Valentine's Day will soon be here, so why not celebrate with some tasty heart-shaped biscuits? Lisa has the recipe for you...
These jammy biscuits are a perfect treat to make to give as a gift on February 14.
They contain orange, almonds and strawberry jam and are very easy to make. I have made these little jam treats in the shape of hearts for Valentine’s Day, though you could use whatever shape you want to eat at any time of the year!
It is thought that St Valentine’s Day began as a celebration of the early Christian saint named Valentinus.
The day was first associated with romantic love in the Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.
In 18th-century England, it evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, confectionery, and sending greeting cards.
Nowadays around £1.3billion is spent yearly on cards, flowers, chocolates and other gifts, with an estimated 25 million cards being sent.
At least these little biscuits don’t cost much to make!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Ingredients
Makes around 10 biscuits
100g/4oz unsalted butter, softened
50g/2oz caster sugar
Grated peel of one organic orange
One egg
Two tbls ground almonds
200g/7oz plain flour
One tbls cornflour
Around 8-10 tbls of smooth strawberry jam
Heart shaped biscuit cutters (one large and one small)
Method
1. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
2. Beat the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy.
3. Add the grated orange peel and mix.
4. Beat the egg and add a little at a time to the mixture, beating after each addition.
5. Add the ground almonds, and sift in the flour and cornflour.
6. Mix well until well combined until a stiff dough is formed.
7. Gather together in a ball, wrap in plastic foodwrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
8. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4.
9. Flour a clean surface and roll out the dough to around 3mm thick.
10. Using the large heart-shaped cutter, cut out around 18-20 of heart shapes. Use the smaller heart shaped cutter to cut holes in half of the shapes.
11. Put the shapes onto the baking sheets and bake for around 10-12 minutes until a pale golden colour.
12. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool. Spread jam onto the whole biscuits and sandwich together with a cut-out biscuit.
13. Store in an airtight container and eat within two days.
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