Cookie Lab

Cookie Lab Cookie #213 TimTam Copycat Cookies

• Chris Whitbeck & Jill Maxwell • Season 5 • Episode 5

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0:00 | 23:20

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The TimTam Slamdown! (G’day from the Cookie Lab) 🇦🇺🍫

G’day, bakers! This week on Cookie Lab, we are heading Down Under—without ever leaving the kitchen—to tackle one of Australia’s most iconic and addictive exports: the TimTam. Jill and Chris are in the lab recreating these chocolate-coated, malted-cream-filled masterpieces using a stunningly accurate and delicious recipe from the baking blog A Beautiful Plate. Before we even touched a cookie, we sat down to discuss the fascinating history of this Aussie legend, tracing its origins back to the 1960s when Ian Norris at Arnott’s was inspired to create a better version of the British Penguin biscuit, eventually naming his creation after the 1958 Kentucky Derby winner.

Once the historical stage was set, we moved straight into the main event: the tasting and the legendary "TimTam Slam." For the uninitiated, this involves biting off opposite corners of the cookie and using it as a literal straw for a hot beverage, a high-stakes maneuver that requires precision, speed, and a very high tolerance for melted chocolate on your fingers. We let you know exactly how our homemade version from A Beautiful Plate held up under the pressure of the coffee soak and whether it achieved that perfect, gooey structural collapse that makes a TimTam so famous.

Finally, we wrapped up the episode by geeking out over the technical side of the filling with a deep dive into the specific chemistry of creaming confectioner’s sugar into butter. Focusing on how the fine particles affect aeration and structural integrity. We broke down the science of why this specific mixing method is the secret to achieving that professional, "melt-away" texture in the center that separates a true TimTam from a standard chocolate cookie. It is an episode full of international flair, messy fingers, and the essential physics of the perfect cream filling!

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