Almond shortbread jam drops

Ingredients

• 220g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 100g caster sugar
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 1/2 tsp flaky sea salt
• 200g plain flour, sifted
• 120g almond meal
• 100g slivered almonds (optional)
• ~120g jam

Directions

1. Place the butter, sugar, zest, vanilla seeds (or paste) and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light and creamy (about 2 minutes). Scrape the base and sides of the bowl with a flexible spatula and beat for a few seconds more to ensure the mixture is smooth. Add the sifted flour and almond meal and mix on low speed until just combined.
2. Scrape the dough onto a clean work surface and knead very gently to bring it together into a ball. Cover and chill for a few minutes in the fridge while you preheat the oven to 150C fan-forced (170C conventional) and line one large (or two smaller) baking tray(s) with baking paper.
3. (Optional) Place the slivered almonds in a ziplock bag and bash them roughly with a rolling pin until they are lightly crushed, then transfer to a bowl.
4. Remove the shortbread dough from the fridge (if it’s still very soft, leave in the fridge for a few minutes longer). Pinch off 25g pieces and roll into balls, then place one at a time in the bowl of slivered almonds to toss and coat in the nuts. Place the nut-covered balls on the baking tray, spaced about 5cm apart.
5. Press your thumb into the centre of each ball to form a depression, then using a small teaspoon, drop some of the kumquat jam into the hole, being careful not to overfill.
6. Place the tray(s) into the preheated oven and bake the shortbreads for about 35 minutes – until the jam is bubbling and the cookies start to take on colour on their bases and sides.
7. Remove the trays from the oven and allow to cool on the tray for a few minutes before transferring onto a wire rack to cool completely.