Baking for Doctor Who

On Facebook, some Whovian friends and I were talking about having delicious goodies while watching the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary special on November, 23rd. One of those goodies is Jammy Dodgers, a delicious shortbread cookie with red raspberry filling. Here in the U.S., people either have to buy them on a UK website, buy them from someone who has imported them into the U.S., or bake them. DIY is always my first choice!

A batch of homemade Jammy Dodgers

Here's my recipe for anyone who might be interested.

JAMMY DODGERS (DOCTOR WHO)

¾ cup sugar
2 sticks butter, softened
2 ¼ cups flour
Seedless red raspberry jam

You will need a linzer cookie cutter. The set I bought is at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003CN5SUO/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1, but there are other sets, too.

Cream  butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add flour and  mix to make a soft dough.

To roll and cut dough: Roll the dough out half the dough at a time to about ¼  inch thick. Cut cookies into about 2 ½ inch circles. Half the cookies should have their centers cut out as well for the tops. Use a Linzer cookie cutter. Lift the cookies with a thin spatula and place on a baking sheet, being careful not to distort the center-cut cookies.

From my experience: (1) It’s a little tricky to get the heart cutout out of the center. I find that if I pick up the cookie with the spatula and place it in my other hand with my fingers spread out a little, the heart will drop between my fingers, maybe with a little prodding. Then, I have to be careful not to distort the heart shape when I put the cookie on the baking sheet. Works for me! And, if it doesn’t work, I put the cookie in the scrap pile and re-roll! (2) It’s better to bake the bottoms and tops on separate sheets because the bottoms need more time in the oven.

Bake at 325° for 10 minutes; cookies should still be very light, just starting to get golden around the edges. Ovens are different, so keep watch. Do not allow cookies to darken. Allow to cool before removing cookies from the sheet.

Spread some  raspberry preserves on the full cookies (bottoms) and top with the cut cookie (tops), allowing the jam to fill the cut center. Stack prepared cookies carefully on a plate, keeping them from touching the jam  cut centers of any cookies below them. Refrigerate uncovered until jam is set. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Makes about 24 sandwich cookies.

Oh, dear! Now I want to make some right now!