Tuesday 1 April 2014

Simple Baking :: Bachelors Buttons

Hello Lovelies, 
after I had mentioned my fondness for the old Be-Ro baking books in THIS post, Mum turned up one day with another simple baking book she has owned for many years..........


It was easy to know when it was published :0)..........

Mum was very active in the Women's Institute when we lived in Yorkshire. She was on committees and even went round to local groups giving humorous talks.........something I could never imagine doing.

"Tea Time Treats" is a collection of recipes submitted by WI members.

They are, in the words of the introduction, "a host of delicious recipes that you can make with the utmost ease and economy, enjoy successful cooking and earn the compliments of your family and friends"
Sounds good to me :0)

However the names of these treats are sometimes a little odd.......anyone for Cats Tongues ?!

Ermmmmmm, maybe they are nicer than they sound :0)


Now then , this is novel and more appealing ............


Bachelors Buttons looked so simple I had to give them a try.

I don't often have hard butter in the fridge but I had some left over from the boys school cooking lessons that needed using up, so that was another reason to try this biscuit recipe.

 I cut it up into small pieces and popped it into a bowl with the flour and sugar..........


Then rubbed it in ..........


Added a beaten egg............


And formed a dough..........


The recipe didn't say what sort of sugar to use so I used caster sugar, both in the dough and to roll the balls in, before popping them on a lined baking sheet.............


I followed the instructions and made a small hole in the centre with my little finger.............


And added a small amount of jam ............


I was concerned the jam would bubble out so I didn't use much, but the low oven temperature avoided that ( I reduced the temperature slightly for my fan oven  )

Next time I'll make a bit bigger hole and add more filling.............


I made a few with lemon curd and these were our favourites. They were crunchy on the outside, soft and buttery on the inside, with a love pop of zingy lemon in the middle.........YUMMY...........


I only made 12 biscuits, but that was enough as they are nicest eaten straight away...........

 Bachelors Buttons were declared a big success. 

 I do like a bit of simple baking and I'm sure I'll be trying another "Tea Time Treat" recipe quite soon.
Jacquie x

31 comments:

  1. I think that the "cats tongues" are a take on the French Langues du Chat. I make the Batchelors Buttons my grandson calls them Jammy Bumps. They are lovely with a little ground ginger in the mix and filled with ginger preserve.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This recipe sounds easy and good! Thank you! :o)

    ReplyDelete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Okay, I somehow managed to delete my comment, so one again:

    Cat tongues... In Germany these are small chocolate bars (google Katzenzungen to see how they look). I loved these as a child. Bet the baked ones are divine, too! Oh your bachelor's buttons look lovely. We have something similar called Engelsaugen (angel's eyes)

    P.s. I absolutely love these dort of blog posts!

    ReplyDelete
  5. They look delicious! Probably a good recipe to bake with small children too, I know mine would have lots of fun making the holes and spooning jam in

    ReplyDelete
  6. How yummy and fun are they.
    And I love buttons :)
    Woolie Blessings
    Granny T

    ReplyDelete
  7. My Mum used to bake these when I was a child using raspberry jam, so we called them raspberry buns.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was just about to say the same mamasmercantile, they are quite yummy, I might just make some this afternoon :)

      Delete
  8. It is good to know that the recipes are as good as they always were!! xx

    ReplyDelete
  9. Yum, just so my kind of baking, easy and quick ... I'll be sure to try these buttery biscuits!
    Pat x

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh yes they look awesome and so yummy! I loved that you shared the recipe, I'm definitely going to try baking these in the next couple of weeks!

    ReplyDelete
  11. They look so yummy - especially the soft middle. YummYummYumm. Thanks for sharing the recipe, I will certainly give it a try sometime!

    Take care,
    Anne

    http://crochetbetweentwoworlds.blogspot.de

    ReplyDelete
  12. I agree With Pat, Langues du chat. How typically down to earth Yorkshire to all them Cats Tongues! Batchelors Buttons were the very first thing I ever cooked at school, aged 5. I can still recall the amazement I felt when the teacher wheeled a Baby Belling stove into the classroom on a trolley! And the utter joy of walking home clutching a paper bag with warm biscuits in it. Thanks for the reminder:)

    ReplyDelete
  13. We call them Jammy thumbprints....says it all!

    ReplyDelete
  14. They look delicious Jacquie, and I really love lemon curd. Old cookery books are wonderful, and I especially like recipes for teatime. I wish we could have that kind of tea every day, with sandwiches and lovely cakes and things.

    ReplyDelete
  15. So that is what you call these. I've seen them in the shops but never knew what they were called. I'll have a go as they looks so simple and perfect with lemon curd. Yum!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. They look gooooooood
    Clare x

    ReplyDelete
  17. As Pam and a couple others said, Langues du Chat are a type of french biscuit - very thin with lots of crunch... and perfect for dunking in coffee or hot chocolate!!
    The buttons look gorgeous - I think I may have to find time this weekend to do some baking of my own! I'm all inspired!!

    ReplyDelete
  18. These look delicious - on my list for weekend baking. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Not sure that I fancy cats tongues! but the batchelor buttons they are the same recipe that I make that is called jam thumbprints - utterly delicious. A huge favourite in our house.

    ReplyDelete
  20. We call those biccies Jam Drops down under and they ARE delicious. I can almost smell yours from here. Enjoy!
    Anne xx

    ReplyDelete
  21. I was thinking flowers when I read bachelor buttons. lol But those look much tastier. I love old cook books, I look for them at estate sales, or anywhere I spy books for sale.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Traditional baking recipes are fabulous, aren't they? You always know that they've been well tested, and usually aren't too difficult, but very delicious.

    xo

    ReplyDelete
  23. They look sooo yummy, think I may be trying these with jam over Easter with the children. Lemon ones for me though :)

    ReplyDelete
  24. They look yummy, as well as making a skirt with Daisy over the Easter break I hope to do some baking, will be giving these a go.. Just to let you know I have ordered Susan Branch, 'A fine Romance' book.
    Amanda x

    ReplyDelete
  25. I have just discovered the Be-Ro cook book. My grandma loved baking the recipes from it and I can't wait to start making them myself. The Wi cook book looks such good fun. And what I love about a lot of classic recipes is they are brilliant if you are trying to stick to a budget.
    Sarah x

    ReplyDelete
  26. I had a go at making these with my son yesterday - they are yummy and lots for him to help with as a 3 year old. He especially liked rolling the balls in sugar and poking holes in them :-) we didn't have enough butter do used margarine whih I melted and mixed in rather than rubbing into flour and sugar. It seemed to work well and is probably a wee bit quicker?

    ReplyDelete
  27. We used to make these biscuits when I was a child, but instead of buttons we called them jam thumbprints. I made them also with my children when they were small, might give them a go again tomorrow, thanks for the posting! I too made biscuits recently, they were really very easy and a true British classic if you fancy popping over to see, you would be most welcome!

    http://eclectichomelife.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/a-british-biscuit.html

    ReplyDelete
  28. we made these this morning, very tasty, thank you! posted on my facebook page and linked back to you: https://www.facebook.com/#!/eclectichomelife

    ReplyDelete

I always love to hear from you , thank you for taking the time to leave a message.