Short and sweet, this recipe proves that even simple bakes can pack in flavour. Roasting the peanuts before mixing the biscuit dough triggers the Maillard reaction to open a Pandora’s box of grassy, meaty and rich deliciousness.
Series 13
Series 13
Serves:
18
Hands-On Time:
35 mins
Baking Time:
12 mins
- VG
- Ingredients
- Method
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Method
Step 1
Heat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan/375°F/Gas 5.
Step 2
Spread out the peanuts over a baking tray and roast them in the oven for about 10 minutes, until they are fragrant and starting to brown. Set them aside to cool completely. (If you can’t find blanched peanuts you can roast them with the skins on and then, once cool, rub them between your fingers to remove the skins.)
Step 3
Tip the cooled peanuts into the bowl of a food processor and blitz them to a medium or fine-ground consistency, according to preference, then set them aside.
Step 4
Add the ground peanuts, flour, salt and icing sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the beater. Mix on low speed to combine, then add the oil, mixing until just combined.
Step 5
Divide the dough into 36 equal pieces (each about 20g). Roll each piece between your hands to form a little sausage and place the sausage shape onto one of the lined baking sheets. Pinch the middle of the sausage to narrow it a little and flatten the dough at either end – you’re aiming to shape the cookies to resemble monkey nuts. Use the cocktail stick to score lines horizontally and vertically over the surface of each shaped dough to create the monkey-nut texture. Repeat for all the dough pieces, spacing them well apart over the baking sheets.
Step 6
Bake the cookies for 11–12 minutes, or until brown at the bottom and around the edges, then leave them to cool on the trays.
Step 7
Once cool, turn half of the cookies base upwards and spread each with 2 teaspoons of peanut butter and 1 teaspoon of raspberry jam (recipe below). Sandwich with the remaining cookies, then serve.
To make homemade jam:
Tip the fruit into a large, heavy-based pan, add the sugar and gently squash the fruit with a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon, keeping a bit of texture. Stir the fruit gently over a low heat with a wooden spoon until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat and boil rapidly, stirring to prevent the jam catching, until the jam reaches 105°C/221°F on a sugar thermometer. Pour the jam into a warm, sterilised jar, place a wax disc on top and leave to cool completely. Cover with a sterilised lid. Use within 1 month.
