Jam Drops

Total Time: 55 mins Preparation Time: 40 mins Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients

• 2 cups self-raising flour
• 1 cup desiccated coconut
• 1 cup sugar (caster sugar if available)
• 200 g butter, melted
• 1/4 cup milk
• 3/4 cup plum jam (us jelly) or 3/4 cup any other dark coloured jam

Recipe

• 1 grease 3 oven or cookie trays.
• 2 preheat oven to 180c (350f).
• 3 combine sifted flour, coconut and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
• 4 mix well.
• 5 make a well in the flour mixture and stir in melted butter and milk.
• 6 mix well.
• 7 (don't worry if the batter looks a bit crumbly.) using your hands, shape, rather than roll, level tablespoons of the mixture into balls.
• 8 (don't worry if the balls aren't perfectly round).
• 9 if the mixture seems too crumbly at this stage, add a tablespoon or two of milk to the batter, but be careful not to make it too wet- it should still look crumbly and the dough should just come together with the heat of your hands.
• 10 place balls about 7cm (3") apart on oven trays.
• 11 (they will flatten out as they cook.) now, holding the balls together with the fingers of one hand, gently push the handle of a wooden spoon into the centre of each biscuit to make an indentation about 5mm (1/4") deep.
• 12 (if the biscuits split a little just gently push the dough back together.) using a finger to ease the jam off the spoon, drop about 1/4 teaspoon of jam into the hollow of each biscuit.
• 13 (be neat and don't overfill- you can add more jam later.) bake on the centre shelf/shelves of a moderate 180c/350f oven for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
• 14 cook in batches if necessary.
• 15 remove plum drops from oven and leave on trays while you add an extra 1/4 teaspoon of jam into each hollow.
• 16 when plum drops are firm to touch, remove gently to cool on wire racks.
• 17 store in an airtight container between layers of baking (silicone) paper.
• 18 they will keep well for up to a week- if they last that long!