Buttery sweet shortbread biscuits with some wonderfully British strawberry jam sandwiched in the middle.
These are a favourite of mine - a perfect summer treat - and the best bit, they can be made completely Vegan!
They make a lovely gift too - a good friend of mine has made them as a lovely end of term gift for her children's teachers, and I love taking them when i go to visit family so we can enjoy them with a good cup of tea whilst catching up. Whatever you make them for, I know you'll love them.
Makes about 1--12 complete sandwich cookies (or approx. 24 singles)
125g unsalted butter (or stork baking block if Vg)
60g Caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon of strawberry extract or flavouring (available from most supermarkets)
180g plain flour
1/4 teaspoon of fine salt.
Strawberry jam for filling
1 – Cream together the butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes - this will be easier with a hand mixer - till it has gone light in colour.
2 – Add the vanilla and strawberry extract and mix for a further 30 seconds.
3 – Sift the flour and salt together and the mix into the butter mixture - you'll know when its mixed enough as it will start to naturally clump together - if you find it too dry add a teaspoon of milk (or oat milk) to help bring it together.
4 - Collect it all together with your hands and roll onto a floured surface, ideally to the thickness of a £1 coin.
5 - Stamp out your shapes and place them on a lined baking tray and pop them in the freezer for half an hour (do NOT skip this step - see below why*)
6 - Heat your oven to 170*c and bake for about 12 minutes or until they start to brown on the edges.
7 - Cool, pop some jamp in the middle and sandwich them together.
8 - Test 3-4 with a cup of tea - quality control!
* freezing and chilling this type of biscuit before baking is very important, as we work the dough the butter inside starts to warm. chilling hardens up the butter before baking, which helps them keep shape and stops spread in the oven, key for a good and crisp looking end product!