Midweek Roundup: Rose's Jammie Dodgers

Photo by Anna Hayes

Simply Bake

Rose always has a reason for the names she gives things.  Sometimes it's obscure (remember the Cuddle Cake?), and sometimes it's obvious (Frozen Pecan Tart).  I got the lemon part of these cookies, but why are they Jammies?  I googled jammie cookies, and I came up with Jammie Dodgers, which are sandwich cookies filled with jam and with a (heart-shaped) cutout on the top cookie so you can see the jam.  They are the favorite snack of British children, according to Wikipedia, and are also the favorite cookie of Dr. Who!  So really, they're quite famous, and I'm sure my older daughter, a big Dr. Who fan, has heard of them.  Whatever the merits of Jammie Dodgers, I'll wager that Lemon Jammies are better.  And they seem to be the favorite cookie of many of the Alpha Bakers.  So remember, if you should ever meet Dr. Who at a cocktail party, you have a readymade topic of conversation.

Now, on to the cookies:  We know that there is a contingent of, let's not say cookie haters, but perhaps we can call them cookie doubters.  But there is also a contingent of cookie lovers, and they especially loved these cookies.  As Michele  said, "There might be something more heavenly than tart, brightly flavored lemon curd on a sunny spring day, but I couldn't think of anything.

As Faithy says, these don't just "look good, but they taste good too."  This was her "favorite cookie so far" from The Baking Bible.

Kim, our cookie maven, loved them too.  "The lemon curd packed a satisfying punch, and without thinking I reached for a second one.  It's all good!  I'm very happy with them."

Both Milagritos and Vicki mentioned that they liked cookies because they provide just a little sweet treat to have with a cup of coffee or tea.  In fact, Vicki even suggested that we bake our way through Rose's Christmas Cookie Book!  Kristina also loves cookies, finding them "the perfect (most dangerous) treat to have around the house.

Even Raymond (chief among the cookie doubters) described these as "light and very lemony  and worth the effort to make."

We were given the choice of lemon buttercream, lemon curd, or some kind of jam as a filling to these buttery, lemony cookies, and we did all that--and more.

Vicki made her own lemon curd from Rose's recipe, a recipe that terrified her the first time she tried it but now is her "favorite thing to make."  For an even easier cookie, Nancy used a "good brand of jarred lemon curd"--she was not up to tackling the "dreaded hot syrup drizzled into eggs."  And she used about twice as much filling as the recipe called for, resulting in a nicely squishy cookie.

Kristina whipped up a batch of lemon curd, but omitted the butter.  I read this sentence three times, and I think that's what she said.  How is that even possible?

Anna used five different fillings (as you can see in the photo), including lime curd, which she described as "way too sour."

Raymond thought he had lemon curd on hand, but discovered he didn't, so he quickly made some buttercream, which was "delicious," even though he had to add extra butter to move it from its curdled state.  (I'm very impressed with anyone who can just decide on a moment's notice to make buttercream--to me it's something you have to gird yourself for.  It takes at least 24 hours to get in a buttercream frame of mind).

Patricia used seedless raspberry jam, for an especially jammie dodger look, and then, just to really mix things up, she also used some leftover baby blue buttercream!  (These cookies would be fantastic for a baby shower, filled with either pink or blue buttercream).

Katya did a variation on the buttercream theme, using Pierre Hermes' recipe for lemon cream, and resulting in CreeMees instead of Jammies (or JamMees).

Jen did half with buttercream and half with lemon curd--interestingly, finding that the buttercream cookies stayed crisp, while the curd cookies softened.  One more factor to ponder as you face the momentous question of how to fill this cookie.  As Jen says, you could use almost anything.

Faithy used Nutella and strawberry jam to fill her cookies, but concluded that "nothing beats buttercream!"

Jill (and Sam) used blackberry jam in some of the cookies and chocolate buttercream in the others. Guess which one was Sam's choice?

This cookie also seemed to call us to roll out (no pun intended) some of our little-used baking equipment.  (Some of us had to go through drawers and cupboards to find the cookie cutters that we knew we had--somewhere).

Vicki used a biscuit cutter (I think she means an American biscuit, not an English biscuit) and a "lopsided heart cookie punch."  I think it was the punch that was lopsided, and not Vicki, because, as she astutely points out, there's no vodka in the cookie dough.

Milagritos went from the exotic (a Chinese dumpling rolling pin) to the mundane (the top of a sauce jar for the little cutout).

Jenn used Easter-themed linzer cutout cookies, with adorable bunnies and butterflies as the cutout shapes.  To heighten the adorableness factor, she used a dab of water to paste the cutouts on the cookies.

Anna brought out her set of scalloped cookie cutters - 7 different sizes in 7 brilliant colors, and definitely worth its own photograph.  But her cutest prop was the cheerful-looking baker that her sixth-grade class made for her.

To get the small circle, Kim got out her pastry tube equipment, and used a 1/2" tip.  She also brought out her Silpat pad when she ran into trouble rolling out the dough. Michele also used a piping tip.  Very clever, and just the right side.

Jill and her son Sam (who had to do a baking project for a school assignment) chose a square cookie cutter ("to be different," said Sam).

Tony had a ingenious solution to the problem of getting the small cookie cutter perfectly centered in the large cookie.  It involved tape (not duct tape, which is the cure-all for men around these parts) but colored Scotch tape to center and secure the cookie cutters together.  It seemed to work perfectly!

And next, we will have some pie.  I know that some of you have felt frustrated that we've done fruit pies that force us to use out-of-season fruit.  At least for some of us, rhubarb is right in season.  (Probably not for blueberries, although I guess they're in season somewhere, but you can't have everything).

In other news, I'm sorry to say that Joan has decided she just doesn't have the time right now to do once-a-week baking.  Joan has been with us for Heavenly Cakes and the Beta Bakers, and if it works out for her to rejoin at some point, there will always be a place for her.

Finally, Jim and I are going to England and Scotland for a few weeks, so I'll miss three midweek roundups.  Whilst eating biscuits and tea, I hope to be able to find the time to check in on all of your blogs!  I've baked ahead, so I should also be posting for the three weeks I'll be gone, assuming that my iPad works in London, the Lake District, and Edinburgh.