Scary Skulls – Halloween Jammie Dodgers. What was your favourite childhood biscuit? You may find this is another of those annoying linguistic questions. Why? Well because of the differences across the Atlantic in what the English and Americans call biscuits and cookies. Jammy Dodgers and even better Smiley Faces were two of my favourite childhood biscuits. Shortbread biscuit sandwiched with jam or even better jam and creamy icing. As you grow up if you are lucky you get to try the grown-up version. Linzer cookies made with buttery Sable pastry. Yum.
What are Jammie Dodgers?
Burtons Biscuits have produced Jammie Dodgers for over sixty years. They are one of the most popular children’s biscuits in the UK. Jammie Dodgers are named after a famous comic book character called Rodger the Dodger from The Beano. Shortbread sandwiched with raspberry jam which you see in a central hole in the top biscuit. You can find similar biscuits sold around the world often as Linzer biscuits, Shrewsbury biscuits or raspberry shortbread cookies. Happy Faces are a rival UK biscuit brand are sandwiched with the addition of butter cream. You can see the jam where holes for the eyes and smile are.
Scary Skulls – Halloween Bake Inspiration
My girls are always on the hunt for inspiration for our Halloween Bakes. Especially after the great comments for the last couple of years recipes. We have made hot dog mummies, dead man’s fingers, cookies, cupcakes, and gingerbread skeletons. I have to try balance my instincts to be a chef with what families with young children can make together. One of the great things about writing a food blog is the network of like-minded, friendly, people you can meet and the inspiration they provide. I have to say a big thank you to fellow blogger Mrs Portly. She posted the family friendly recipe we tweaked with the addition of butter cream and we came up with our Scary Skulls – Halloween Jammie Dodgers.
Halloween Baking
My Rocky Horror Picture Show Cookies – Halloween Bakes. It’s almost like a match made in heaven or well perhaps somewhere else. As a family, we love Halloween and the decorations, and pumpkin carving and the silly food.
Ghastly Ghosties and Scary Halloween Double Chocolate Cupcakes. Do you celebrate Halloween? Yes! Well, when I was little, we celebrated Bonfire night. Maybe a few naughty children in the village threw eggs or played other pranks on Mischief Night. However, no one really celebrated Halloween. Now it is big business with costumes, pumpkin lanterns, and trick or treating for sweets and chocolates. And I have to say I love it.
Scary Skulls Method
Sable pastry is very ‘short’ due to the high butter content. It needs to be thoroughly chilled and you might want to help younger children with the rolling out. For the butter cream check out my Scary Halloween cupcake recipe. For the skull shape you can but cookie cutters for making Mexican Day of the Dead cookies or carefully cut out a template from firm card.
Carefully roll out the pastry and transfer to a baking tray
Scary Skulls – Halloween Jammie Dodgers
Ingredients
- 250 gram Plain Flour
- 200 gram Salted Jersey Butter cut into small dice
- 100 gram Icing Sugar
- A pinch Salt
- 2 free-range Egg Yolks
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- Raspberry Jam
- Buttercream
- Icing Sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325 F / 170 C / Gas Mark 3. Sift the flour, salt and icing sugar into a large bowl. Add the butter and using your finger tips rub the butter into the flour until thoroughly incorporated and the mixture resembles sand or breadcrumbs.
- Mix the egg yolks and vanilla extract together and add into the flour and butter. Using a folk mix together to form a dough. Wrap the dough in cling film and chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
- Place the pastry onto a lightly floured work surface. Using a lightly floured rolling pin carefully roll out so the pastry a half a centimetre thick. Cut with cutter or around your template.
- When all of the pastry is cut, divide the sable biscuits in two. Using small cutters make holes for the eyes and mouth. Place all the sables on a lined baking tray.
- Bake the sables for ten minutes or just a little more, or until light golden-brown and crisp. Remove from the baking tray carefully place on a cooling rack.
- Using a small knife spread vanilla buttercream over the bottom biscuits.
- Using a teaspoon, place a small dollop jam on a whole sable. Place a biscuit with a hole over the first biscuit and sandwich together. Repeat until all the biscuits are finished with your choice of jam. Dust with icing sugar and serve.
Notes
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