Ever heard of Jammie Dodgers? I only discovered them a few years ago, shortly after I moved to England, and they quickly became one of my favourite biscuits. Two pieces of buttery shortbread sandwiched together with some raspberry jam – add a cup of tea and you’ve got yourself a pretty nice treat.

Over the years, it’s become a tradition that I bake a copious amount of these for Christmas. One year, knowing that I’ll be driving home for Christmas (from England to Poland), I decided to make triple the recipe, pack the biscuits nicely and take them home – I thought it’d be a nice ‘on arrival’ gift for my family. It sure was, as my Mum still remembers it, and she says her mouth waters every time she thinks of the day when I showed up with a massive box of homemade Jammie Dodgers I baked in England and brought all the way to Zielona.

I found myself doing it again this year, only now I was requested to bake them for my brother who lives in Holland, and my parents are driving there to spend Christmas together. The journey of Jammie Dodgers continues!

Do you have any special Christmas bake? Below, a recipe for Festive Jammie Dodgers, if you want to test their magic, too!

Festive Jammie Dodgers

INGREDIENTS
250g butter, room temperature
130g icing sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
380g flour plus extra for dusting
extra icing sugar, for sprinkling
1 jar of seedless raspberry or blackberry jam

HOW TO MAKE?
1. Place the butter in a large mixing bowl and beat with your electric mixer, until fluffy and almost white. Add icing sugar and beat for a bit longer, until nice and smooth. Mix in the egg yolk (with a bit of flour) and vanilla extract.
2. Prepare a pastry board. Add the flour onto it and then the mixture from the bowl. Knead the pastry quickly. It’ll be very soft and a bit sticky, but try not to add too much flour (the biscuits will turn out too hard if you do).
3. When the pastry is ready, wrap it in cling film and put it in the fridge for about an hour.
4. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line baking trays with parchment.
5. Place the chilled pastry on a flour-dusted pastry board. Roll it out to about 3mm thick. Cut out the circles using a cookie cutter or a glass (I used a cognac one). Cut out a geart-shaped hole in half of the circles. 
6. Line your cookies on the previously prepared baking trays. Bake for about 7-8 minutes; they should only be slightly golden.
7. Move the biscuits to a wire rack to let them cool.
8. When chilled, assemble Jammie Dodgers.  Take one biscuit without a hole in the middle, add about a teaspoon of jam and cover it with a biscuit with a heart-shaped hole. Press lightly. Set aside and repeat with all your biscuits.
9. Sprinkle your biscuits with icing sugar (using a small sieve). Usually, they taste best after a few hours or the next day. The jam will soften the cookies nicely.

Wersja polska przepisu, specjalnie dla polskich Czytelników.
jammie-dodgers-pl

Smacznego!
aho