Easy gluten free jammy dodgers recipe. Gluten free shortbread biscuits sandwiched together with strawberry jam. Looks beautiful and tastes delicious. A perfect little treat with your cup of tea or as a valentines day food gift. Loved by both adults and kids.
I remember tucking into a shop-bought jammie dodger as a kid and looking back I think they were a family favorite in most UK households. A long time has passed since then and I thought it would be a perfect time to recreate a gluten free version in my own kitchen. When experimenting with gluten free baking I love recreating some of the nostalgic treats from my childhood and sharing them for you to try too. One of my favorite nostalgic recipes is my gluten free Viennese whirls that you might also like to try.
If you are looking for Valentine's day ideas you might find some inspiration with my gluten free Valentine's desserts.
What are Jammy dodgers?
Jammy dodgers or the branded name of Jammie dodgers are a popular biscuit in the UK made by Burton's biscuits and said to be named after Rodger the dodger from the popular comic book The Beano. They are shortbread biscuits sandwiched together with jam and have a cute little heart cut into the top of the cookie. Said to be similar to a Linzer biscuit without the dusting of powdered sugar. I did dust some of my biscuits with icing sugar so they may look similar to a gluten free linzer biscuits but you can skip this step if you prefer.
Ingredients
Equipment
- Round cookie cutter - I used a 2 ½ inch round cookie cutter but you can use your preferred size.
- Small heart shaped cookie cutter- this is what gives the cookie that distinctive jammy dodger look. You can easily find small heart shape cookie cutters on Amazon at very little cost. I love using heart shaped cookie cutters they are great for valentines day bakes and these jammy dodgers are perfect as a gluten free Valentines day cookie.
Ingredients
- Butter - Be sure to have your butter at room temperature as this will make it easier when beating together with the sugar. If you required dairy free vegan jammy dodgers you can substitute for your preferred dairy free butter block to make them vegan friendly.
- Caster sugar - Don't worry if you can't get caster sugar for this recipe. Superfine granulated sugar or regular granulated sugar will also work well.
- Gluten free plain flour - I used Doves Freee Plain flour but you can use your preferred brand of gluten free plain flour.
- Cornflour - If in the US be sure to use Corn starch. As I am in the UK it is called cornflour but not to be mistaken with the US cornflour (yellow powder).
- Xanthan gum - Used as a binding agent in gluten free baking. Essentially acting like gluten keeping everything together.
- Water
- Strawberry Jam - I used strawberry jam but you can use raspberry jam or your preferred flavor. Maybe try and mix it up by substituting with lemon curd or chocolate spread. Its really up to you what flavor filling you love.
- Icing sugar - (Powdered sugar) Optional for sprinkling on top of the finished cookie.
Instructions
Recipe steps
- In a bowl beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- In a large bowl mix flour, cornflour, xanthan gum together until fully combined.
- Add butter and sugar mixture to the large bowl with the flour mixture.
- Add water and with your hands knead together and will resemble large crumbs but continue to knead as it will eventually form a shortbread dough.
- Place your dough onto a floured surface. Using a rolling pin roll out your dough evenly until around ¼ inch thick.
- Using your preferred size cookie cutter (I used a 2 ½ inch cookie cutter) cut out the cookies and carefully place them on a lined baking tray.
- Once on the baking tray use the small heart cookie cutter and cut out the center of half the cookies. (I like to also bake the small heart if there is additional space on the baking sheet).
- Place the baking tray in the refrigerator for 30 minutes as this allows the dough to firm up and help reduce the cookies spreading while baking.
- Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas mark 3
- Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until they start to turn slightly golden on the edges but still pale on top.
- Once baked leave them on the baking tray to slightly cool before moving to a cooling rack as they may still be soft to touch when removed from the oven but will firm up as they cool.
- Once fully cooled spread ½ teaspoon of jam on the full round cookie and top with the cut out heart cookie. You can dust with powdered sugar if desired or keep plain for a more traditional jammy dodger biscuit.
Recipe Tips
- Gluten Free Flour – I used a shop bought Gluten free flour blend from Doves Farm Freee from range. Which is a flour blend of Rice, Potato, Tapioca, Maize and Buckwheat flour. I have had reports that others have used Bob’s Red Mill and other Gluten free All purpose blends with my recipes that have worked well. I would love to know what flour blends worked for you. So feel free to get in touch by leaving a comment below or you can contact me directly.
- Kitchen Scales - Using digital scales is recommended when baking. I always measure using scales and in grams as baking is a science. When baking gluten free it is essential to weigh out ingredients to get the best results! There is no need to purchase expensive digital scales and you can find them available cheaply online.
- Oven Temperatures - Your oven temperature may be slightly different. As all ovens vary in temperature and the baking time is used as a guide. Some ovens run hotter than others. You could invest in an oven thermometer to be more accurate.
Recipe FAQs
To make jammy dodgers gluten free be sure to use gluten free flour. I used Doves freee from plain flour when making my gluten-free jammy dodgers but this recipe should work well with most gluten free plain flour brands.
Yes, As this recipe is already gluten free just substitute the butter for your preferred dairy free butter to make vegan jammie dodgers.
Yes, many recipes do call for an egg in the shortbread mixture but I have kept this recipe egg free.
Traditionally the branded jammie dodgers were made with raspberry jam but as these are homemade you can use your preferred flavor of jam for the filling.
They are best stored in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.
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Recipe
Gluten free Jammy Dodgers
Equipment
- Round cookie cutter
- small heart shaped cookie cutter
Ingredients
- 230 grams Butter Room temperature
- 125 grams Caster sugar
- 230 grams Gluten free plain flour
- 100 grams Cornflour (Corn starch in the US)
- 1 teaspoon Xanthan gum
- 30 ml Water
- 6 tablespoons Strawberry Jam
- 2 tablespoons Icing sugar (Powdered sugar) Optional for dusting
Instructions
- In a bowl beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- In a large bowl mix flour, cornflour, xanthan gum together until fully combined.
- Add butter and sugar mixture to the large bowl with the flour mixture.
- Add water and with your hands knead together and will resemble large crumbs but continue to knead as it will eventually form a shortbread dough.
- Place your dough onto a floured surface. Using a rolling pin roll out your dough evenly until around ¼ inch thick.
- Using your preferred size cookie cutter (I used a 2 ½ inch cookie cutter) cut out the cookies and carefully place them on a lined baking tray.
- Once on the baking tray use the small heart cookie cutter and cut out the center of half the cookies. (I like to also bake the small heart if there is additional space on the baking sheet).
- Place the baking tray in the refrigerator for 30 minutes as this allows the dough to firm up and help reduce the cookies spreading while baking.
- Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas mark 3
- Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until they start to turn slightly golden on the edges but still pale on top.
- Once baked leave them on the baking tray to slightly cool before moving to a cooling rack as they may still be soft to touch when removed from the oven but will firm up as they cool.
- Once fully cooled spread ½ teaspoon of jam on the full round cookie and top with the cut out heart cookie. You can dust with powdered sugar if desired or keep plain for a more traditional jammy dodger biscuit.
Notes
Yes, As this recipe is already gluten free just substitute the butter for your preferred dairy free butter. Can Jammy dodgers be made egg free?
Yes, many recipes do call for an egg in the shortbread mixture but I have kept this recipe egg free. What is the best way to store the biscuits?
They are best stored in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.
I hope you enjoyed this Gluten free Jammy dodgers recipe.
I would love your feedback. Please rate this recipe and leave a comment below. You can also tag me in any photos taken when trying this recipe over on my Instagram.
Jan
I made these jammy dodgers yesterday and they turned out lovely.