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 