Recipe | Homemade Jammie Dodgers

Sticky, sweet, melt-in-the-mouth treats, for a present or as a gift to yourself

Makes 16

115g unsalted butter
115g caster sugar
1 large egg, beaten
½ tsp vanilla extract
250g plain flour
4 tbsp of raspberry jam
Icing sugar for dusting

1 Preheat the oven to 180C/ Fan 160C/Gas 4. Lightly grease 2 large baking sheets.

2 Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat together until pale and creamy. Gradually beat in the egg and vanilla extract. Sift over the flour and mix to a crumbly dough. Gather the dough together and knead on a lightly-floured surface until smooth. If it’s sticky, add a little more flour. Shape into a flat disc, wrap in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for at least 40 mins.

3 Take half of the chilled dough and roll it out on a lightly-floured surface to a 3mm thickness. Use a 6cm round cutter to stamp out 16 circles, re-rolling as necessary, and place on one of the baking sheets. Repeat with the rest of the dough but use a 3cm round cutter to stamp out the centres from each circle. Chill for 30 mins.

4 Bake the biscuits for approx 12 mins, or until crisp and pale golden. Leave on the baking sheets for 5 mins then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

5 To finish, spread a little jam on each whole biscuit and dust the cut out biscuits with icing sugar, then sandwich them together

This make is from our feature Boxes of Delight, which includes recipes, ideas and projects to make one of three self-care boxes for a friend: one to bring joy, one to cosy up a new home and one to inspire travel. Find them all in our November issue, on sale now.

Buy this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

More from our November issue…

More biscuits to make for yourself or a friend…

Recipe: Goose egg lemon curd

In general, weather conditions allowing, geese lay from about the middle of February until mid-May. What a joy it is to find that first egg, pure white in colour, just like goose feathers.

It’s a sign that spring is arriving. One goose egg is equivalent to three chicken eggs, but the proportion of yolk to white is higher, adding richness when used in baking. Lemon curd made with goose eggs is in a class of its own. The neon-yellow shines through the jar. Try to find the freshest possible eggs – your local farmers’ market is probably the best bet.

Goose egg lemon curd

MAKES 4 X 225G JARS
finely grated zest and juice of 8 large unwaxed lemons
400g granulated sugar
200g unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
2 goose eggs, lightly beaten

1 Put the grated lemon zest and juice, sugar and unsalted butter into a heatproof bowl and place it over a pan of simmering water, ensuring that the base of the bowl does not come into contact with the water.
2 Stir occasionally until the sugar has dissolved and the butter has
melted. The mixture should be nice and warm, but not hot or the eggs will curdle.
3 Strain the beaten eggs through a sieve into the bowl.
4 Using a balloon whisk, whisk the curd gently for about 15 mins, until it thickens to a custard-like consistency and feels heavy on the whisk.
5 Remove the bowl from the heat and leave to cool, stirring occasionally. Pour the curd into sterilised jars and seal.
6 Store in the fridge and use within 28 days.

From Fern Verrow: A Year Of Recipes From A Farm And Its Kitchen by Jane Scotter and Harry Astley. Photographs by Tessa Traeger (Quadrille)

This recipe was originally published in The Simple Things Issue 45, which you can order from our online store. Buy this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

From our March issue…

More spring recipes…

Recipe: Seville and Blood Orange Marmalade

With Seville oranges in season, it's marmalade time. And this blood orange recipe celebrates all that's flavoursome about the citrus classic.

Seville and blood orange marmalade

Preparation time: 30 minutes 
Cooking time: 90 minutes

500g Seville oranges 
500g blood oranges 
1kg granulated sugar 

You will need:
Muslin cloth
Kitchen string
3 large jam jars (or 6 small ones)
Jam thermometer

1 Clean the oranges well and place whole into a large pan. Cover with 4 pints of water (2.25l) and bring to the boil. Reduce to simmer for 1 hour or until the fruit is soft.
2 Remove the oranges from the pan, without discarding any of the cooking liquid, and set aside to cool. Measure out 3 pints of the cooking liquid, topping up if needed with more water.
3 Halve the cooled oranges and scoop out the flesh and pips into a muslin cloth (or white tea-towel); tie with food-safe string. 
4 Place the muslin package into the pan with the 3 pints of cooking liquid.
5 Slice the orange peel as preferred. Add to the pan. Add the sugar and stir over a low heat until dissolved. Bring to a rolling boil for 15 mins. After this time, keep boiling at a lower temp until the liquid reaches 105C. Take off the heat and let sit for a moment before skimming off any scum from the top of the liquid. Pour into hot, sterilised jam jars and seal. 

