Jam Daisy Drops

In my infinite wisdom, the other week while magazine menu planning, I spotted these delicious looking cookies called Jam Daisy Drops in the Donna Hay magazine I was looking at. They were basically a sandwiched jam drop but were two separate layers of cookie dough. A flat bottom, a small spoonful of jam and topped with another layer with a hole cut out. That was easy enough. I’d made plenty of rolled cookie dough type cookies before but not so much when it was 30 degrees and every time you took the dough out of the freezer, it would melt before your eyes.

As a child myself, learning to bake and even when I was an adult, I’d search through cookbooks and magazines and stumble across beautiful recipes I’d like to try. I could take all the time in the world. Not so much when you’ve got young children and they’re chomping at your heels to have a cookie, have lunch, go to the swimming pool as promised, washing needs to be hung out, dinner prepared etc etc. When I bake now, I just want it mixed, on the tray, baked, cooked and in the cookie tin and a lot of them. Nanna’s Jam Drops would’ve https://theleafsnation.com/account/ been a much

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simpler task but I pursued.

It was a nice cookie and there wasn’t enough of them so they didn’t last long. A couple hours wasted of this Mum’s valuable time. My days of trying recipes that need rolling, freezing, cutting and fiddling might be over, for now anyway. Maybe its time to hand over the reigns to the children and let them pick out the cookie and let them try to make them. I can just sit back and be a lady of leisure! I wish!

Jam Daisy Drops

(from Donna Hay magazine)

• 125gm butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar (preferrably caster sugar)
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1.1/2 cups plain flour
• raspberry jam

1. Beat sugar and butter together until pale.
2. Add egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated.
3. Add flour and combine.
4. Split dough into two, wrap in cling film and freeze for 30 mins.
5. Remove dough and roll out until between pieces of baking paper until 5mm (1/4″) thick.
6. Cut out with ‘daisy’ shaped cookie cutter.
7. Top pastry rounds with 1/2 tsp jam.
8. Roll out other piece of dough, removing centre. (You could use a smaller cookie cutter or I used an apple corer.)
9. Sprinkle with more caster sugar if desired.
10. Top onto other piece of cookie dough and bake in a 160 deg C oven until golden.

Bakewell Jam Slice

Best part about this blogging caper is you get to meet (online) many like-minded people, especially those who love cooking and baking as much as you. One such sweetheart is Bree from Twinkle in the Eye. Bree made a delicious pot of plum jam the other day and I commented on how I could go for some of that for morning tea. Bree, ever so kindly, sent me a jar. How good is that? When it arrived I was dying to try it on a piece of toast, because isn’t that the best way to eat jam? But I couldn’t wait and dipped my finger in the jar. It really was yummy. I wanted to bake with it and had always wanted to try a Bakewell Tart but found this recipe for a Bakewell Jam Slice.

I just so happened to have almond meal on hand for this recipe. It can be pretty expensive to buy but you can use normal almonds, still with the skin on, blitzed in the food processor for a cheaper option.

Purist bakers, don’t read my version of the recipe. I’m all for baking the traditional way, creaming butter and sugar, kneading dough etc but there never seems to be enough hours in the day these days so I try and melt and mix every recipe. So far, so good.

The pastry base is par baked before adding the jam and almond meal sponge-like topping.

Just look at all of that sticky plum goodness.

Bakewell Jam Slice
(based on Best Recipes recipe)

Base:

• 1 cup plain flour (normal or gluten free)
• 90g butter, melted
• 1 tbs sugar
• 1 tbs water

Topping:

• 185g butter, melted
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 eggs, beaten lightly
• 1 cup almond meal
• 3/4 cup plain flour (normal or gluten free)
• 1/2 cup jam (any kind, I used plum)
• 1/4 cup flaked almonds

1. Preheat oven to 210 deg C.
2. Grease a shallow 27x18cm tin with melted butter and line base with baking paper.
3. For base, mix flour, sugar, melted butter and water until combined.
4. Press into prepared tin and bake for approx 5 mins, remove from oven and allow to cool.
5. Reduce oven temperature to 180 deg C.
6. For topping, melt butter, add sugar and stir until sugar is nearly dissolved.
7. Add each egg, one at a time, beating until combined.
8. Add almond meal and flour. Stir until combined.
9. Spread jam over pastry base.
10. Pour topping over and sprinkle with flaked almonds.
11. Bake for approx 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden.
12. Cool in tin and cut into fingers when cold.

