So, here's the deal: I've resolved to make at least one new item (ie never before made by me from this recipe) from How to Be a Domestic Goddess, at least once a week. I haven't counted, but there's probably about 200 recipes in the book. Some I won't make, most I will. That's it.
31 March-1 April - Peanut Butter and Jam Jewels, p221
Combining one of the best things to come out of the US (good ol' PB&J) into a biscuit is clearly a recipe for biscuity goodness. So how could I not make these? I intended to serve them at CWS but only got time to make the dough, not actually cook them. Lucky we had PLENTY of food!!
You have to refrigerate the dough for at least an hour after mixing - it is very sticky (yep, peanut butter will do that!!) and refrigerating makes it much easier to manage when rolling the dough balls. And, as I discovered, you can easily refrigerate for a whole day, as I didn't bake them until Sunday afternoon.
Nigella suggests using your thumb to make the jam indentations, but I found this pate knife with a nice rounded bottom and used that. Even so, the indentations rose and practically disappeared during baking - luckily they are soft enough to re-indent once you take out of the oven.
I used plum jam on half and peach jam on the other half (not strawberry as suggested - don't like the pips!). Best to use a fairly solid jam which doesn't have large pieces of fruit in it, as this makes it easier to spoon into the indentations. Nigella also says the jam is supposed to go a bit runny and then harden slightly, to make the biscuits look just like "jewels worn by fairy tale princesses".
Heh. If the fairy tale you are reading is Shrek and you are Princess Fiona perhaps!!! But oh, they do taste delicious!! I think the plum jam works better with the peanutty biscuits, but the sweet and the savoury - one of my favourite taste sensations!
5 comments:
Oooh delicious - they look wonderful! I like your idea of cooking your way through the Nigella book :)
Jane! They would make fabulous brooches to hold our JS Quick Knit Jkts together! I'll have one in RED (keep Mr BDKs happy).
tee hee. Nigella would be so proud to see you displaying them as jewels. Love it.
And I still adore peanut butter and jam sandwiches even as an adult so these are right up my alley!
They look yummy! I'm a big fan of peanut butter in pretty much any application: including as jewelry, it seems.
I like your "cooking your way through Domestic Goddess," too. I just read that book more than cook from it, I confess -- meaning that it's such a fun read, not just good recipes! I don't care for peanut butter, myself, but I do love cashew butter, which substitutes perfectly in cookies/biscuits.
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