Home » Cookie Recipes » Yo Yo Biscuits

Yo Yo Biscuits

These Yo Yo Biscuits are an Australian classic. They’re created with butter, icing sugar, custard powder, flour, and vanilla. They’re sandwiched together with a simple 3-ingredient butter filling lightly flavored with fresh lemon juice. 

Batch of yo yo biscuits

🍪 Why You Will Love This Recipe

  • Aussie favourite biscuit recipe that is easy to make at home. 
  • Only 5-ingredients needed to make the yo yo biscuits and 3-ingredients to make the simple lemon filling
  • They have a melt-in-your-mouth texture
  • School and work lunchbox friendly! 
Yo Yo Biscuits with lemon cream filling

🍋 What Are Yo Yo Biscuits?

Yo Yo Biscuits are popular in Australia and their name ‘yo yo’ comes from them resembling the old-fashioned toy yo-yo.

The biscuits have a melt-in-your-mouth texture and a creamy filling which adds a pop of lemon sweetness. Custard powder is used in this recipe to create that classic yellow biscuit and soft crumbly texture.

Similar to Melting Moments, Yo Yo Biscuits they’re both delicate, buttery, bite-sized treats ideal for morning or afternoon tea.

Close up shot of yo yos

If you’re interested in more old-fashioned and popular biscuit recipes, try my Iced VoVo Recipe, Garibaldi Biscuits, this no-bake Hedgehog Slice Recipe and these heavenly Homemade Bounty Bars

📋 Ingredient Notes

Below are the ingredients that you need to make these iconic Yo Yo Biscuits:

Individual ingredients need to make yo yo biscuits.

Unsalted butter forms the basis to your biscuits. 

Icing/powdered sugar adds sweetness and creates a light textured biscuit that melts in your mouth. 

Vanilla extract adds a touch of extra flavour. 

Plain all purpose flour forms structure and is one of the main dry ingredients. 

Custard powder is the key and iconic ingredient in yo yo’s. It offers a beautiful flavour and melt in your mouth texture. It’s a packet custard powder mix to make custard! 

Icing/powdered sugar as the foundation for your filling. 

Unsalted butter as the moisture component. Adds structure and firms up the cream filling. 

Lemon juice as a hint of flavour and helps bring it together. Freshly squeezed is highly recommended. If you cannot get fresh lemon, use bottled lemon juice. 

🥣 How To Make Yo Yo Biscuits

How to make yo yo biscuits from scratch in 9 easy steps!

A full and detailed recipe card is at the bottom of this post.

Step one: In a large mixing bowl, beat butter for a few seconds to break it up and it begins to turn creamy.

Step two: Add the icing sugar and vanilla. Beat with the butter for 1 minute until pale and creamy. Scraping down the sides as needed. 

creaming butter and sugar together

Step three: Sift over your flour and the custard powder. Beat for 30 seconds. The dough will be crumbly. Use your hands to bring the dough together to form a ball of dough. You may think it won’t come together but it does!

Adding dry ingredients and beating together to form dough
Biscuit dough

Step four: To form the biscuits, pick up 2 teaspoons worth of dough, weighing 13g each. Roll into a smooth ball and place on your lined tray. Leaving a small gap between each biscuit.

Step five: Take a fork and lightly press down on each biscuit, this will create that iconic yo yo appearance. 

Biscuits on tray

Step six: Transfer to the oven and bake for 5 minutes, then rotate the tray and bake for a further 4 minutes. Their baking time is 9 minutes all up. They will have a hint of light golden around the edges but remain pale on top. 

Step seven: Remove from oven and allow your biscuits to cool on the tray for 10 minutes. Then transfer to a wire rack to cool them down completely. 

Close up shot of biscuits before and after being pressed with a fork

Step eight: In a medium sized mixing bowl, add the icing sugar, melted butter and the lemon juice. Use a whisk to mix it altogether until well combined, it will turn thick.

Cream filling being made

Step nine: Spoon about half a teaspoon of the filling onto the bottom of one biscuit. Place the second biscuit on top and gently press together to form the sandwiched yo yo’s. Repeat this method with remaining biscuits.

Serve and enjoy! These yo yo biscuits are perfect for afternoon tea. 

Filling biscuits with the cream

💭 Tips For Recipe Success

  • Make sure to use custard powder and not cornflour. The custard powder gives these yo yo biscuits their iconic yellow color and melt-in-your-mouth texture. You can find custard powder from your supermarket such as Woolworths and Coles. I use this custard powder. 
  • Use only two teaspoons to form one biscuit as these need to be small and petite. I have provided the exact weight in grams to help you be more precise when forming your biscuits and to keep them consistent.
  • The longer you leave the cream filling, the firmer it gets so be sure to fill your yo yo biscuits as soon as you make the filling.
Bite taken out of biscuit

⏲️ Storing Instructions

Store yo yo biscuits in an airtight container, in the pantry at room temperature for 1 week. 

