Looking for the authentic Edmonds chocolate chip cookies recipe? These Sante Biscuits are a beloved Kiwi classic, known for their delightful crunch and rich chocolate flavor.
More of our favourite chocolate cookies include: Chocolate Spiced Mexican Snickerdoodles, Chocolate Chip Banana Cookies, Double Chocolate Ginger Cookies or Aussie Milo Cookies.
Quick look at Sante Biscuits
- ⏲️ Ready in 30 minutes.
- 🛒 Ingredients: Just 7 (probably in your pantry)!
- 🍽️ Makes: About 25 biscuits (cookies).
- 🧑🍳 Difficulty: Easy - kid-friendly recipe.
- 🗃️ Make ahead: Keep for 1 week.
These are possibly the most popular chocolate chip biscuit in New Zealand appearing in the classic Edmond's Cookery book.
I've got some Kiwi blood in me (thanks to my Kiwi Grandmother) but I'm embarassed to say, I'd never heard of Edmonds until my Kiwi friend gifted me a copy years ago.
In the past it was always given to brides-to-be as a bridal shower gift.
Why Make This Sante Biscuits Recipe
- They're not too sweet.
- They're delicious & have a lovely hint of caramel if you add white chocolate.
- If you like more of a crunchy cookie rather than chewy then these are for you.
- They're a New Zealand tradition and famous cookie.
This reason is a little bit of a funny one but I like them because they're not messy to roll! They don't stick to your hands & roll nice and smooth.
Recipe Ingredients
- Butter - pure butter, the type you get wrapped in foil. Make sure you let it soften.
- Sugar - raw sugar or regular white sugar. You could sub in rapadura but we haven't tried it yet.
- Sweetened condensed milk - this seems to be the secret ingredient for the texture of these.
- Chocolate chips - milk, white or dark or go for a combo like we did or of course use chopped chocolate like the Sante namesake.
- Vanilla - preferably extract rather than essence. Here's how to make homemade vanilla extract.
Recipe Variations
- Double Chocolate Sante Biscuits: What's better than chocolate chip? Double chocolate chip! Substitute ¼ cup of the flour with cocoa powder (or raw cacao) to the dough for a richer chocolate flavour.
- Nutty Sante Biscuits: Add ¼ cup of chopped walnuts or pecans for added crunch.
How to make Sante Biscuits
Step 1 - I always like to measure out the ingredients before I start baking. That way I don't leave anything out.
Step 2 - Place the sugar, condensed milk, butter and vanilla together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat together until they are light and fluffy.
Step 3 - Add the sifted flour & baking powder and keep mixing until it's all combined.
Step 4 - Add the chocolate chips and mix until they're just distributed.
You don't want any cookies to be chocolate-less though so make sure you give it a reasonable mix.
Step 5 - Use about a tablespoon of dough at a time and roll it into balls then put it on a lined baking tray.
Step 6 - They don't spread too much but I still left about 3cm between mine. Press them down gently with a fork or your fingers.
They won't change shape much after baking. Make sure you press down to the thickness you want the finished biscuits to be.
Step 7 - Bake them at 170C fan-forced for 18-20 minutes or until they start to turn golden. Leave on the tray to set for about 10 minutes.
Step 8 - Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
They're quite a thick cookie & pretty firm. If you like a softer chocolate chip cookie, our simple chewy chocolate chip cookies might be more your thing.
Recipe FAQs
Before the good old chocolate chip was invented for baking, we used to use chopped up chocolate bars.
Actually, that's what I do most of the time. Sante bars were a particular brand of chocolate bars made in England since the 1860s.
So that's where Santes biscuits got their name from. In New Zealand, they're also called Kiwi Crisps.
You sure can. Dark chocolate would be my pick. The richness will complement the biscuit's sweetness.
Enjoy!
You might also like our Afghan cookie recipe - another classic New Zealand biscuit.
Recipe
Santes - New Zealand's chocolate chip biscuits
Ingredients
- 125g butter softened
- ¼ cup sugar
- 3 tablespoon sweetened condensed milk
- 1 ½ cup plain flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
- Few drops of vanilla extract
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 170C (338F) fan-forced and line two baking trays with baking paper.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar, vanilla and condensed milk together until they are light and creamy.
- Add the sifted flour and baking powder and beat until combined.
- Add chocolate chips and beat until nicely distributed through the dough.
- Take the bowl of the stand and roll tablespoons full of dough into balls.
