makes
12
prep
30 minutes
cook
10 minutes
difficulty
Easy
makes
12
serves
preparation
30
minutes
cooking
10
minutes
difficulty
Easy
level
Ingredients
- 450 g (1 lb/3 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting
- 100 g (3½ oz) icing (confectioners’) sugar, plus extra for dusting
- 200 g (7 oz) lard or butter, diced
- 2 free-range egg yolks
- 80 ml (2½ fl oz/½ cup) full-cream (whole) milk
- 300 g (10½ oz) apricot jam or jam of your choice (see Note)
Chilling time: 20 minutes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) fan-forced. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour and sugar. Mix the lard or butter through with your fingertips to form large breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks and mix to combine, then add the milk, one teaspoon at a time, until you have a smooth, combined dough.
- Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and knead for 5 minutes or until you have a smooth and elastic dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20–30 minutes to firm up.
- Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and roll out to a 4 mm (¼ in) thickness. Using a 6.5 cm (2½ in) cookie cutter, cut out 24 circles of dough, re-rolling the dough offcuts as you go. Using a 2.5 cm (1 in) cookie cutter, cut out the centre of half the dough circles. Place the circles on the prepared trays and add 1 teaspoon of filling to the centre of each cookie base. Top with the cut-out dough circles, so the jam is poking through the middle.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until golden around the edges. Transfer to a wire rack to cool before dusting with icing sugar.
Note
• Make sure that the jam you use is quite thick, so it doesn't melt too much and spill out of the biscuits.
Recipes and images from Islas: Food of the Spanish Islands by Emma Warren, Smith Street Books, RRP $49.99
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
