ORANGE AND CRANBERRY THUMBPRINT BISCUITS

Cranberry jelly – never all that popular with kids, until now. Thumbprint biscuits are child’s play, made here with lots of orange zest in the dough and a blob of cranberry jelly to bubble in the crevice, turning glassy and jewel-like as the biscuit

bakes. A winning combination for all ages and

best eaten just warm.

Makes 16-20 biscuits INGREDIENTS

200g self-raising flour 100g unsalted butter

100g caster sugar

Pinch of salt 1 egg, beaten Zest of 1 orange 2 tbsp cranberry jelly

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/Gas 4 and line a baking tray with

greaseproof paper. Place the flour, butter, sugar and pinch of salt in a mixing bowl and use your

fingertips to rub them together to resemble fine breadcrumbs. Alternatively,

use a food processor. Add the egg and orange zest and mix well to form a

soft dough. Tear small pieces of dough, about the size of a walnut in its shell, and roll them into a ball. Then flatten the dough very slightly with

your thumb and place, evenly spaced apart, on the

baking tray. Leave a good-sized gap between the

biscuits to bake. Use a teaspoon to spoon some cranberry jelly into the crevice, not too much. It will bubble up as the biscuit

bakes. Bake for 13-15 minutes until cracked and slightly golden around the

base and edges of the biscuits. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly on a wire rack.

TOP TIP

Rolling biscuits is a tactile delight for toddlers and older

children, and thumbprint biscuits are the easiest shape of all to make. Stock up on lots

of little boxes, bags, ribbons and luggage labels too, for the

kids to decorate and add personalised messages to give

their creations as gifts.