Seasonal Jammie Dodgers (Classic British Cookie)

But What Is A Jammie Dodger?

Well it’s a classic and still very popular British manufactured biscuit – a cookie to other countries. They were born in Wales, in the Burton Biscuit Company, back in the 1960’s.

Why Is It Called A Jammie Dodger?

And the name of the biscuit comes from a character called Rodger The Dodger, who appeared from 1953 in classic British comic book The Beano (I grew up reading that, and the annuals each year).

SEASONAL JAMMIE DODGERS

The biscuit of Seasonal Jammie Dodgers itself is made from a soft, very short biscuit, sandwiching a raspberry jam filling. Hence part of the name – Jammie. The term Jammie Dodger, can also mean having a lot of undeserved luck, which could also be referring to Rodger The Dodger.

My version of the biscuit can also be made with a firm vanilla buttercream accompanying the jam filling. This takes to another level. So I will add both to the this recipe for you to try out. It’s the same filling I use in my Viennese Whirls (recipe to come soon).

Jam For The Biscuits

You can of course make your own jam for the seasonal Jammie Dodgers, but if you have some jars already at home, I found not thinning it, and when chilled with the buttercream, they set really nicely. With a firmer set buttercream filling, it is almost like a shop bought in terms of set.

Home-made Jam

Check my recipe for plum and blackberry jam, but you can easily just make a small amount of raspberry jam, with equal weight of sugar to raspberries, bringing to a rolling boil at temperature of at least 100c/220f. To test if ready, place a spoonful of the jam on a place and place in the freezer for 20 minutes. Then remove and push the jam with your finger as if sliding it along. If it has a ‘wrinkle’ like surface, it is set enough. Remove from the heat and let cool and it will set firmer.

EQUIPMENT

• Scales or measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Stand/Hand mixer 
• Large mixing bowl
• Med-large bowl
• Knife
• Baking/parchment Paper (minimum 4 large pieces)
• Rolling Pin
• Baking Tray/sheet x  3
• Baking spray or butter to grease (optional)
• Sieve
• Piping nozzle & piping bag (Optional.  I used a long star, 9mm, 1/3 inch nozzle)
• Cookie Cutters of your choice (see notes above)
• Teaspoons
• Small sieve (optional)
• Cooling Rack
• Timer or phone timer

MAKING THE BISCUIT DOUGH

1. Cube and weigh out your butter and leave till softened.  Cubing makes a smaller surface area, allowing it to soften faster. But if you forget, or are short on time, why not try this hack I reviewed? Go to How To Soften Butter In About 12 minutes Video.

Once ready, beat the butter for about 1 minute or 2, until all soft & no pieces remain. Then add in the sugar and mix for a further 2 or 3 minutes in a stand/hand held mixer till not just well combined, but the sugar has broken down and the butter is noticeably paler in colour. See Photo 1.

2. Add the egg, vanilla & almond extract to the mixture & then mix on high speed until well combined. See Photo 2. Click to read how to make home-made vanilla extract.

3. Weigh or measure in the flour and spoon in the baking powder & salt.  Mix on low speed to begin with, and then continue mixing until all the dry mixture is absorbed and no ‘white  bits’ are visible anymore. With a plastic/rubber/silicone spatula, scrape down the side of the bowl, making sure nothing is left behind, and there are no flour patches at the bottom of the bowl.   Mix again just briefly. Don’t over-mix it or the biscuit will be tough.  See Photo 3 below, of how it is coming together.  

5. Place one piece of the paper on a worktop/counter, then take ½ of the dough from the bowl and form into a ball then flatten to a disc. Place in the centre of the paper, and position a 2nd piece of baking/parchment paper on top and there will be no need to flour the  rolling pin. (If your dough is a little sticky, you can add a little flour, but just a little). Roll out till the dough is 7/8mm (height of 2x £1 + 2p  coins – 1/3 inch). Don’t go any thinner than this at the edges).  See Photo 4.

6. Repeat with the 2nd half of the dough and put both into the fridge for 1 hour to firm up. Stack them on top of each other if you want, with the extra pieces of paper in-between them. 

7. Now prepare the baking trays/sheets by lightly oiling and placing 1 of the top baking/parchment  papers on top. (You can re-use the baking paper). You only need do this if the baking sheet/tray don’t have a lip – I have had cookies fall off and onto the floor before! 

8. Take 1 tray from the fridge. Prepare your cutters by lightly dipping in flour or icing/powdered sugar.

Cut Out The Biscuits

9. Cut out as many shapes as you can from this one piece and place on one of  the prepared baking trays, (with about 1/2cm or 1/5 inch space in-between). These will be the base or bottom cookies, if you are doing any with cut out middles.  Roll up the scrap pieces of dough, and roll back out before placing back in the fridge to firm up. Be sure to roll between 2 sheets of paper.  See Photo 5.

