Jam Drops

I got myself another baking book the other day. (Don't roll your eyes!) I know . . . I didn't really need one, but this one looked really yummy, the price was right and I am a sucker for any Australian Women's Weekly cookery book. They are that good! Seriously.



I was not disappointed with this one either. It arrived yesterday and then I went to bed with it last night. (Sorry Todd! I often go to bed with cookery books.) I devoured each and every page. The pictures are fabulous and the recipes all look really scrummy, but then it is called The Cake Stall. Scrumminess is to be expected!



I decided to bake these cookies today. They immediately grabbed my attention. We love jam in this house and if we can have it stogged into the middle of cakes or with cookies, we are in seventh heaven!



The original cookies look so pretty . . . with raspberry jam petals and apricot jam centres . . . but I wanted to use up the rest of my blueberry jam and some lemon curd that I had. Blueberries and lemon go very well together, and so that's what I did.



They may not be as pretty as the others . . . but what they lack in looks they more than make up for in flavour . . . buttery almondy short biscuits with the flavours of lemon curd and blueberry jam . . . ohhhh so luverly!!



Really! (I got my book from Amazon.uk. It has a hard cover like a real cookbook and was a lot cheaper than the cover price.)



*Jam Drops*
Makes 24

Very pretty cookies, resembling flowers with jam petals! You can use whatever kind of jams you wish. I have even used lemon and lime curds with success.

125g of butter, softened (1/2 cup)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
110g of caster sugar (1/2 cup)
120g of ground almonds (1 cup)
1 large free range egg
150g plain flour (1 cup) sifted
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
110g of raspberry jam (1/2 cup) for petals
2 TBS apricot jam for centres

Preheat the oven to 180*C/.350*F/ gas mark 4. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment. Set aside.

Cream together the butter, vanilla, sugar and ground almonds until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and lemon zest. Stir in the flour to make a soft dough. Shape heaped TBS of the dough into round balls and place them onto the baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches in between for spreading. Flatten them slightly with your hands. Using the end of a wooden spoon make six indentations into the biscuits. (One in the centre and five around the outside.) Fill each hole with a little jam using raspberry jam for the petals and apricot for the centres. (Don't be tempted to over fill them. It will run over when they are baking and create a mess.)

Bake for 15 minutes, until lightly golden brown on the bottoms and nicely set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on wire racks completely before eating. Store in an airtight container.

I love this book, there are tasty sections such as The Lemonade Stand, Gifts for Mum, Treats for the Kids, Tis the Season, Grandma's Kitchen and Jams and Preserves, as well as the usual glossary, conversion charts and index. Some other recipes includePassionfruit Buttermilk Cake, Chocolate Freckle Slices, Fig Mince Pies, Crunchy Bubble Bars, Apple Cinnamon Tea Loaves, Date and Walnut Rolls and many, many more, all triple tested Good old fashioned flavour that can never be replaced by a packet. £10.53 from Amazon.



Over in The Cottage Today some delicious Easy Peasy White Batter Rolls!