Preparation Notes: 45min, plus chilling and cooling
Cooking Notes: about 25min
Serving notes: makes 24 jam biscuits and 24 key biscuits
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Prep Time:
45 mins
Cook Time:
25 mins
Total Time:
1 hr 10 mins
Ingredients
250g (9oz) unsalted butter, softened
125g (4oz) caster sugar
1 medium egg yolk
250g (9oz) plain flour, plus extra to dust
125g (4oz) self-raising flour
24tsp. (about 240g or 81/2oz) blackberry jam, or any dark jam
tube of writing icing, optional
Directions
Step 1
In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together, then beat in egg yolk and vanilla. Stir in flours, using your hands if it’s too diffi cult to mix with a spoon. Gently knead dough until it comes together, wrap in clingfilm and chill for 15min.
Step 2
Line 3 baking sheets with baking parchment. Split dough into thirds. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the first piece to about 3mm ( 1/8in) thick. Stamp out 24 x 5cm (2in) circles with a fluted cutter and put on to a baking sheet (re-roll trimmings as necessary). Chill. Repeat with second piece of dough, cutting out 24 more 5cm (2in) circles and putting on to another baking sheet. To cut out freehand keyholes in the second batch of circles to make lids: use a small knife to cut a circle about 1.5cm (¾in), then cut three straight edges for the bottom of the keyhole. Chill. Roll out the third piece of dough to 3mm (1/8 in) thick and cut out 24 biscuits with a key-shaped cutter. Put on to a baking sheet and chill for 20min. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan), mark 4.
Step 3
Bake circles and lids for 7-8min until lightly golden and sandy to the touch. Remove from oven. Carefully spoon 1tsp jam on to each full circle, spread slightly, then put a lid on top and gently press. Return biscuits to the oven for 5min. Set aside to cool.
Step 4
Bake key biscuits for 8-10min until lightly golden, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Use writing icing to pipe patterns, if you like.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
