These Jammie Dodgers were born out of my love for Doctor Who (because what Whovian doesn’t remember or love the scene where the Eleventh Doctor tries to ward off the Daleks with a Jammie Dodger?!), my love for winter fruits, and my love of all things British.
Funnily enough, I never had a Jammie Dodger while I was in Scotland—I was more of a chocolate digestive eater and will still consume them by the pack—but felt compelled to buy after watching that particular episode of Doctor Who. I couldn’t stop thinking about them and wondering what they tasted like! I enjoyed them, but to me they have a bit of a packaged taste that is just a bit more prominent than with other packaged biscuits. Now, if you hand me some, I’m still going to eat them. But I also knew that I wanted to try my hand at making my own version.
These Orange, Pear, and Cranberry Jammie Dodgers are perfect for winter and the end of the year. Two buttery, orange shortbread cookies are filled with a homemade pear and cranberry jam that brings a bit of tartness and vibrancy to these biscuits. They’re perfect for tea or coffee, feel light and crumbly when you eat them, and taste fresh from the zest and fruit.
The jam sounds hard at first, but I literally just put everything into a pan at once and let it simmer, stirring occasionally until my candy thermometer hits 220°F or until the jam sticks to the back of a wooden spoon so that you can swipe your finger through it and the jam stays in place. Pour it into a rectangular glass container so that it’ll cool faster with the larger surface area, and dollop it into the center of one of the full shortbread cookies. It takes time to bubble and thicken, but it’s low maintenance. Even better, the cranberries naturally help to thicken it so you don’t need too much sugar to get the right texture!
It’s bittersweet typing up this last cookie recipe of the year. We’ve officially reached the end of #52cookies52weeks, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t more exciting stuff on the way for 2019!
I can’t wait!
| Servings |
sandwich cookies
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- 1 cup pear chopped
- 1/2 cup cranberries
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 orange juice only
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 cup water
- 300 grams salted butter cold and cubed (2 sticks + 5 Tbsp)
- 75 grams powdered sugar (1/3 cup)
- 75 grams granulated sugar (1/3 cup)
- 450 grams flour (2 2/3 cup)
- 1 orange zest only
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 tsp orange extract
Ingredients
Pear and Cranberry Jam
Orange Shortbread
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- To make the jam: combine 1 cup pears peeled and chopped, 1/2 cup cranberries, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, the juice of 1/2 an orange, 1 tsp powdered ginger, and 1/2 cup water in a medium saucepan. Place the pan on the stove on high until it comes to a boil, turn it down to medium and let it simmer for about 30-40 minutes until the cranberries break down, the jam thickens, and a candy thermometer reads 105°C/220°F (the jam should coat the back of a spoon). Once ready, pour into a glass tupperware container, mash the pear and cranberries with a fork, and allow it to cool.
- To make the shortbread: In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, cream together the butter, 75 grams powdered sugar, and 75 grams granulated sugar until light and fluffy. This will take about 3-5 minutes on high.*
- While the butter and sugars are mixing, whisk together the flour, orange zest, and cardamom. Set aside.
- Once the butter and sugars are light and fluffy, add in the orange extract and mix until fully combined. Add in the dry ingredients 1/2 at a time, mixing until the dough fully comes together. Split the dough in half and shape into two discs; wrap in plastic wrap and allow to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 300°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the fridge and, using two sheets of parchment paper, roll out the dough until it is about 1/4" thick. Using a small-to-medium circle cookie cutter (about 2 inches in diameter), cut out circles and line them on the prepared baking sheets. Using either the bottom of a piping tip, a smaller cookie cutter, or a knife, cut out a circle in the middle of 1/2 the cookies.
- Allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheet in the freezer for about 15 minutes. These aren't docked, so chilling them will help the shortbread keep their shape.
- Bake about 16-20 minutes, until the bottoms are a light golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack.
- Once cool, take a butter knife or a small spoon and spread 1/2-1 tsp worth of set jam onto the bottom half of the jammie dodger (the cookies that don't have the centers cut out), top with one that has the center cut out and press down so that the jam spreads to the edges and fills in the cutout circle.
* If you don't have a mixer, you can easily mix the sugar and all the dry ingredients together and rub the butter in with your fingers, adding the extract as you do so.
* You can re-roll the dough to get more cut-outs, but I would only recommend re-rolling it once to keep the shortbread from overworking the shortbread and making it tough.