Healthier Jam Drops

Lots of your Nana's or Mum's sweetie recipes can be transformed into healthier and more nourishing versions with a few ingredient swaps. Subbing regular processed sugar for stevia and replacing plain flour with low-gluten wholegrain flours, you can replicate those old-fashioned favourites the healthy way.

Jam drops are one of those childhood baking memories I thought to make over. These biscuits keep really well and you can have them on hand all week for sweet treats. Their sweet and straight-forward flavour mean they are a hit with the kiddies as well.

Healthier Jam Drops

Ingredients:

• 110 grams of organic butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract 
• 1/3 cup of stevia
• 1 organic cage-free egg
• 1 cup of ground almonds or hazelnuts
• 1/3 cup of wholemeal spelt flour
• 1/3 cup of quinoa flour
• 3 tablespoons of chopped coconut flakes
• low-sugar strawberry or raspberry jam

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees and line two baking trays with greased-proof paper.
2. Use an electric mixer to whisk the butter, vanilla and stevia together until white and creamy. Beat in the egg. Add in the ground nuts and use the electric mixer once more to combine.
3. Add the flours and coconut and mix by hand to make a dough. 
4. Spoon out a tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball, flattening down onto the tray. Repeat with remaining mixture leaving 5 centimetres apart from each biscuit.
5. Use the end of a spoon to make a hole inside each biscuit. Fill with jam.
6. Bake for 15 minutes until golden. Depending on your oven, you may want to keep an eye on them after 10 minutes. My oven always cooks baked goods much faster than recipes predict!
7. Let the cookies cool on their trays for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.