- Place the balls on the trays, leaving 3cm between each one and gently press the tops using a floured fork or your fingers.
- Bake the biscuits for 18-20 minutes or until golden.
- Leave them to rest on the trays for 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Claire says
Super easy and delicious!
Hayley says
what is the secret behind these? I have made the recipie over and over again but I cannot figure out what I am doing wrong. when I add the flour etc in the end everything is far too dry and does not bind together. I don’t really get what is suppose to bind this recipe together. the only liquid in these cookies come from the vanilla essences and then the sweetened condensed milk with is more gluggy than anything and once creamed with the butter etc becomes quite solid. I had to add some milk in the end to bind it together otherwise would be just dry dust that doesn’t come together at all. then (maybe because of adding a little bit of milk) these cookies burn (after 17minutes in the oven). I can try less time for next time but is there any thing else I am doing wrong? like instead of softened butter should I melt the butter because then that at least would be some extra liquid?
Claire says
Hi Hayley. Oh dear that's no good! The only thing I can think of is that you perhaps need to beat the butter, sugar, vanilla and condensed milk for longer. It shouldn't be solid it should be nice and light and creamy. The butter might be a bit hard? Are you in a high altitude? That's the only other thing I can think of because this changes things although I'm not sure how to adjust for the altitude I'm sorry.
Hayley says
no butter has not been in the fridge and is softened but not so much its melting. I beat everything for a few minutes enough to make it light and fluffy like I make so many thing. It is light and fluffy but has no moisture in it to bind things.
I live in Auckland nz so no high altitude.
Claire says
I'm totally stumped Hayley! Only suggestion I can make is to try one of my other tasty choc-chip cookie recipes :-)
Hayley says
only difference is I use extract instead of essence?
Claire says
Nope that shouldn't make a difference.
Emma says
They are called Sante biscuits because traditionally we made them by cutting up Sante bars: Sante bars are dark chocolate, in narrow bars, which were sold individually (no wrappers, just out of a box of bars) in dairies -- when I was little, they were about 5 cents each. My grandparents would buy a box of sante bars when they came to visit us each christmas and it would sit on the counter in the kitchen for us to help ourselves from - it was always an exciting part of their visit. The Sante bar is now made by Whittakers (who also make our famous peanut slabs), they cost a lot more, and they come in a wrapper these days, but they are still much the same:
http://shop.countdown.co.nz/Shop/ProductDetails?Stockcode=267011&name=whittakers-chocolate-bar-dark-sante-75g
: )
Claire says
What a lovely story Emma thanks for sharing!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says
Ooh have you made Afghans? I think I may have seen you make them in April? They're my favourite NZ biscuit-so addictive :) I should give these a go as I can imagine that they're also lovely.
Claire says
I have! They are so good. So very easy to make too!
The Café Sucré Farine says
So what do you think if I send you a bill for a new computer? After all, you're the one responsible for all this drool on my laptop! Claire, these look melt-in-your mouth delicious! If you don't put that cookbook away, we're all going to be fat as pigs! But what a fun way to go to oinker land .............
Claire says
Sorry about that Chris! Yes I think I need to move on to some healthier recipes. I've been doing way too much baking lately! It's what I do to keep warm.
Hotly Spiced says
Hi Claire, no, I can't help. I have no idea why they're called Sante Biscuits. I thought they were called Chocolate Chip Cookies so when I couldn't find that listed anywhere in the index of the Edmonds Cookbook I thought I was going mad. I rang my mother and she said, 'They're called Sante biscuits' but I didn't ask why. Mum used to make them almost weekly and they would be sitting on trays, just out of the oven when we walked in from school. They are delicious aren't they. Hard to stop at one or two or five. Yours look great. Have a lovely time at the beach. I do hope the weather is favorable. I've heard it's been very cold on the Sunshine Coast. Coldest week on record apparently xx
Claire says
The weather is just beautiful Charlie! I packed all jeans and jumpers and I've been hot. I would have loved to come home to a few batches of these when I was litte! x
Corrie says
Three kinds of chocolate?! they MUST be good :-)
Claire says
Yes indeed!
celia says
Well, I think they look heavenly!
Great recipe, Claire! I love a cookie that you can eat more than one of without feeling sick.. ;-)
Claire says
That is the key to a good cookie isn't it?
Jennifer (Delicieux) says
Those biscuits look dangerously addictive Claire! I think I'd find it hard to stop at one.
Claire says
and you would be right!