Coconut & raspberry wagon wheels – chocolate shortbread biscuits sandwiched with coconut marshmallow & raspberry jam, and coated in dark chocolate. Jump to Recipe
Cookies were my baking starting point. The creaming of butter and sugar, addition of eggs and vanilla, and gentle fold through of sifted flour and raising agents became second nature long before any of the more complicated treats that grace this blog. A container of cookies on the shelf was a constant in our house. My favourite through high school was a twist on a chocolate chip cookie – Mum had been sent the recipe in an email where they were nicknamed ‘Neiman-Marcus cookies’, but I doubt the attached story regarding being ripped off for the recipe was true. In any case, they were a weekly Sunday endeavor for a while – whole oats blitzed in the food processor for extra texture, and both grated dark chocolate and chunks mixed in, lending a speckled appearance. It was a massive batch of dough – I’d get forty or so cookies from it. They were tucked into my school lunch so frequently, tidily wrapped in cling wrap, my friends began nicknaming them the ‘Claudia Cookie’ – I brought more in to share after that.
It petered out at some point, probably coinciding with my growing desire to try out new combinations – cakes and brownies, puddings and elaborate tarts for dessert. And when I left for university, my brothers ended up with store-bought cookies more often than not – though to be fair, Mum makes a wicked ginger crunch when time allows, the boys have gotten fairly adept at the old chocolate self-saucing pudding, and Dad even tackles a fruit crumble occasionally. We are a family with a sweet tooth, that’s for sure.
So when I was invited by Natalie and Holly over at The Modern Proper to take part in their #calmandbrightcookienight – an evening of sharing our favourite cookie recipes and finding new favourites in time for the festive season – I knew it was time to bring the cookie back. I turned to a classic cookie in this part of the world – the wagon wheel – and combined it with one of the most iconic kiwi treats – the lamington. Lamingtons are a springy sponge cake cut into squares, coated in a chocolate or raspberry glaze and rolled in desiccated coconut. I always imagine the supermarket bakery section version, housed in clear plastic containers and brought to almost every single school shared lunch as far back as I can remember – but homemade versions are much better. Wagon wheels are more of an Australian and UK sweet, first launched in 1948 – shortbread cookies sandwiching a marshmallow filling with a bit of jam in the centre, and the entire round dunked in chocolate until it resembles something like a wheel.
This version is an effort – it’s not as simple as those original ‘Claudia Cookies’. But in terms of festive baking, it hits the spot. In the last few years I’ve given Christmas baking gifts to friends and family – last year dark chocolate rocky road, studded with marshmallow chunks, chopped almonds and freeze dried raspberries & cherries. Before that it was homemade raspberry marshmallow for the kids and dark chocolate ganache truffles for adults, though I’m sure a bit of swapping went on! For Mum it’s often a jar of biscotti – chocolate hazelnut or the holiday coloured cranberry, pistachio and orange zest – twice baked in a log and then slices to last the next six weeks of coffee dunking.
If we were here for Christmas this year, I’d be gifting these coconut & raspberry wagon wheels. Chocolate shortbread cookies sandwich a homemade melt-in-your-mouth coconut marshmallow, with a centre of firm sharp raspberry jam. They’re dunked in a thick dark chocolate coating and decked out with freeze dried raspberry crumble and coconut chips. You have to exercise a little patience while waiting for various components to set, but it is worth it in the end, and no step in isolation is particularly difficult. Just read the recipe and cook’s notes thoroughly, have all ingredients on hand, and allow yourself time to enjoy the process! Merry Christmas and happy #calmandbrightcookienight! Check out Holly & Natalie’s post for the full list of bloggers who are participating with amazing cookie recipes.
- Recipe makes 24 wagon wheels. Can be halved to make 12.
- The amount of chocolate and coconut oil you use for dipping is up to you – to fully coat all 24 you may need the max quantities (500g chocolate, 2 tbsp coconut oil), but you can also half-dip the wagon wheels if you prefer.
- Start the cookie dough the night before so it can rest in the fridge. In the morning, bake the cookies, make the marshmallow and sandwich together.
