I love…
Pete’s raspberry jam…
Doctor Who…
and Pam Corbin’s recipes!
So when Pam the Jam’s latest cookbook finally arrived from Amazon, this had to be first recipe I tried. After all, they’re the Doctor’s favourite snack, and you never know when he might pop by for a visit.
The shortbread recipe was a doddle to make in the food processor, although the rolling and cutting was fiddly, as the dough softened quickly when worked. I had to keep popping it into the fridge to firm up, so the whole process took a bit of time.
It’s definitely worth the effort though, as the dodgers are crumbly tender and absolutely delicious. It was a great use of Pete’s raspberry jam and blood plum preserves, and the cut-outs made the cutest baby shortbreads…
Pam Corbin’s Jammy Dodgers
(from her fabulous new cookbook Cakes)
- 175g (6.15oz) plain flour
- pinch of sea salt
- 75g (2.65oz) pure icing sugar, sifted
- 125g (4.4oz) unsalted butter (cold, and cut into pieces)
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used homemade)
- raspberry or plum jam (or any other thick jam)
Note: These quantities are enough for 6 – 7 jam-filled dodgers. As I have a very large food processor, I usually make a double batch.
1. In the bowl of a large food processor, blitz together the flour, salt and icing sugar. Add the butter pieces and pulse until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
2. In a small bowl, beat together the egg yolk and vanilla, then add it to the food processor and pulse until the mixture forms a ball of dough. Scrape the dough into a plastic bag and refrigerate until firm.
3. Preheat the oven to 170C (340F) or 150C (300F) with fan. Working with small portions of cold dough, roll the mixture out between two sheets of parchment to approximately 4mm (0.16″) thickness. Remove the top sheet and using a medium sized cookie cutter, cut out an equal number of biscuits. Then using a mini cutter, remove the centres of half of them.
4. Lay the slices on a parchment lined tray and bake for 15 minutes until just firm and barely coloured. Remove the tray from the oven and dollop a teaspoon of jam into the centre of each whole biscuit. Top with the cut-out rounds and return to the oven for another 5 minutes or so until light golden brown. Allow the dodgers to rest on the tray for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely – as the jam cools, the two halves will stick together quite firmly.
The second time I made these, I tried an alternative method for cutting out the cookies, and found it much simpler.
Start by shaping the dough into a thick log, wrap it in clingfilm and allow it to firm up in the fridge…
With a sharp, thin knife, slice the dough into 4mm discs…
Then simply cut the desired shape with cookie cutters…
A tray of Jammy Dodgers, ready for the Doctor’s visit!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Wow those dodgers are so lovely. They looks so fresh and delicious. My son will really love those adorable shapes :)
Thanks Tes! It’s a very nice, simple shortbread dough – my mum prefers them plain, and the baby ones were a big hit at Chinese New Year! :)
How glorious. They are delightful and I see what you mean about the cut outs. I love any recipe I can make in the food processer. Things speed right up! thank you celia.. c
Celi, I so desperately need a new food processor – my old one has to be operated with a chopstick. But I just can’t bring myself to spend the money while the old one still works.. :)
This made me laugh because I am the same, we put up with a 30yo TV for ages because it still worked and my food processer drives me a little crazy and I m hoping it will die soon but it still keeps going and going. Isn’t it always the way! Hopefully some nice large company who wants an honest opinion will gladly donate one to you!
Jessica, you’re very kind, but I couldn’t take a freebie anyway (contra to my blog principles). But I just wish the darn thing would cark it, then I could go out and buy a new one. Having said that, there are so many options, and the big ones are all so expensive!
Oh, how beautiful. Like little jewels. :)
Thanks Misk! They were really pretty, and it was a wonderful excuse to bring out my old crystal plates…
Lovely looking treats, Celia and an excellent idea to help with the cutting of the shapes. I adore anything with red jam, too ….
Amanda, thank you! Pete makes the best jams, there was a vigorous discussion over whether the plum or the raspberry dodgers were better.. :)
No spoilers on Dr. Who! I can’t wait to start catching up to the new season. We saw the Christmas special, the most recent one. Oh goody. Oh and the cookies, they look awesome.
No spoilers, I promise, although we’re only as far along as you are. Am I allowed to mention the stuff Steven Moffat blabs on his tweets? Like when he was asked what the Doctor actually said to River in the final episode…he replied: “if you watch it again, it’s fairly clear he says ‘I just undid one of your buttons’ “. :D
I love making decorative cookies just something relaxing and creative that comes over me:) These look beautiful – thanks for sharing!
Thank you! I’m not usually very creative with decorating – this is very advanced for me! :)
Love these, Celia. If the doctor is coming to your place, I’m on my way!!!
Of course, Lizzy! That’s why I made a double batch.. ;-)
They look gorgeous Celia. What perfect little ‘dodgers’. I bet they didn’t last long – they wouldn’t in this house!
Charlie, they were gone in a flash. I have to take photos straight away in this house! :)
They are bright and pretty!
A cup of tea and two dodgers- a heart and a star, please.
Thank you.
Of course, Heidi! A most appropriate request, as you are a star, with one of the biggest hearts ever! :) xx
I’m so glad you found an easier way to shape these, icing sugar always makes a very soft dough. Full points for ingenuity, creativity and tasteability! :)
Becca, thanks for letting me know that, I thought it was just my hot hands or something. I’m pretty good at slicing evenly these days, but I’ll be buggered if I can roll something out flat. ;-)
“mama, make them!!!”…Monkey Boy.
I have my instructions.