Coconut Jam Cake Bars

If you’ve got a bakery near you or can remember the cake stalls at your school fete, you’ll know of the Coconut Jam Slice. A crunchy biscuit base spread with strawberry jam (called ‘jelly’ in the US) and then topped with a layer of crispy coconut on top. It’s as common here in Australia as a lamington and a quick one to make with basic pantry ingredients.

I stumbled upon a recipe for a (Fig & Ginger) Jam Slice from Erin Richmond from “Not All Tea and Scones”, a blogger from Canberra, Australia who is working her way through the Country Women’s Association (CWA) “Classics” cookbook. This recipe is slightly different in that the base is a bit softer. A cross between a cake and a scone and very nice to eat. Not that there’s anything wrong with a traditional Coconut & Jam Slice. This one is just a little different.

There’s no twice baking with this one. Just prepare the base, top with the jam and the coconut mixture and bake. I only had strawberry jam in the fridge but any jam would work wonderfully. This is a great recipe for any time of the day and perfect for kid’s lunch boxes.

Coconut Jam Cake Bars

• 1 dessert spoon margarine/butter
• 2 cups self-raising flour
• 1/4 cup sugar (optional)
• 2 eggs
• Jam, for spreading
• 1/2 – 1 cup desiccated coconut
• About 1 dessert spoon sugar

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. 
2. Rub margarine into sifted flour until it resembles breadcrumbs.
3. Add sugar (if using), 1 egg and a little water to make a dough.
4. Spread dough over the tray to cover it.
5. Now spread jam all over the dough, to cover quite well.
6. In a bowl, combine coconut and remaining egg with sugar to taste, mixing well.
7. Spread the coconut mixture over the jam, covering it completely (the coconut layer should be 5-10mm thick).
8. Bake until dough is cooked and the top is beginning to turn golden-brown.
9. Once cold, cut into squares and store in an airtight container.

Nanna's Jam Drops

The bikkie barrel was empty, yet again, and while my daughter was home sick from school today, I quickly rustled up a batch of my Nanna’s Jam Drops.

This is another one of my my Nanna’s treasured recipes she hand wrote for me in an exercise book many years ago. They bring back terrific memories of her wonderful baking skills. There were always Jam Drops in her bikkie tin, usually filled with a delightful homemade jam like Rosella, Strawberry, Peach, Apricot or whatever else she had made that week. Nothing was ever wasted with her.

I used Strawberry & Rhubarb jam my lovely friend Katrina Higham sent me which she made in her shop, Windsor Deli in Melbourne, Victoria. It’s beautiful Katrina.

They’re such a quick biscuit to make and delicious. I’m sure they won’t last long once the boy comes home from Kindy and the big boy comes home from work.

Nanna’s Jam Drops

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
2 cups Self Raising flour
3 eggs

Mix melted butter and sugar. (I’m on a ‘melt and mix’ frenzy lately. Any recipe that requires beating butter and sugar together, I just melt the butter and mix with sugar. Never had a problem yet. Saves getting that beater or food processor dirty and saves time.) Add eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly into butter/sugar mixture. Add flour and mix well.

Take teaspoon size pieces of the mixture, roll into a ball and using the end of a wooden spoon dipped in flour, poke holes into the biscuit. Fill carefully with jam and bake in a 180 deg C oven until golden.

The rose patterned china plate also belonged to my Nanna. It’s part of a 3 piece teaset comprising teacup, saucer and plate. What better way to enjoy my Nanna’s biscuits than on one of her plates.

Marshmallow Jam Slice

This is one of my favourites from my ‘ripped out recipe’ folder that I picked up out of one of those seasonal supermarket recipe books. You know the ones with about 5 recipes and about 25 pages of ads for the supermarket? Sometimes you’ll stumble across a good one and this is a pretty good one. It’s easy, the kids love it and if you’ve got a packet of marshmallows lurking in the pantry, great to whip up in no time.

Marshmallow Jam Slice

3 Weetbix, crushed
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup desiccated coconut
1 cup plain flour
150gm butter, melted
2/3 cup jam (I used raspberry but have used strawberry many times before)
375gm packet marshmallows

Preheat oven to 180 deg C. Line an 18 x 28cm slice tin with baking paper. Combine Weetbix, sugar, coconut, flour and add melted butter. Bake until golden brown (approx 20 mins). While still warm, spread jam onto base. Top with marshmallows and return to oven for about 5 mins or until marshmallows have just started to melt.