconut oil with butter?
I’m not sure, they don’t really behave differently, so while I think it might be fine, I haven’t made that substitution before and can’t guarantee the same results. Sorry I can’t be more helpful!
Okay, thank you for your recipe though!
Okay….. I was a local specialty store and saw Tim Tam’s.. Thought… hmm Ive heard of them. Im on a macaron group on FB and there are about 30,000 members and many have suggested I create a macaron version. Well, I had no idea what they taste like so was not able to help. NOW I am going to make this recipe and have also infused a couple of cups of sugar with bourbon and will try the bourbon variety once I make them the way they are posted. ( then do a chocolate bourbon filling as well)… Thanks for the recipe!!
Did you successfully make a Tim tam macaron? If so will you share your recipe!?
They look great but it should be illegal for a Tim Tam to be referred to as a “cookie”. It’s a BISCUIT!!!!!
I made these and WOW they are soooooo good! That malted buttercream is out of this world! I really am having a hard time not eating all of them at once. I might dare to say they taste better than real Tim Tams. I want to try making this recipe again, but add some espresso powder to the filling since the espresso Tim Tams are my favorite, but they are not to be found in the US. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe!
We really want to try this recipe, but is the coconut oil very important for the coating, or can it be substituted with another oil?
BR fro Norway
Coconut oil solidifies at a lower temperature than any other type of oil, which helps with setting the chocolate, but you could leave it out or add a touch of vegetable oil (only if needed to thin). You might have to store the cookies in the fridge to make sure the chocolate doesn’t soften too much. Hope this helps!
Can you recommend a brand of chocolate for dipping the cookies?
There are a lot of great quality bar chocolates out there, but if you’re in the US, I always think Trader Joe’s bar chocolate is pretty good for the value. Also, Valhrona, Guittard, or Lindt are some other good choices. Hope this helps!
Thanks for the recipe, I’ve tried TimTams once before but I’ve been wanting to make some. Last night I did and I’ve got a question, how exactly are you supposed to do the coating? I followed the recipe but it did not turn out right. It is too liquidy and there small chunks of coconut oil in it. The filling was soooooooooooo goooood!! TIA
Sounds like the coconut oil was too cold and solidified – this would happen if you didn’t microwave it long enough, but it should melt in the microwave. If you’re using chocolate with stabilizers, there is a chance that the chocolate seized, but I haven’t gotten this feedback before.
Thank you! I will try it again soon!
I discovered your recipe and was intrigued that you were not Australian. I am Australian and am about to use the recipe with my Year 12 Food Technology class and compare the outcome with the commercial variety. The students are very excited as Tim Tams are so popular here, great photos too!Cassie
I’m in Canada, where Tim Tams have long been available. I love them and can’t wait to try this recipe. I’m confused, though, because you say they are malted chocolate cookies, but the only malt in the recipe is in the filling. Should the cookie dough have some malt powder as well?
Hi Elise! No, the cookie dough for these doesn’t contain malt powder. This is not my original recipe – it was shared from a good friend’s new cookbook at the time (the post is several years old), but it’s a great recipe. You probably could add malt powder to the cookie dough as well, but I haven’t tested it so I can’t share more specifics unfortunately.
Is the milk chocolate for the coating a baking kind? Or just normal milk chocolate (Like a hershy’s bar).
I would advise getting a higher quality one! Basic chocolate bars (and chocolate chips too) tend to have extra ingredients that can be more prone to seizing or acting up for dipping, melting, etc.
These look really great, and I’m planning to try the recipe this week. Is it possible to make the wafers ahead of time and freeze until ready to sandwich and coat?
How far ahead of time? If its less than a week, I wouldn’t even bother freezing them! I haven’t personally tried to freeze these cookies, but I think it would work well, just don’t want to give you extra steps if its not necessary 🙂 Thanks for the comment Arianna!
Hi – this looks great. How long will they last in an airtight container do you think?
