Jam Marguerites

I have something spectacularly simple and yet very elegant to share with you today.

These little gems are quite old fashioned, coming from a recipe that's been around a very long time. (1933) I have a series of cookery books in my home library, called The Farmer's Wife cookbooks. I have the Baking one, the Comfort Foods one, and one simply entitled The Farmer's Wife. There are quite a few others as well, but I haven't managed to collect them just yet.



These are lovely ring bound cookery books, just stogged full of tried and trues, family and farm tested recipes, based on simple, wholesome and nourishing ingredients.



It's simple food. Honest food. Old fashioned and delicious.



I have wanted to make these little sweet biscuits for a long time now. From the Farmer's Wife Comfort Food Cookbook (over 300 blue-ribbon recipes), they use every day ingredients . . . round buttery crackers, egg whites, jam, chopped nuts. They're very easy to make and in less than 15 minutes, you can have a delicious little sweet on your teatime table that is not only pretty, but quite, quite delicious.



Each bite is at once buttery and crisp, from the cracker base and ethereally angelically sweet from the soft jam meringue topping, with the added pleasure of chopped toasted nuts. I quite like these. The combinations are endless . . . raspberry jam with almonds, marmelade with walnuts, strawberry jam with pistachios, apricots jam with almonds, etc. . . . let your imagination and fancy go wild!




*Jam Marguerites*
Makes about 20
Printable Recipe

A pretty little dainty, just perfect for the tea table! Quick, easy and delicious!

2 large free range egg whites, at room temperature
3 TBS raspberry or other jam
2 ounces of chopped nuts (1/2 cup)
2 drops lemon essence
20 round buttery crackers (such as Ritz. You can also use TUK, in which case you
will have rectangular shaped ones)

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Have ready a baking tray.

Beat the egg whites until stiff and then gradually beat in the jam, beating until thorougly blended. Add 1 TBS of the choppled nuts and lemon essence. Place a spoonful of the mixture on each cracker and place onto the baking sheet. Sprinkle with the remainder of the chopped nuts. Bake for abou 10 minutes until delicately brown. (Keep an eye on them.) Serve on the day as they are not great keepers.