Apricot Jam Drops

Jam drops, those little biscuits with a fingerprint-sized puddle of jam in the middle, have been among my favourite biscuits since I was small. Batches of them, round and filled with jewel-coloured jams, would be baked in the old stove ready for morning and afternoon teas. They were always hard to resist; I could never wait for the jam to be cool enough before sampling one and so regularly burnt my mouth on them. Dangerous biscuits! 

My favourite jam drops are those filled with golden, tangy apricot jam. Oh, how I love apricot jam! Of course, you can fill the fingerprints you press into the little balls of biscuity dough with any or all of your favourite jams ~ strawberry, raspberry, plum, blackberry or any other jam you fancy. For me though, apricot will always be the best!

Homemade apricot and strawberry jam drops.

Kathy, over at Our Simple and Meaningful Life, recently made these delicious jam drops and I felt a batch at our place was sorely needed for I haven't made them in awhile. In the recipe my mother made, and that I learned to cook, the butter and sugar are creamed together. The recipe I make now, and which I adapted from one by Deborah Wray (founder of Wray Organics) begins with a different process. Here is how I make our jam drops now:

Apricot Jam Drops

80g coconut oil (heated very gently if not already in liquid state)

50g coconut sugar (or brown sugar)

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups white spelt flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

apricot jam (or any favourite jam)

1.   Preheat oven to 160C.

2.   Line two biscuit trays.

3.  Beat coconut oil, coconut sugar and eggs until mixture is thick and creamy.
     (Make sure your coconut oil is not too hot so that you don't cook the eggs in it!)

4.  Sift spelt flour and baking powder.

5.  Add sifted flour to coconut oil mixture and mix well to form a soft dough.

6.  Roll tablespoons of dough into balls, placing them on biscuit trays.

7.  Press your fingerprint into the top of each little ball of biscuit dough to make a place for

      puddles of jam.

8.  Fill each fingerprint with apricot jam.

9.   Bake for 15mins or so until biscuits are lightly golden.

10. Leave to cool slightly on baking trays before using an egg flip to transfer to wire rack to 

       finish cooling.  Store in airtight container in the fridge (particularly if you live in a warm
       climate).

Creamy coconut oil, coconut sugar and eggs.

Adding flour to form a soft biscuit dough. 

Fingerprints waiting to be filled!

Little puddles of apricot jam. Mmm ...

Delicious!

Remember to wait for the biscuits to cool before sampling any of these little jammy treats...otherwise you may end up burning your mouth on one too!

Meg