Swiss Roll. Cake Roll. Jam Roly-Poly. Whatever you want to call it, I’ve only gone and turned it into a cookie. What with the new (and slightly controversial) series of the Great British Bake Off back on our screens this week, I wanted to share something a bit British. And what’s more quintessentially British than a nice slice of Swiss Roll.
Yep, one of the most impressive desserts you can make is now oh so much easier in sugar cookie form. If you’ve made my perfect Vanilla Sugar Cookies before, then you’ve already got this cookie dough down. It’s as simple as it gets – butter, sugar, flour, some eggs, and that all important vanilla/almond extract combo, and you’re pretty much there. No complicated method, just a straight forward, no-spread, sugar cookie dough here.
Make sure you chill the dough, or rolling out and shaping your little pinwheel cookies is going to be a bit of a struggle. Plus, cold dough equals less spread in the oven. Not that my sugar cookie dough recipe would spread anyway – it’s quite magical like that.
But I know what you’re really here for… the jam! Or is it jelly?
The filling for these swiss roll cookies is just plain old regular raspberry jam. I used seedless, because I prefer it that way, but feel free to try it with seeds. And hey, don’t stop with raspberry jam either. The jam aisle is your oyster with these little cookies.
You’re always going to get a little bit of mess when you’re baking with jam, but that’s okay. I’ve made my peace with the little jammy splodges on the edges, and the not-so-neat swirls. It gives them a bit of character. Once you’re biting into them, you’re honestly not going to care one bit.
Getting the jam swirls inside the swiss roll cookies is as easy as rolling out a rectangle of cookie dough, and smothering it with the jam of your choice. You should definitely give the jam a good beating before covering the top of the dough, as you want it to be nice and spreadable. Leave about a half inch or so jam-less gap at the bottom and top of your cookie dough rectangle, because once you start rolling it up, it’s going to squish out the bottom a bit. There’s nothing you can do to stop it. The jam has a mind of its own.
So, what did you think of the new GBBO? I’m still missing Mel & Sue, and Prue is no Mary. But that loaf of bread cake? I can’t even cope. Possibly the best Bake Off creation ever, and we’re only on week one.
- 225g (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 200g (1 cup) caster sugar (US granulated sugar)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons good quality vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 500g (4 cups) plain or all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 150g (about ½ cup) seedless raspberry jam
- Beat the butter and sugar together using a stand or hand mixer, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, along with the vanilla and almond extracts, beating well between each addition.
- Add the flour to the bowl, along with the baking powder and salt, and mix together on low until a dough forms. Split the dough in half, form into balls, and wrap in clingfilm or plastic wrap. Place in the fridge for at least an hour (preferably two) to chill.
- When you are ready to roll out the dough, preheat the oven to 180°C / 355°F (160°C fan), and line two large baking sheets with baking parchment or a silicone mat. Roll out the first ball of dough on a floured surface using a lightly floured rolling pin. You want the dough to be slightly thicker than you would usually roll it for normal sugar cookies, and you are aiming for a rectangle about 12 x 10 inches.
- Place the jam in a small bowl and beat with a spoon so it is a more spreadable consistency. Place half of it onto the pastry sheet and spread out with a palette knife, leaving about a ½ inch gap at both the longer edges. Starting with one of the longest edges, roll the cookie dough into a tight log (like a swiss roll). Try to keep the roll as tight as possible.
- Cut the log into slices (you should be able to make about 16 cookies) and place them on the pre-lined baking sheet. Repeat the process with the remaining ball of cookie dough, cutting into a further 16 cookies.
- Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, until the edges of the cookies have started to turn ever so slightly brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the baking sheets.
- The baked cookies will stay fresh in a air-tight container for almost a week - there is no need to keep them in the fridge.
- The unbaked cookie dough can be frozen for up to three months. Wrap the dough tightly in cling film or plastic wrap, and then defrost at room temperature before rolling out, filling with jam, and baking.
