Festive Jammie Dodgers Recipes

JAMMY DODGERS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in egg yolk, water and extract until mixture forms a ball. , On a lightly floured sheet of parchment, roll out dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Transfer dough and paper to a baking sheet; refrigerate until firm, about 10 minutes. Cut with a lightly floured 2-1/2-in. round cookie cutter. Using a floured 1-in. round cookie cutter, cut out centers of half of the cookies. Place solid and window cookies 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. , Bake at 325° until edges are lightly browned, 15-20 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. Dust window cookies with confectioners' sugar. Spread 2 teaspoons jam on bottoms of solid cookies; top with window cookies.

FESTIVE JAMMIE DODGERS

Steps:

• Put the butter, sugar, flour and almonds into a food processor and whizz until the mixture just comes together and forms a ball. If making by hand, first beat together the butter and sugar, then add the flour and ground almonds. Wrap in cling film and leave in the fridge for at least 1 hr.
• Remove the dough from the fridge and knead until it is soft enough to shape and roll. Divide into two even-size balls. Sprinkle a little plain flour over your work surface and roll out one ball of pastry. I find it best to start the rolling myself so that it's even, then let the kids finish it off. The dough should be approximately 5mm thick. Using a star cutter (about 6cm wide) dipped in a little flour to stop it from sticking, cut out as many star shapes as you can. Then lightly knead the dough trimmings together and roll out again. Keep going until you have about 24 stars. Carefully place the stars on a baking sheet, making sure you keep them slightly apart.
• Roll out the second ball of dough the same way. Cut out the same-size stars and place them on a baking sheet. Now cut out a small circle in the centre of each biscuit using a small cookie cutter or the end of a large piping nozzle.
• Heat oven to 140C/fan 120C/gas 1 and cook the biscuits for 20-30 mins until just golden. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack to cool completely. Place a blob of jam onto the centre of the biscuits without the cut-out circle. Be generous - you want the jam to show at the edges as well as the centre. Place the top halves of the biscuits on and push down gently. These will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

JAMMY DODGER FLOWERS

Steps:

• To make the biscuits, mix together the butter and sugar in a bowl with a wooden spoon until well combined. Add the egg and vanilla, and continue to beat by hand until fully incorporated. You will need to scrape the edges of the bowl down for this part.
• Tip the flour into the mixture and fold together until fully combined, then shape into a ball. Roll the dough out onto a floured sheet of baking parchment to a depth of around 5mm. Transfer the sheet to a baking tray and put in the fridge for 10 mins to firm up.
• Remove from the fridge and press out your biscuits using a 6cm flower-shaped cutter (you could use any shaped cutters to make these). You will need 16 base biscuits and 16 top biscuits, with small holes or flowers of around 3cm cut out of them.
• Recombine your dough off-cuts and reroll them on a floured surface. Try to be fairly quick doing this, as the mixture will warm up and get sticky. If it does, just pop it back in the fridge to firm up again.
• Once the shapes are cut out, arrange on 2 baking sheets lined with baking parchment and leave to cool in the fridge for 10 mins.
• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Bake the biscuits for 7 mins, then take them out of the oven and sprinkle the tops with caster sugar. Return all the biscuits to the oven and cook for a further 5 mins. Take out and allow to cool fully on a wire rack. When cool, spread jam on the bottom biscuit and top with another biscuit, sandwiching them together. Will keep for 2-3 days in an airtight container.