Jam splats and FOTD fail

I love being in love and I'm all for celebrating love - I'm just not a fan of Valentine's Day. That said... look what arrived for me yesterday!

Lillies are my absolute favourite type of flower in the whole wide world, and he included 8 red roses in my bouquet because today is our 8 year anniversary :) That makes me feel quite proud (if not a little old!). I know, it's quite ironic that Valentine's Day is the anniversary of someone who is Anti-Valentine's haha.

Mr Lollipop is working today, so I decided to make him something yummy to come home to. He loves vanilla and jam based biscuits, so I made him these yummy biscuits. They're not called anything romantic - Jam Splats - but they're so yummy they are perfect for any occasion. Birthday Jam Splats, Christmas Jam Splats, Easter Jam Splats, and for today... yep, Valentine's Jam Splats! Guess where the inspiration for these biscuits came from? Haha! I've just tasted one and they're rather yummy scrummy for my tummy. They've filled the entire house with a gorgeous vanilla smell, and I'm trying really hard not to eat the rest!

My recipe below made about 13 Jam Splats. Not all of them had buttercream in because I didn't make enough, but they're just as delicious without it :)

Ingredients:

Biscuits

250g softened, unsalted butter

140g caster sugar

2 tsps vanilla extract

1 egg yolk

375g plain flour, and a little extra for dusting

Filling:

Jam - I'm using strawberry. You need about quarter of a jar I guess.

Buttercream (if using) - 50g unsalted butter, 100g of icing sugar, and a splash of vanilla extract.

Method:

1. To make your biscuits, cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl with a wooden spoon until pale and fluffy.

2. Add the vanilla and egg yolk, and combine well.

3. Sift in the flour and combine. I tend to do this is stages, like a third of flour at a time. It's easier to mix that way, and less messy! You'll get a dough, that isn't too sticky. I resisted the urge to make something out of it, a la playdoh!

4. Wrap your dough in clingfilm and rest in the fridge for about half an hour.

5. Preheat your oven to 190C.

6. Sprinkle a little bit of flour onto your clean worktop (or flat surface, ie chopping board, plate) and rolling pin, and start rolling your dough. You want to roll it so it's about 5mm thick.

7. Cut out an even number of shapes. I'm using a heart shaped cookie cutter (since it's Valentine's Day - duh!) but the traditional shape is round. Then, cut a small circle out of the centre of half of them.

8. Place them on a baking tray (no need to grease or line), and bake for about 15 minutes. Mine take 10 minutes, but my oven cooks things quickly (the top of the biscuits were left in for 15 minutes, and they're not burnt but a bit too brown).

9. Leave to cool on a wire rack. Be careful when transferring them - they're super crumbly and I had a few casualties, but once they're cool they're hard.

10. Get your filling ready. I like to soften the jam up in a bowl first, but this is optional. Then, in a seperate bowl, cream together the butter and sugar, then mix in the vanilla. Smells so yum-tastic!

11. When the biscuits are cool, spread a layer of buttercream on the 'whole' biscuits, then a layer of jam. Try not to go too close to the edge, or they'll get a bit messy like mine.

12. Put a biscuit with a hole on top, and squish together a little bit to help it stick. Et viola! Jam splats - yummy vanillery scrumminess, with some sticky sweet jam :)

You can eat them straight away, or leave in the fridge for half an hour or so, for the jam to set and get sticky. Both ways are delicious, but I prefer the second.

You can dust them with a little bit of icing sugar to finish (as if they weren't sweet or calorific enough!) and for something a bit different you can sandwich them with melted chocolate, coloured icing, or flavoured buttercream... nom nom nom.

And I'll leave you with my Valentine's FOTD fail! haha.

I look washed out in all of the other pictures, and I've got two styes on my eye which are more prominant with pink eyeshadows. I got exasperated trying to find a half-decent picture, so I gave up and took this picture for ya. I loved my lips though, MAC Gladiola lipstick and MAC Hot Frost lipglass. Considering they're both hot pink, I love them. They're actually really wearable and are a fab alternative to the traditional red lips featured on a pin-up look :) Not a combination for everyday in work, but one I should wear more often, definitely.

Hope you've all had a lovely weekend!

xoxo