Chilling & Cooling Time (inactive time) 2 hourshours
Total Time 3 hourshours25 minutesminutes
Serving Size 21Biscuits
Equipment
Digital scales or measuring cups
Measuring Spoons
Electric Hand/stand mixer
Baking/parchment paper
Flour (for dusting)
Cookie Cutters (5¾cm (2¼”) round fluted, or other seasonal cutters*)
Palette knife, or butter knife
2-3 Baking tray/sheets (full sized)
Cooling rack
Piping bag and nozzle (see notes below)*
Clip or peg
Ingredients
For The Biscuit Dough:
170gramsUnsalted Butter(6 oz, ¾ cup, cubed small & softened)*
134gramsSugar(4¾ oz, ⅔ cup)
1Medium - Large Egg(large to extra-large US size, room temperature)
2tspVanilla Extract(see notes*)
¼tspAlmond Extract
280gramsPlain Flour (10 oz, 2¼ cup, All Purpose Flour)
¼tspBaking Powder(rounded ¼ teaspoon)
¼tspSalt
For The Filling:
80gramsUnsalted Butter(3 oz, ⅓ cup, softened*)
250gramsIcing Sugar(8¾ oz, 2 cups, sieved)
½tspVanilla Extract(see notes*)
2tbspMilk(30 ml, 1 fl oz*)
85gramsRaspberry Jam(3 oz, 8 tsps, ½ cup*)
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
To Prepare The Dough:
Cube the butter small (about ½”, 1¼ cm) because smaller surface area softens quicker. Once softened, add to a mixing bowl & beat with an electric mixer for about 1 minute. Then add the sugar and 'cream' together till incorporated, spreadable & a little paler in colour.
Add in the egg, then the almond extract & vanilla extract, beating for about 20 seconds until combined. Mix the baking powder & salt in with the flour, before adding on top of the wet mixture & roughly mixing by hand.
Beat on low to medium speed with the electric mixer until all the flour is worked in. Scrape down the sides & mix until a beige colour but still in pieces. (See video for reference). Then use your hands to bring the dough together into a smooth soft ball, before flattening into a disc shape.
Divide the dough into 2 discs and place one back into the bowl. Place the second disc of dough onto flour dusted baking/parchment paper with a second sheet on top. Roll out to a thickness of about 7-8mm (¼-⅓″), then repeat with the rest of the dough and chill stacked in the fridge for 1 hour.
Cut Out The Biscuits:
See the Step-by-step instructions and equipment notes before this Recipe Card for details on the cookie cutter size & shapes. Start by dipping the fluted edge of the round cookie cutter in some flour before cutting out the biscuits. Then pull back the excess dough & use a palette knife to carefully transfer to a paper-lined baking tray/sheet (or tray that will fit in your fridge). No need to leave gaps.
Re-roll the excess dough, and cut out more cookies till all the dough is used up. With a small round pastry/fondant cutter, corer or opposite end of a small piping nozzle, cut out the centre of half of your round biscuit cut-outs. Re-roll the excess dough for more biscuits. Fill & stack the baking trays & place in the fridge to chill for 1 hour.
Prepare The Buttercream:
The buttercream can be made now or a day or so before. Have the unsalted butter cubed small and softened before adding to a mixing bowl & beating for about 30-60 seconds till no longer cubes. Gradually adding the sieved icing sugar in 3 to 4 increments, mixing briefly by hand before using the mixer on a low speed to begin with. Continue beating until the mixture becomes a thick but smooth buttercream. (New to making buttercream? Then check the step-by-step instructions of the stages it goes through). Next add the vanilla extract & milk, and beat for 10 seconds to combine & become smooth, silky & spreadable.
Cut the piping bag tip to fit your nozzle (see equipment notes below) before placing inside & use a jug to hold open the piping bag. Scoop the buttercream into the bag, twist shut and squeeze the buttercream to the nozzle end, before twisting & tightening again & closing tight with a clip or peg.
Baking The Biscuits:
While chilling the biscuit cutouts, pre-heat the oven to: 180°c/ 160°c Fan Oven/ 350°f/ Gas Mark 4. Remove the trays form the fridge and spread the biscuits out leaving a gap of at least 2½ cm/1″ and place smaller biscuits on the same tray. Bake for 8-11 minutes till baked, edges just starting to colour & will move when gently nudged. **Do not try to lift.
Leave on the tray on top of the cooling rack for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to just the rack, using the paper. Leave to cool completely before assembling. Can be filled up to 3 days later.
