Bloody Belly Buttons

I know, it's kind of a gruesome name for cookies but it's fun. Years ago a work colleague pounced on some Jam Drop cookies I had baked and exclaimed, "I love bloody belly buttons!" It turned out that her mum made them when she was a kid and that was what she and her sisters always called them. Obviously the name stuck LOL. I have made a few different versions of this kind of cookie but I just tried this one the other day. I have to admit that we didn't make the indent in the cookie with the end of a wooden spoon as the recipe instructs, rather #1 and I had a wonderful time poking a hole with our thumbs (don't worry, we washed our hands before we started cooking!). These were really good - I think the custard powder makes them just that bit special.

Jam Drops
Family Circle Step-by-Step Biscuits and Slices

80g unsalted butter
1/3 cup caster sugar
2 tablespoons milk
½ teaspoon vanilla essence
1 cup self-raising flour
1/3 cup custard powder
2 tablespoons raspberry jam

Preheat oven to moderate 180˚C. Line two biscuit trays with baking paper

Using electric beaters, beat butter and sugar in a small mixing bowl until light and creamy. Add milk and essence; beat until combined.

Add sifted flour and custard powder and mix to form a soft dough. Roll two teaspoonsful of mixture into balls and place on prepared tray.

Make an indentation in each ball using the end of a wooden spoon. Fill each hole with a spot of jam. Bake for 15 minutes, transfer to a wire rack to cool.

In cyclone news, Tropical Cyclone Jacob is still 700km away but appears to be heading our way. At this stage he should make things interesting sometime tomorrow afternoon/evening and, if he continues on his current path, should arrive around breakfast time on Monday. We are offically on Blue Alert which means we should be taking precautions against the possibility of a cyclone but since we didn't unpack from the last one there isn't much to do except turn the trampoline back over and tie it back up to the tree! If you are interested in checking out his path, here is the official map and here is the link for the updates.