Gorgeous kid you’ve got there, Brydie! And the necessary cutters to make these, which I know from your most recent post!
http://cityhippyfarmgirl.com/2012/01/26/chocolate-immunity/
PS. I found cherries at the markets today! :)
I do like those cutters… they make me feel far more professional :-)
Enjoy the last of the cherries.
love a jam bikkie with a cuppa..i don’t have raspberry jam but i reckon these would be ok with my apricot and amaretto jam! :)
Jane, I reckon they’d be perfect with your apricot jam!! :)
Jammy Dodgers remind me of my childhood. I’ll be sure to make a batch of these and take them round to my mum :)
I’m pretty new to this blogging thing and not sure how to get the word out, but I’ve started a blog. Hopefully the website links to this post. Check it out when you’ve got a minute.
Pam, yep, the link is working, and congratulations on the new blog! Very exciting! :)
http://growbakerun.blogspot.com.au/
We call them shrewsberrys here in NZ and my boyfriend absolutely adores them. I’ll definitely be filing this recipe away for a baking day!
Shrewsberrys! What an unusual name, thanks for letting us know, Lucy!
Oh they are wonderful. Im making them for sure. Will take a picture and show you
Tania, thank you, that would be great! Hope you like them as much as we did!
Your Dodgers are very Artful and I love the little confetti bits. I bet they taste best of all.
Maz
(And when the Boy got dressed up for the Winter Formal, he informed me that bow ties were col. And I had to agree.)
When I took a plate to my mum’s place for Chinese New Year, all the babies were eaten first! And I agree, bow ties are cool! :)
That is, I mean to say… cool… but you knew that. :-)
Or, as my son says, “kewl”… ;-)
Ha ha ha!
I use the second method of cutting often :) lovely biscuits and I love the cut outs!
Tandy, it’s so much easier, isn’t it? Can’t wait to see what you’ve been doing with your cutters! :)
They are perfect! Yum!
Jane, thank you! I was really chuffed with them…
Love the fact that you can roll out dough evenly Celia! it looks fantastic.
Anne, I’m sure you meant to say “can’t roll dough evenly”, because I really can’t. I’ve told Pete I need to try with a long skinny rolling pin, maybe that will work. Even though my rolling pin isn’t tapered, I still seem to get a thin edge every time. But as I said above, I’m getting quite good at cutting an even slice! :)
Lovely cookies!! I need to get me some mini cookie cutters so I can me some of these kinds of cookies. They look so yummy. Great idea to shape into log and then slice the dough. Goes much quicker I’m sure & that way dough doesn’t have time to soften as much.
Melanie, it’s much easier slicing and cutting, although you’ve got to make sure the roll is fat enough to start with.. :)
Wow home made jammy dodgers, that is so cool!
I’ve never seen the packaged version here, so it must be a UK speciality! :)
Amazing! A British classic. I adore seeing food that is usually reserved for the commercial sector made at home! I really need to give something like this a go myself.
I hope you like it – they were fun to make, and pretty easy in the food processor. Pam Corbin’s book is full of treasure.. :)
Anything with jam…these are perfect….
Thanks Norma! They were very popular, I’ll have to make some more! :)
I thought I left a comment! Anyway here goes :)
1. Beautiful ! 2. Now i want to make them, love the little cut outs, will have to go and look for a cutter, I have nothing that does that. 3. Will need apricot jam for the allergic one. 4. Wondering about the origin of name? Think could be related to the Dickens character The Artful Dodger? Do you use the phrase jammy dodger like we do? I can see, why it is the doctor’s favourite biccie! I think if he turned up at your house he’d go wandering nae more xx
Thank you! You can buy sets of cutters – my little all in one cutter is great, but I just made the heart and star shaped ones with separate large and small ones. And I’d never heard the name before now – not something we have here – oh, and on Doctor Who. :)
There’s even a bit about the Doctor on the Jammie Dodgers wiki entry! :)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jammie_Dodgers
My take on it is : A ‘Jammie dodger’ in Brit slang is someone who wheels and deals, gets around, gets admired for being a bit cheeky, smart, streetwise, and generally something like the dear Doctor. Sometimes we simply say ‘that’s a bit jammy’ sort of thing you might say to someone who wrote a letter to a celeb and got taken out to dinner by them, or just had some good fortune that makes you a little bit envious. Jam being a luxury and a treat in days gone by. My grandparents would say sometimes, you can have bread and butter or bread and jam but not both. So the jam in the dodger is the extra bit, when I was a kid you would split the biscuit and save the half with the jam on till last , something like ‘icing on cake’. Though which came first, the biscuit name or the slang use I don’t know.
That’s fantastic, thanks Jo. I reckon the slang came first, what do you think?
You can just used a circle cutter & a thimble!
Ah yes, but where does one buy a thimble these days? :)
YUM!
I’d have sent some around, but mum said no.. :)
Just had another thought. Jam is sticky, so if you ‘dodge’ it, you are winning and getting out a sticky situation… I reckon that could be it, hence this Doctor’s biscuit of choice ;)
Well, it certainly fits him.. ;-)
Oh Celia, have you only just got hold of her book? Isn’t it fabulous. Although since getting Short & Sweet, it’s taken a bit of a back seat. Maybe it will be resurrected again with these amazing looking jammy dodgers – mmm! I’m doing a little cake cafe event for our local bookshop later this year and am now thinking – jammy dodgers MUST be included!
Choc, yes, I only just recently got the book, and (forgive me, Dan), I think I like it a bit better than S & T. As with her Preserves book, it has a very elegant simplicity to it. The cake event sounds like fun! :)
Some ridiculously charming and tasty sounding tidbits.
Thanks Kathryn! :)
I’m a philistine but I love the type with cream AND jam!
That said, these really do look FINE!
Kavey love, no-one could ever call you a Philistine!! :)
These seem remarkably similar to German Spitzbub’n, but with a shortbread base rather than an almond & hazelnut dough. Verra nice!
Thanks Lucas! I can see a nut dough being very nice – bit like a linzer cookie!