10. Now move on to the second tray of dough, and cut out the tops for the cookies, that will have cut out centres.  If you are using shaped cutters that are not symmetrical, remember to turn the cookie cutter the other way round, so that you will have a proper pair once baked to join together, that will join up nicely. Alternatively you can turn the cut out over before baking.  I found it easier to make pairs, at the cutting out stage.

Re-roll Scrap Dough

Remember to re-roll excess and chill again, until all the dough is used up.  Just cut out the centres with any of the holiday cutters or even wider end of a piping nozzle, ensuring they are not too big for the size of the cookie.  (See Photo 5 above).  Then chill the cut out cookie dough for 1 hour. See Photo 6 of different cut-outs of the dough – Fall/Autumn, Halloween & Christmas.

11. Heat up the oven just before your one hour chilling time is up.  Oven: 180/160c Fan Oven/350f/Gas mark 4.

BAKING THE SEASONAL JAMMIE DODGERS

12. Bake the biscuits/cookies for 8-11 minutes. Turn and rotate the trays half way through for an even bake. The biscuits are ready when very pale coloured on top and around the edges are just starting to colour. They will be quite pale like shortbread, soft and appear not done.  It will however move, when you  very gently push with a spatula or knife.  See Photo 7 of a collage of old (very old pics – sorry for the poor quality), of the baked biscuits, in different shapes.

Cool The Biscuits

13. Let the biscuits cool for 5 minutes on the tray/sheet. Then very carefully slide  the cooked biscuits onto a cooling rack with the paper, (be careful not to drop them as they will still be soft). See Photo 7 above.  Leave to cool down.  You can store once cooled in a tin or airtight container if not filling just now.

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15. Now fill a piping bag with a nozzle (or just pipe through a 9mm or 1/3 inch hole on the end of the piping bag).  I like to use a tall glass or jug to help get the buttercream into the piping bag. Position it inside (with piping nozzle pointed upwards, and if not using a nozzle, don’t cut the bag yet), and turn the ends of the bag over and onto the rim of the glass.  See Photo 9 above.

Then open it out with your hand, and spoon in buttercream.  I like to use a palette knife to scrape it off the spoon and into the bag.  Once all filled up, push the buttercream down and twist the top of the bag.  Then lift out of the glass and squeeze to get the buttercream nearer to the tip. If not using a piping nozzle, trim off a small piece from the end now. See Photo 10.

16. Before piping the filling, it’s ideal to pair up your biscuits, so that they are all the same size/shape.  Then open them back up and keep the tops next to the bottoms.  See Photo11.  Now get your jam/jelly ready. You can also use lemon curd.   Originally I used slightly watered down jam, but found it better to use as is for these.  

17.  Now pipe a ring of buttercream on the bottom cookie, near to the edges.  Pipe onto all of the cookie bottoms, and then if any buttercream left, you can fill in the middle also.  For the shaped ones, you can pipe a little different, and use the end of a small spoon or sugar craft tool, to put near to the edges of the shaped parts.  See Photo 12.

18. Now spoon on some jam/jelly or curd into the middle of the filling, sliding it in place with another spoon, (or your finger).  

Alternatively only add the jam and not the buttercream. See Photo 13.

19.  Now take one cookie top (one that has a shape cut from the centre), and place on some baking/parchment paper.  Next take a small sieve (preferably small), and sieve a spoon of icing/powdered sugar over the top of the cookie, completely covering it in ‘snow’! This is optional. See Photo 14.

Sandwich Together

Then gently position on top of it’s ‘bottom’ cookie and squeeze together while holding the ends of the cookies (trying to avoid the sugar coating).  

Doing one cookie at a time, means you don’t mix up the cookies that you paired earlier.  See Photo 15 below.

20.  Now for the cookies with a solid ‘top’ cookie, simply position on top of it’s partner and gently squeeze together.  Then sieve over the icing/confectioners’ sugar as before. 

Either serve on a nice plate after chilling in the fridge for a few hours for the filling to firm up, or store for later.  I found it easiest to place each one in a paper cupcake/muffin case, depending on the size of the cookies.  This way you can even store on top of each other, in a tin or cupcake carry case.  

Just keep them somewhere cold, so that the filling stays nice and firm.

SEASONAL JAMMIE DODGERS – USES

Use for any occasion, and fill with or without the firmer buttercream. See my photos for Autumnal/Fall, Halloween & Christmas versions. (Note I will possibly do another recipe for the Christmas ones, but the fondant tutorial for the Halloween ones will be coming soon).

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