Following on from my pecan pie cookies and some Bakewell tart recipe testing, I decided to make some Bakewell tart cookies. These are very much a cookie of contrasts. The filling is chewy with the lovely nuggets of mazripan and jam pools whereas the outer cookie is crisp with crunchy almond flakes. I'm not going to lie, they can be a little messy to make but they're worth it.
Makes 16
Hands-on Time 15 minutes plus chilling (overnight)
Baking Time 16 minutes
Ingredients
400g Marzipan
400g plus 1 tbsp Plain flour
250g Unsalted butter (softened)
175g Caster sugar
200g Light brown sugar
2 tsp Almond extract
2 Eggs, large
200g Ground almonds
1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp Fine salt
350g Raspberry jam, seedless
100g Flaked almonds
Equipment
Knife
Freestanding mixer with paddle
Baking parchment
Spoon
Baking sheet (ideally aluminium)
Wire rack
Using a knife, chop the marzipan up into small 2 centimetre cubes and then toss them in 1 tablespoon of flour.
Add the butter and both sugars to the bowl of the mixer and beat on a medium-high speed for 5 minutes until you have a very light and fluffy mixture.
Add the almond extract and eggs and beat for a couple of seconds until combined.
Add 400 grams of flour, ground almonds, bicarb, and salt, and again beat for a couple of seconds until combined.
Add the marzipan to the dough and mix again until evenly distributed.
Scrape the sides down using a clean spatula to make sure everything is incorporated.
Lay a piece of parchment onto the worktop.
Tip the cookie dough out onto the parchment and shape into a sausage.
Roll the dough up in the parchment.
Pop the dough into the fridge for at least an hour to firm up the dough. It is possible to do this in the freezer to speed things up but don’t forget about the dough!
Line a baking sheet with parchment.
Take the dough out of the fridge and slice it into 32 discs.
Take one round of cookie dough. Flatten it in the palm of your hand and put it down.
Take another piece of cookie dough and also flatten it but this time keep it in the cup of your hand.
Dollop a heaped teaspoon of jam onto the dough.
Take the first piece of dough and place it over the jam.
Pinch the edges of the dough together to seal the jam inside and carefully shape into a ball.
Roll the dough ball in the flaked almonds before placing it onto the lined sheet.
Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough and jam.
Pop the sheet in the fridge to chill overnight.
Preheat the oven to 170°C/150°C (Fan)/325°F/Gas mark 3.
Slide the baking sheet out of the fridge and leave the dough balls on the shelf.
Once the oven has warmed up line the baking sheet with another piece of parchment.
Place approx 6/8 balls spaced about 10cm apart from each other onto the baking parchment.
Pop the tray into the oven on a middle shelf for 16 minutes until golden.
When the time is up remove the tray from the oven. Slide the parchment carefully, with the cookies, onto the worktop. Re-line with more paper and bake your next batch.
After the cookies have rested for a couple of minutes they should be firm enough for you to transfer onto a wire rack to fully cool. Don’t forget they will get firmer as they cool, as tempting as it is to immediately eat them straight from the oven. Like some things in life, patience pays off.
Enjoy!
