Crunchy golden oat biscuits are sandwiched between smooth and creamy vanilla buttercream in this easy gypsy creams recipe!
Similar to Fox's Crunch Creams, these homemade gypsy cream sandwich cookies are ever so moreish! You won't be able to stop at one!
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McVities used to make chocolate gipsy creams (also known as romany creams in South Africa), but discontinued the product in 2005.
I decided to have a go at making these delicious oat sandwich cookies at home, and I'm so glad I did! The whole family loved them and the kids proclaimed them their new favourite biscuit!
They're the perfect sweet pick-me-up with a cup of tea or glass of milk. I've also served them up at parties and bake sales too!
👩🍳 Love cookies? Try my easy golden syrup cookies next!
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✔️ Why you'll love this recipe!
- Delicious retro sandwich cookie.
- Made with storecupboard ingredients.
- Perfect for tea parties and bake sales.
- The oat biscuits are freezer friendly.
🛒 Ingredient notes
For the biscuits you will need:
- Butter - use unsalted butter or margarine.
- Golden Caster Sugar - or use white caster sugar.
- Vanilla Extract - use a good quality extract and not essence.
- Golden Syrup - substitute with honey.
- Boiling Water
- Plain Flour - raising agents are added separately.
- Raising agents - baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
- Rolled Oats - standard oats, not quick cook or giant oats.
- Buttercream - made with salted butter, icing sugar, and vanilla extract.
🔪 Instructions
The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post
One: Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Two: Beat in the golden syrup, vanilla extract, and boiling water.
Three: Mix in the plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and rolled oats.
Four: Scoop heaped teaspoons of dough and roll them in your hands to form balls. Place on lined baking trays and flatten slightly with the palm of your hand. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
Five: Whilst the biscuits are baking, make the buttercream. Beat together softened butter, vanilla extract and sieved icing sugar until you get a smooth lump-free buttercream.
Six: Take the biscuits out of the oven and allow to cool completely.
Seven: Spread a thin later of buttercream over the flat base of half of the biscuits and sandwich together with another oat biscuit (so both flat bottoms of the biscuits are touching the buttercream).
Eight: Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
💭 Expert tips
- The oat biscuits need to be a similar size, so try and roll the same amount of dough each time. I wouldn't go as far as telling you to weigh the dough, they just need to be roughly similar sizes so they sandwich together evenly.
- It's important to line the baking sheets with nonstick baking paper or parchment paper, to prevent the biscuits from sticking to the tin.
📖 Variations
- Make a white chocolate, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate cream cheese filling instead of using vanilla buttercream.
- Replace 30g of the plain flour with cocoa powder to make chocolate gypsy cream biscuits.
- Replace half the rolled oats for desiccated coconut.
- Grate in the zest of 1 orange to the biscuit mixture before rolling them into balls to bake.
- Eat the biscuits on their own, without the buttercream!
🥡 Storage
Store: The sandwich biscuits can be stored in an airtight container or cake tin for up to 3 days.
Freeze: You can freeze the oat biscuits and vanilla buttercream separately for up to 3 months. Allow the biscuits and buttercream to thaw fully before assembling.
❓ Frequently asked questions
McVities who manufactured the biscuits in the UK discontinued the product line in 2005. A South African company called Pyotts make a similar product which is still available, called Romany Creams.
😋 More biscuit and cookie recipes
- Oatmeal Cinnamon Cookies
- Soul Cakes
- Ginger Cookies
- Chocolate Biscoff Cookies
- Golden Syrup Cookies
- Lemon Biscuits
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Recipe
Easy Gypsy Creams Recipe
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Equipment
- Baking Paper
Ingredients
- 225 g Unsalted Butter softened
- 100 g Golden Caster Sugar
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 tablespoon Golden Syrup
- 1 tablespoon Boiling Water
- 225 g Plain Flour
- ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
- 75 g Rolled Oats
For the buttercream
- 75 g Salted Butter
- 150 g Icing Sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°c (160 fan/ Gas 4/ 350F) and line 2 baking sheets with baking paper.
- Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.225 g Unsalted Butter, 100 g Golden Caster Sugar
- Beat in the golden syrup, vanilla extract, and boiling water.2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract, 1 tablespoon Golden Syrup, 1 tablespoon Boiling Water
- Mix in the plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and rolled oats.225 g Plain Flour, ½ teaspoon Baking Powder, ½ teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda, 75 g Rolled Oats
- Scoop heaped teaspoons of dough and roll them in your hands to form small balls. Place on the lined baking trays and flatten slightly with the palm of your hand. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
- Beat together softened butter, vanilla extract and sieved icing sugar until you get a smooth lump-free buttercream.75 g Salted Butter, 150 g Icing Sugar, 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Once the biscuits are completely cool spread a thin layer of buttercream over the flat base of half of the biscuits and sandwich together with the remaining biscuits (so both flat bottoms of the biscuits are touching the buttercream).
Notes
- The oat biscuits need to be a similar size, so try and roll the same amount of dough each time. I wouldn't go as far as telling you to weigh the dough, they just need to be roughly similar sizes so they sandwich together evenly.
- It's important to line the baking sheets with nonstick baking paper or parchment paper, to prevent the biscuits from sticking to the tin.
- Make a white chocolate, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate cream cheese filling instead of using vanilla buttercream.
- Replace 30g of the plain flour with cocoa powder to make chocolate gypsy cream biscuits.
- Replace half the rolled oats with desiccated coconut.
- Grate in the zest of 1 orange to the biscuit mixture before rolling them into balls to bake.
- Eat the biscuits on their own, without the buttercream!
Louise says
Even better than Fox's crunch creams!
Anonymous says
This is quite a fiddly recipe because the biscuits are very breakable but they still taste great. I might try one of the suggested variations soon =)