- You need an electric or sugar thermometer to make the marshmallow, and read the recipe carefully and have everything prepped before you start so it doesn’t get stressful. Once the marshmallow is done, work quickly to pipe it on the cookies and sandwich them as it will set fast.
- 225 g unsalted butter , softened
- 1 cup (225g) caster sugar
- 1/2 cup tightly packed brown sugar (100g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 2 eggs
- 3 cups (420g) plain flour
- 3/4 cup (85g) good quality cocoa
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 egg whites
- 150 ml water
- 1 3/4 cups caster sugar
- 1 tablespoon liquid glucose / corn syrup
- 10 gold-strength gelatine leaves (20g), soaked and drained (usually soak for 5-10 min in cold water until soft, but follow packet instructions for soaking)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 1/2 teaspoon coconut essence
- High quality raspberry jam , the firmer the better
- 250-500 g dark chocolate
- 1-2 tablespoons coconut oil
- Freeze dried raspberries
- Toasted coconut flakes
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Cream the butter and both sugars until pale and fluffy (~5 min), regularly scraping down the sides of the bowl.
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Add the vanilla, eggs and salt and beat to combine.
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Sift over the flour and cocoa and mix gently to just combine. Do not overmix.
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Turn out onto a lightly floured bench and divide into 2 pieces. Gently work each into disc, wrap in cling film and chill in the refrigerator overnight.
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The next day, bring the cookie dough out at room temperature for 10 minutes to allow to soften slightly.
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Roll each piece out between two pieces of baking paper to 3-5mm thick. Cut out circular rounds (mine were 7cm diameter) and place on a tray. You can roll out the scrap cookie dough a second time to cut out more cookies. Refrigerate cookie rounds for 30 minutes.
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Preheat the oven to 180°C.
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Transfer cookie rounds to a lined baking tray if not already on one. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Leave to cool on the tray. They will harden further as they cool.
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Place 150ml water, the caster sugar and glucose in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir gently to dissolve the sugar.
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Meanwhile, place the egg whites in a stand mixture and whisk on slow until frothy.
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Once the sugar syrup comes to the boil, turn the egg whites to medium and whisk until thick and white.
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Meanwhile, cook the sugar syrup until it reaches 125°C using a digital or sugar thermometer to check the temperature accurately.
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Slowly trickle the syrup down one side of the bowl of the whisking eggwhites in a constant stream, whisking continuously. Ensure the syrup does not touch the whisk as it will splatter and stick to the side of the bowl.
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Place the soaked gelatine in the still hot saucepan that the sugar syrup was in and swirl it to dissolve (the residual heat from the sugar syrup should be enough to dissolve it). Gradually add the melted gelatin to the whisking egg white mixture.
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Add the vanilla and coconut essence.
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Continue to beat on high speed until the bowl is cool to touch, about 5-10 minutes.
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Transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a large plain nozzle.
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(excess marshmallow left at the end can be piped onto a baking paper lined tray and left to set, then coated in toasted coconut for homemade marshmallow treats).
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On your workbench, lay out half of the cookies as bases. Dollop about a teaspoon of raspberry jam into the centre of each cookie.
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Pipe a thick circle of coconut marshmallow around the raspberry jam (see photos).
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Place another cookie on top of the marshmallow and press gently to sandwich.
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Leave to set for 3 hours.
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When ready to coat, melt the chocolate and coconut oil (ratio 250g chocolate to 1 tablespoon coconut oil) in a heat-proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water.
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Dunk each wagon wheel in the melted chocolate - I dunk it with 2 forks and then hold it above the chocolate for 10-20 seconds so the excess chocolate can drip off.
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Place on a baking paper lined tray and decorate with freeze dried raspberries and coconut chips.
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Refrigerate for 30 minutes to set.
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Enjoy!!