This blog was first published in January 2012. Pick up our January 2020 for lots more delicious things to do with oranges and lemons.

From our January issue…

More preserves to make…

Recipe: Red pepper jam

Turn to page 16 of December's The Simple Things for our simple party toast ideas – moreish morsels that won’t linger for long at a festive do. Use this red pepper jam as a topping for goat's cheese toast 

Red pepper jam

Makes 2 x 500ml jars

4 tbsp vegetable oil
2 red peppers, roughly chopped
2 red onions, roughly chopped
4 long red chillies, chopped
250g cherry tomatoes
100g sugar
50ml fish sauce

1 Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan over a medium–high heat. Fry the peppers, onions and chilli for 5 mins, or until softened and slightly caramelized. Add the tomatoes and cook for 6 minutes, or until soft. Stir in the sugar and fish sauce, and simmer for 30 minutes, until thickened.

2 Leave to cool slightly, then whiz to a purée in a food processor. Ladle into sterilised jars and seal. The jam will keep in the pantry for 6–12 months. Refrigerate after opening and use within 1 month.

Recipe from In the Kitchen by Simmone Logue (Murdoch Books)
 

More from the December issue:

More festive recipes:

Get hold of your copy of this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

View the sampler here

Living: Jam making and preserving

The growing season may be almost over, but the preserving season is in full swing. If you have a spare afternoon and a freezer fruit glut, it's the best time of year to stir some fruit in a cauldron-like pan

Turn to page 42 of October's The Simple Things for Lia Leendertz's recipes for Blackberry and vanilla jam, Spiced damson and apple jelly, and Pink grapefruit and ginger marmalade.

Want some tips on pickling, pantries and preserves? Issue 39 of The Simple Things (September 2015) has plenty of tips beginning on page 116 (get back issues here!), or read on. 

Jam-making, an act steeped in nostalgia and nest making, is hard to resist, and at this time of year when rich fruit pickings abound, not just in the garden or allotment but also in the hedgerow, it feels almost like a duty to do it. This simple act of husbandry fills the kitchen with comforting smells and activity, the pantry with provisions and distils the essence of summer in a jar.

But before you disrupt the household with bubbling pans and empty jam jars, pull on an apron and gather together a few items.

A preserving pan (sometimes called a maslin pan) is essential, the stronger the better and preferably made of stainless steel which won't corrode. A jam thermometer takes the guesswork out of reaching the setting point, and a long-handled preserving spoon is handy for safe stirring. A jam funnel makes pouring hot jam into Kilner jars a simpler operation and a variety of labels and covers gives the end result a decorative flourish.

Preserving brings a little of the summer's flavour and colour to the chillier months when the choice of seasonal food is limited. But which preservation method to go for? Here are some options:

Pickling: fruit and vegetables are immersed in a vinegar and spice solution

Fermentation: vegetables are soaked in a spiced brine solution. Sugar is sometimes added. Kimchi, a Korean food staple, is the ultimate fermented food

Chutney: chopped fruit and veg are cooked with vinegar, spice and herbs, to produce a sweet-sour mixture with a chunky texture

Brining: cuts of meat are steeped in salt water

Salting: meat and fish are coated with salt to draw out moisture and kill bacteria

Seasonal pickling

Spring: rhubarb, cabbage, cauliflower, citrus fruit, asparagus

Summer: raspberries, plums, beetroot, asparagus, baby carrots, cucumbers, runner beans, apricots, courgettes, tomatoes, peaches

Autumn: apples, damsons, garlic, quince, blackberries, red cabbage, tomatoes, fennel, peppers

Winter: apples, cabbage, quince, citrus fruit

From How to Pickle by Gerard Baker for Lakeland

More from the October issue:

 

More jam recipes:

Get hold of your copy of this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

View the sampler here

Autumn fruit jam recipes

Go foraging for fruit and get jamming with some autumn preserve and jam recipes. Make the most of all the blackberries, plums and damsons this month. Stew with a bit of sugar and serve cool with cream on late summer days when you want to be outdoors, or pass a rainy afternoon happily in the kitchen making jars of homemade jam or jelly.

Jam recipes

How about trying one of these jam recipes for rosewater plum compote, bramble jelly, damson jam, or plum and Earl Grey jam?

For more ideas on our September 'could-do' list, turn to page 17 of The Simple Things. Not got your copy? Buy or download now.