Jammy Heart Drops Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Rub the flour, sugar and butter together until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Alternatively, you can do this in the food processor. Add enough egg to bring the mixture together to form a stiff dough.
• Flour your hands and shape the dough into a tube, about 5cm in diameter. Cut into 2cm-thick slices and place on a large baking sheet. Space them out as the mixture will spread when baking.
• Make a small indentation in the middle of each slice with the end of a wooden spoon, and drop a tsp of jam in the centre. Bake for 10-15 mins until slightly risen and just golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Steps:

• Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla for a few secs, then use a wooden spoon to stir in the flour with ¼ tsp salt. Roll the dough into 36 small balls (the easiest way to get this right is to divide the dough into quarters - each quarter then makes 9 balls).
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment. Squish 2 balls of dough together on the paper, keeping the 'round' edges of the balls at the top, but pinching together at the base where they meet, so they make a rough heart shape. Flatten with the palm of your hand to a biscuit, then press in heart-shaped 'dent' for the jam - thumbs and fingers are perfect for this. Repeat with remaining dough balls leaving a little space between each finished heart shape for spreading.
• Spoon the jam into a food bag (or disposable piping bag), snip off the end and pipe roughly 2-3 tsp jam into the thumb-heart dips you have made in each biscuit. Bake for 8-12 mins until pale golden and crisp. Cool on the trays.
• Mix the custard powder and icing sugar, then dribble in enough water to make a runny icing. Drizzle all over the cooled biscuits, allow to set for at least 10 mins, then serve or store in a biscuit tin.