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Keep in an airtight container in the fridge if it is hot/humid.
i’ve never heard of wagon wheels (tbh i thought of a room at my old high school called the wagon wheel bc there’s a wagon wheel hung on the wall; exciting, i know), and i’ve heard of but never tried lamingtons. obviously have to get on both! love the pop of red raspberry on top of these 💕
These sound amazing, Claudia! I absolutely love cookies that are covered all over with chocolate.
oh my goodness they are SO PRETTY CLAUDIA!!!! I’m so jealous of the raspberries and of just how bright and happy everything looks here. It’s got that holiday cheer but also reeks of summertime (or maybe that’s in my head since it just started snowing here and I miss summer!!!). Cheers!
I’ve never heard of wagon wheels, but based on the looks of your stunning cookies, they’re something I’ve been seriously missing out on! These cookies are absolutely gorgeous, and I love the combination of coconut, raspberry, and chocolate. Beautiful as usual, Claudia! xox
Thanks Rachel! They also do a chocolate-salted caramel wagon wheel combo that I can’t wait to try next. So decadent!
Who makes them? Where can I try this delicious range of wagon wheels?
THESE LOOK SO DAMN GOOD.
I have never heard of wagon wheels before!?
I’m going to have to try these for so, so many reasons!
xx
Neither before I moved to Melbourne!! They’re a little like Mallowpuffs, only with an extra biscuit on top haha! xx
I wish you were gifting these because I’d twist your arm to mail some to me! 🙂 These are so gorgeous and look like little gifts in each morsel!
Ah I wish I could, but I’d be concerned you’d be receiving a stale squishy mess by the time they got to the other side of the world haha!
Gorgeous! These actually remind me of alfajores, and since we have so many food things inherited from the UK in Argentina, I can totally see a connection here! Awesome pictures 🙂
Oh alfajores look amazing – I love the sound of the caramel filling. Thanks Fernando!
Let me know if you’d like to try dulce de leche. I would be happy to send you some!
Hooray for another family with a sweet tooth!! Now I’m sitting here thinking, how do I get a cookie named after me? And if I did, what might it be? Hmmm…
These cookies are just about as good as it gets in my opinion!!
hahahah it’s a skill. thanks so much Todd!
OMG. I’m gobsmacked!
thank you! x
Cookies were totally my starting point too! I remember making chocolate chip cookies and thinking ‘well this isn’t that hard!’ I love giving a sandwich cookie a boost with a coat of chocolate 🙂
Oooh…the combination of soft marshmallow, chocolate and jam sound incredible and they are so, so pretty! I’ve also never heard of wagon wheel cookies, but I think it’s about time I’ve had one! 😉 Your images are gorgeous, by the way!
These cookies are elegant and delightful and sound simply delicious. The coconut marshmallow especially has me salivating.
never eaten a wagon wheel (commercial cookies were a big no no in our house) these look waaaaaay better though. I swear your photos get more delicious everytime i jump on your site x
i lovee the claudia cookie story! so cute.
I’m pretty sure this is my new dream cookie, and I’ve never had a wagon wheel before. Raspberry and chocolate is one of my favorite flavor combinations, and the addition of coconut is genius. So gorgeous! Any one would be lucky to be given these during the holidays!
Oh, gosh, I remember making cookies for the first time years ago, too! These cookies look delicious, Claudia! Perfect for the holidays!
Gorgeousness!!
These sound amazing! I’ve been looking forward to trying wagon wheel, sold! I was wondering about the cookie dough; it didn’t seem to spread much but it’s hard to tell from the picture-aside from the fact that all your work seems consistent 😉 Have you tried this recipe for cut-out cookies? Do you think it would work?
Congrats on making the Saveur Finalist list, completely deserved! Your recipes and writing always keep me wanting more-such a cool achievement I’m truly so excited for you!!!
Thank you so much! Really lovely to hear, I was so surprised to become a finalist and had an absolutely incredible time in NYC.
I did cut out the cookies for this recipe – refrigerated it, rolled it out between two sheets of baking paper, refrigerated again and then baked. I don’t think they’d be as round if I’d baked them from balls of dough! Hope that helps 🙂
I love these cookies and they’re so perfect for the holidays. I particularly like the crumbly festive bits on top as decoration. Amazing!
This looks utterly fabulous..Thanks for sharing….