Assemble The Biscuits:
'Pair up' the biscuits and then separate the 'tops' from the 'bottom' biscuits out onto 2 sheets of baking/parchment paper. And turn the 'bottom' biscuits upside-down. **If you want to sugar dust the tops that have a circle cutout in the centre, do so now by sieving over a fine layer of icing/powdered sugar.
Take one of the 'bottom' biscuits, still upside-down & pipe on a ring of buttercream, leaving a little gap in the centre. Then spoon on the jam, into the centre. Take the corresponding 'top' biscuit for the Jammie Dodger, and carefully place on top, only gently squeezing together. Repeat with the rest of the biscuits until all the sandwich biscuits are paired up.
Serving & Storing:
The Seasonal Jammie Dodger biscuits can be served now or stored for later. Best stored in a metal cake or cookie tin and they will be fine for at least 4 days. Store in the fridge when room temperature is warm, and the buttercream will firm up. Just keep in the tin, lined with paper and be careful of condensation. **Tip, sit each biscuit in a cupcake or fairy cake paper case.
Video
Notes
Butter - use unsalted for better & consistent results. Cube quite small and the butter softens quicker.Eggs - UK medium to large sized, large to extra-large US size and make sure using at room temperature.Vanilla & Almond Extract - try making your own homemade vanilla extract, or even some alcohol-free vanilla extract and even the almond extract. The almond is not tasted in the cookies but brings out the vanilla taste.Milk - any type of milk, lactose-free or cream can be used.Jam - raspberry jam/preserve/jelly is used. You can use a little more than listed in the ingredients list if you wish.Cookie Cutters - the standard Jammie Dodgers are best made with a round fluted cookie cutter, about 5¾cm (2¼”) in diameter.Seasonal Cutters - try love hearts, pumpkins, acorns, Christmas trees, stars, gingerbread men etc for a seasonal Jammie Didger biscuit.Piping Bag & Nozzle - a medium to large piping bag was used and a Wilton 9M open star-tipped nozzle, but a 9mm closed star-tipped would also be good. A piping syringe could also be used, but the nozzles are smaller sized. Alternatively you could use an unused food bag, with/without a piping nozzle. Recipe Yield - if you use the 5¾cm (2¼”) round cookie cutter, or other cutter, about the same size/area, you will get at least 20 sandwich cookies. Use smaller or bigger cutters, and this amount will change.Try some other British biscuits, like chocolate digestives, Viennese whirls or Scottish shortbread.Chocolate DigestivesNutritional Information - I am not a qualified nutritionist & all values are approximate. These values are for 1 Jammie Dodger biscuit, from a yield of 21 sandwich biscuits/cookies, using ingredients as listed above, same cookie cutter size, and using all the jam & buttercream. Use a bigger or smaller cookie cutter and these values will change. All values calculated by MyFitnessPal.com.
Nutrition Facts
Holidays Jammie Dodgers
Serving Size
1 Biscuit
Amount per Serving
Calories
199
% Daily Value*
Fat
7
g
11
%
Saturated Fat
4
g
25
%
Monounsaturated Fat
2
g
Cholesterol
26
mg
9
%
Sodium
39
mg
2
%
Potassium
7
mg
0
%
Carbohydrates
33
g
11
%
Fiber
1
g
4
%
Sugar
23
g
26
%
Protein
2
g
4
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Milk - any type of milk, lactose-free or cream can be used.
Jam - raspberry jam/preserve/jelly is used. You can use a little more than listed in the ingredients list if you wish.
Cookie Cutters - the standard Jammie Dodgers are best made with a round fluted cookie cutter, about 5¾cm (2¼”) in diameter.
Seasonal Cutters - try love hearts, pumpkins, acorns, Christmas trees, stars, gingerbread men etc for a seasonal Jammie Didger biscuit.
Piping Bag & Nozzle - a medium to large piping bag was used and a Wilton 9M open star-tipped nozzle, but a 9mm closed star-tipped would also be good. A piping syringe could also be used, but the nozzles are smaller sized. Alternatively you could use an unused food bag, with/without a piping nozzle.
Recipe Yield - if you use the 5¾cm (2¼”) round cookie cutter, or other cutter, about the same size/area, you will get at least 20 sandwich cookies. Use smaller or bigger cutters, and this amount will change.
Try some other British biscuits, like chocolate digestives, Viennese whirls or Scottish shortbread.
