Its 7am in the morning and I am sitting at the kitchen bench typing out this recipe and eating these jam drops for breakfast – quite similar to jam on toast really, and they go so well with my cup of tea. The only problem with this are my daughters who are wondering why they have been given oatmeal.
Jam drops are a delightful buttery cookie with a drop of jam in the centre (hence the name), so simple and comforting and if you like giving homemade treats they make a very sweet gift.
This recipe calls for the drops to be cooked for 10 minutes, maybe it was just my oven but after 10 minutes they were still a little undercooked. I had to leave them in for 12 – 13 to ensure they had a slight golden colour.
Also, one thing I would do when I next make these is to make them smaller – to increase the jam to biscuit/cookie ratio. Let’s face it , whilst the biscuit part is nice, it really is that sweet drop of jam we are really after and together they are certainly a treat for those tastebuds – especially at breakfast.
Ingredients
250 grams/8.8 ounces butter, softened
¾ cup (165 grams/5.8 ounces) caster (superfine) sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
2 ¼ cups plain (all purpose) flour
Jam, raspberry, strawberry or apricot
Preheat oven to 180c/350f.
Place butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until pale and creamy. Add the vanilla and egg yolk and beat until well combined. Add the flour and beat until a smooth dough forms.
Roll the dough into balls approximately 1” in diameter and place on baking trays lined with parchment paper or non stick baking paper. Flatten slightly and press a finger into the centre of each drop to make an indent. Fill each indent with ¼ teaspoon of jam and bake for 10 – 15 minutes until golden. Top up with jam if necessary.
Notes: Sadly my temporary kitchen does not come with a Kitchenaide so I had to resort to a whisk and a wooden spoon to do my mixing but they turned out just as well. Also, I used a piping bag with a large nozzle for the jam as I find it tidier than using spoons.
Source: Donna Hay, Modern Classics 2
Now, I promise I won’t bombard you with thousands of pictures of my darling daughters but I thought I should include this one of Lucy enjoying her jam drop. She is self dressed in a sari with a polka dot dress over the top – so stylish at such a young age!
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