Finished yo yo biscuits

💬 Recipe FAQ’s

Difference between melting moments and yoyos?

Yo Yo Biscuits use custard powder and are smaller in size whereas melting moments use cornflour and are larger in size. 

Why are my Yo Yo Biscuits crumbly? 

The good news is, Yo Yo Biscuits are meant to be dry and crumbly! This is what gives them their melt-in-your-mouth consistency. Think of them as little yellow shortbread biscuits.

Do you have to use custard powder?

Yes, do not substitute the custard powder for anything else. Yo Yo Biscuits rely upon custard powder for success. 

If you enjoy this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐️ star rating and a comment review below. I love to hear what you think and it’s much appreciated. Thank you! Your email address will not be published. Sam x

Yo Yo Biscuits

Samantha Pickthall
These Yo Yo Biscuits are an Australian classic. They’re created with butter, icing sugar, custard powder, flour and vanilla. They’re sandwiched together with a simple 3-ingredient butter filling which is lightly flavoured with fresh lemon juice.
4.38 from 16 votes
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 9 minutes
Course Dessert, Snack
Servings 18 biscuits
Calories 148 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

Biscuits

  • 180 g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 1/3 cup icing/powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups (225g) plain all purpose flour, scoop & leveled
  • 1/3 cup custard powder

Filling

  • 3/4 cup icing/powdered sugar
  • 20 g unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Instructions
 

Biscuits

  • Preheat oven to 180ºC (356ºC). Line a large flat baking tray with parchment paper, set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl, using either electric hand beaters or a stand mixer with the paddle attached, add softened butter to the bowl.
  • Beat butter for a few seconds to break it up and it begins to turn creamy. This makes it easier on your beater when the sugar is added.
  • Add icing sugar and vanilla. Beat with the butter for 1 minute until pale and creamy. Scraping down the sides as needed.
  • Sift over flour and custard powder. Beat for 30 seconds, scraping down the sides as needed. The dough will be crumbly. After the 30 seconds, turn off your beater and bring the dough together using your hands. It will stick and form a ball of dough (refer to above process shots for a visual).
  • To form the biscuits, pick up 2 teaspoons worth of dough, weighing 13g each. Roll into a smooth ball and place on lined tray. Leaving a small gap between each biscuit.
  • Take a fork and lightly press down on each biscuit, this will create that iconic yo yo appearance.
  • Transfer to the oven and bake for 5 minutes, then rotate the tray and bake for a further 4 minutes. They will have a hint of light golden around the edges but remain pale on top.
  • Remove from oven and allow to cool on tray for 10 minutes.
  • Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Filling

  • In a medium sized mixing bowl, add icing sugar, melted butter and lemon juice. Use a whisk to mix it altogether until well combined, it will turn thick. Continue to whisk until smooth and no lumps of sugar remain.
  • Sandwich your biscuits together by pairing off 2 biscuits together. Then spoon about half a teaspoon – one teaspoon of the filling onto the bottom of one biscuit. Place the second biscuit on top and gently press together to form the sandwiched yo yo’s.
  • Repeat above method with remaining biscuits.
  • Set aside until the filling is set, about 15-30 minutes.
  • Serve and enjoy!

Video

Notes

  • Store biscuits in an airtight container, in a dry dark pantry for 1 week.
  • I recommend using custard powder for this recipe and not substituting it for another ingredient. You can find custard powder from your supermarket such as Woolworths.
  • Beating your softened butter for a few seconds before adding the sugar, makes it easier on your beater when the sugar is added. Your sugar won’t go flying out of the bowl when you turn on the beaters, this is especially helpful when using electric hand beaters.
  • The biscuits themselves are small and petite in size. Using only two teaspoons to form one biscuit. I have provided the exact weight in grams as well to help you be more precise when forming your biscuits which then helps with having consistent size biscuits when sandwiching them together.
  • When you’re making the cream filling, it will turn thick and begin to firm up the longer you leave it. Because of this, I recommend you fill your biscuits as soon as you make the filling.

Nutrition

Calories: 148kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 1gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 25mgSodium: 3mgPotassium: 18mgFiber: 1gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 279IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 5mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe? Let us know how it was!

If you enjoy this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐️ star rating and a comment review below. I love to hear what you think and it’s much appreciated. Thank you! Your email address will not be published. Sam x

2 Comments

  1. Would this work with margarine instead of butter or does margarine have a water content too high for these cookies? Thanks!

    1. Hi Monika! I have only made these using regular butter. Margarine does have a much higher water content than cooking butter and when used in cookies, it can make them spread and crumble more than butter. Because these Yo Yo Biscuits have a “melt in your mouth” texture, they’re soft and slightly crumbly in their natural state anyway. That’s why I highly recommend to use butter for these. You can most definitely try them using margarine but keep in mind they may not hold together as well, given the significant amount needed. Hope that helps and enjoy this recipe! Kindest, Sam x

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating