Hilloviipaleet - Jam Slice Cookies

One of my favourite treats as a kid (and there were quite a few!) used to be "hilloviipaleet" or jam slices, as it would translate in English. Mum wouldn't make them very often, in fact not nearly often enough, and that made them even more special and tasty. Last weekend I baked a batch of these cookies and had a taste for the first time in about 15 years. They were as good as I remembered, if not better, flavoured with a touch of nostalgia.

I packed two boxes to bring with me to my 88 year old swimming buddy, whom I meet every morning at the local pool. The cookies were a small gift for all the little tokens he has given me and he seemed very happy indeed to receive them.

 

Hilloviipaleet

(makes 30-40 cookies)

200g butter (organic)

85g (raw) sugar

1 egg (free-range, organic)

1 teaspoon baking powder

250g plain flour

1/4 teaspoon pure ground vanilla

raspberry jam

60g icing sugar

about 1 1/2 tablespoons hot water

1. Beat soft butter and sugar with electric beaters until fluffy and pale. Add egg and use electric beaters to combine. Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl and stir quickly to form a smooth dough. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and refrigerate for half an hour.

2. Line two baking trays with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 175C. 

3. Divide the chilled dough in four pieces and shape the pieces to long (30cm) bars. Flatten the bars slightly and make a "well" in middle, running lengthwise along the whole bar. Fill the well with jam.

4. Bake the cookies for 15-20 minutes (depending on your oven) until golden. Leave to cool.

5. Combine icing sugar and hot water in a bowl and stir well to form a smooth, glossy paste. Spoon the paste into a piping bag and pipe along the jam edges on cool cookies. Cut the bars into about 2 1/2 cm pieces. These can be stored in the fridge or freezer in an airtight container.