You can definitely store them in the refrigerator (unless your kitchen is cool, in which case they could be left out – the chocolate is not tempered, so you just have to watch any melting!) for at least a week or longer. The chocolate coating keeps the cookie fairly crisp!
hi! your recipe looks amazing and i’m eager to try it out! however, it calls fro malted drinking powder and idk if can get any, where i live.
is it okay to leave it out? or is there any substitute i could use? thank you
Hi! No problem at all. The malted drinking powder is basically Ovaltine, if that is available around you. Honestly, it is such a minimal amount that you can ABSOLUTELY leave it out and make the recipe without it. Thanks for asking and hope this helps!
I’m so going to make them next weekend. This is absolutly fantastic. I know what Tim Tam’s are from my various stays over in Australia but I was never able to taste them due to my real bad dairy allergy but if I change some little things in that recipe above I will finally be able to try them. Awesome. Thanks for posting this and of course thanks to Sarah for creating this great recipe!
So glad you stumbled upon these cookies! You will LOVE them (Sarah gets all the credit!).
I fully intend to make these and then tim tam slam my way to the ultimate cookie happiness. These are THE BEST.
Wow! Those look like chocolate heaven!
Oh my gosh! I am so happy to see this recipe! I absolutely love Tim Tams and I am so excited to try making them myself!
This post…was so lovely that it actually brought a tear to my eye. I know how lame that is but it’s true. Thank you thank you thank you so much, I’m so lucky to count you as a friend! xx Sarah
Thank YOU! I was so thrilled to be able to do this post and every word I wrote is absolutely true. Your book is stunning!!! 🙂 xo
Wow, 10,000,000 times better than an Oreo? OK, I have to check this out (and the cookbook)! They look scrumptious. Thanks Mate!
Ok, I might have exaggerated a teensy bit, but they ARE absolutely better than Oreos. Significantly and substantially better! 🙂 Thanks Susan!
Wow! I’ve never heard of Tim Tams before but now I’m really intrigued!! These look incredible!!
Yes! I think you can occasionally find them in the states, but they are are a popular Australian cookie! Thanks Sophie!
Oh my! These look perfect. Like, exactly like REAL tim tams!
As an Aussie, I am so proud of Sarah, is that weird? x
Not at ALL! I’m proud of her too! 🙂
How long can you store these. And should I store them in the fridge, freezer, or at room temp.
I would probably store them in the fridge, personally. Room temperature could work for a short time, but only if its very cool in your kitchen. Freeze will probably work too, but they might get pretty hard and I have never tried that.
I think I could literally eat a dozen of these…For real. I need to pop over to Sugar Hit more often!
I had to stop myself from eating all of them! Luckily, my in-laws came into town a couple days after I made these and they happily took some off of my hands 🙂
Oh hellll yeah! I looooove tim-tams!!
Yaasssss. I love when people know what I’m talking about 😉
Oh this is so happening. Thank you for sharing this and Sarah for creating it. I make recipes from both your blogs often. Our neighbors are Australian and bring Tim Tams to Pizza Night. His mother was just in town and brought sea salt caramel Tim Tams. Thud. But, spoiler alert-they have them at the Target out by me. Not sure if they are in all Illinois Targets but they are in the Hodgkins one!
Oh my gosh!!!! Your comment just made my day. I will need to make a trip to Target immediately (although, these homemade ones really are so much better!!!! for the sake of nostalgia. Thanks so much Mo!
I am a tim tam virgin, but you have definitely enticed me! All of Sarah’s recipes sound amazing. I look forward to giving these a try.
Oh my god, They are so good!!!! Someone just told me that you can find them at some Targets?! I still think these homemade ones are better though.
This is SO COOL!! My friend and I are going to try making this on our next sleepover, sounds divine. Oh, this, and THIS: https://www.facebook.com/12Tomatoes/videos/1082840655083997/
Woh! That looks insane. I still have never made monkey bread! Need to get on that…
These are pure genius! I need to get my hands on that book STAT! Love that you chose this recipe though..pure, sweet goodness.
Thanks Katrina! Definitely order a copy or ask for it for Christmas. It is so fun!