JAM- FILLED HEARTS (Gefüllte Lebkuchen)

These little Lebkuchen hearts give way to a soft interior of jam. They are traditionally filled with pflaumenmus (a spiced plum butter) but any sharp, smooth fruity jam will work well.

Makes 20 50g unsalted butter 200g runny honey 125g plain flour, plus extra for dusting 125g rye flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tbsp Lebkuchengewürz spice mix 80g jam

for the glaze:

6 tbsp icing sugar, sifted 1 tbsp just-boiled water 1½ tsp lemon juice 1 Melt the butter and honey in a pan over a low heat for a few minutes, stirring until melted. Allow to cool.

2 Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan 160C/Gas 4. Put the dry ingredients and mixed peel into a bowl, pour over the honey mixture and stir together. When it becomes too difficult to stir, use your hands to bring the mixture together into a dough, then knead for a few minutes until smooth.

3 Split the dough in half. Roll out one half on a lightly-floured surface to around 3mm thick. Using a heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out 10 hearts and place them on a large baking sheet, spaced about 2cm apart. Spoon ½ tsp of jam onto the centre of each heart.

4 Roll out the other half of the dough to the same thickness and cut 10 more hearts. Roll over them again so that they’re slightly larger and thinner. 5 Dip your finger into a bowl of water and run it around the dough edge of the jam-covered hearts. Place the larger hearts on top and seal the edges by pressing round them lightly with your fingertips. Re-roll all the dough offcuts into more biscuits.

6 Bake in the centre of the oven for about 12 mins, or until slightly golden and firm to the touch.

7 While the biscuits are baking, mix all the glaze ingredients together until smooth. Transfer the biscuits to a wire rack and brush the tops with the glaze while still warm.

Cook’s note: Once cooled, they’ll keep in an airtight container for a month.