These are delicate little nibbles. More befitting of the word biscuit than cookie. I think it has to do with the ground almonds, they immediately give these cookies more elegance and refinement. Exactly the kind of delicacy you would expect, accompanying a cup of the most delicious cup of fragrant Darjeeling tea (for example first flush Steinthal TGFOP 2008 for all you tea snobs out there). And, for me, the biscuit with the bright red centre is always the most appealing in a tin of ‘assorted cookies’.

How to make the Almond Jam Cookies
Preheat the oven at 170°C. Put flour, ground almonds, salt and sugar in a bowl and mix well. Ad the butter in cubes, crumble with your fingertips, then bring together to form a dough. Leave to rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour or better still, overnight. First turn the jam into a smooth paste with a hand blender, so there are no chuncks of fruit left. Warm up the jam with a bit of lemon juice in a saucepan, and reduce it a little (if necessary) to make it nice and thick. Leave to cool. Now roll out
the dough with a rolling pin (between two sheets of cling film to make it easier) until the sheet is about 3 millimetre thick. Cut out round shapes with a cookie cutter. Make a little shallow dent in the middle of each biscuit and add about a teaspoon of the jam. Bake them for about 20 minutes in the middle of the oven until pale brown. leave to cool on a cooling rack. Enjoy!