Contents
The Australian and British biscuit-tin staple, and the least technical cookie in this folder: a plain butter dough, a thumb-press, a dot of jam. Melting moments are its close cousin — the same idea with cornflour in the dough and a buttercream sandwich instead of jam — and both are here because between them they cover almost every request a bake sale generates.
What makes it work
- Cornflour is the tenderiser. Replacing a quarter of the flour with cornflour removes that much protein and the biscuit melts instead of snapping.
- Self-raising flour, or add the leavening. Australian recipes assume self-raising; 8 g of baking powder per 300 g of plain flour is the equivalent.
- A well that will not close needs the same two-press treatment as thumbprint cookies — once before baking, once at the halfway mark.
- Fill before baking with a firm jam. Unlike a thumbprint, the jam here is meant to bake in and go slightly sticky and dark at the edges.
Ingredients
Makes about 24.
- 180 g unsalted butter, softened
- 110 g granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla — see Pure vanilla extract
- 225 g self-raising flour, or plain flour with 8 g baking powder
- 75 g cornflour
- 3 g fine salt
- 150 g thick raspberry or apricot jam
Method
Cream the butter and sugar three minutes, beat in the egg and vanilla. Fold in the flours and salt.
Roll 25 g balls, set them on parchment, and press a well into each with the rounded end of a wooden spoon. Chill 20 minutes.
Fill each well with a scant teaspoon of jam — under-fill; it expands.
Bake 180 °C / 350 °F for 15–17 minutes, pressing the wells again at the seven-minute mark if they have closed. The edges should be pale gold.
Notes
- For melting moments, leave out the well and the jam, bake as small flattened rounds for 12 minutes, and sandwich pairs with a buttercream of 100 g butter, 200 g powdered sugar and the zest and juice of a lemon.
- Homemade jam is usually looser than shop jam; cook it down five minutes first. See Fruit Jellies Jam Jellies Butters.
- Keeps a week, though the jam softens the biscuit under it by day three.
Elsewhere on the site
Method and theory: Cookie recipes · cookies · Cornstarch
Nearby: thumbprint cookies · anzac biscuits · spritz cookies