Season 
Christmas Biscuits with Modì Apple “Butter” Filling.
Ingredients for
For the spicy biscuits
soft butter | 150g (5oz)
egg yolks | 2
sugar | 60g (2oz)
yeast | ½ teaspoon, level
cinnamon | ¼ teaspoon
ginger powder | ¼ teaspoon
a pinch of clove powder
a pinch of cardamom powder
natural liquid vanilla extract | 1 teaspoon
icing sugar to decorate
For the apple butter
Modì apple pulp pieces | 450g (15oz, around 3 peeled and cored apples)
Cane sugar | 50g (1.8oz)
Citric acid for marmalades | ½ teaspoon (or the juice of half a lemon)
Water qs
soft butter | 150g (5oz)
egg yolks | 2
sugar | 60g (2oz)
yeast | ½ teaspoon, level
cinnamon | ¼ teaspoon
ginger powder | ¼ teaspoon
a pinch of clove powder
a pinch of cardamom powder
natural liquid vanilla extract | 1 teaspoon
icing sugar to decorate
For the apple butter
Modì apple pulp pieces | 450g (15oz, around 3 peeled and cored apples)
Cane sugar | 50g (1.8oz)
Citric acid for marmalades | ½ teaspoon (or the juice of half a lemon)
Water qs
Preparation
Apple butter. Mix the apple pieces with the sugar and citric acid or lemon juice, pour into a saucepan and add one glass of water. Bring to the boil, cover the pan and leave to cook for 20 minutes (it may be necessary to add more water during cooking).
Mash the apples with a hand-held liquidizer, return them to the fire to cook for another 10-15 minutes, stirring often. The apple butter should be creamy but quite dry.
Spicy short-crust. Mix the pieces of butter with the sugar and spices until you obtain several crumbs, add the yolks and the flour and yeast mixture and knead. Form a rectangular portion and leave it in the fridge for at least half an hour (ideally between 1 and 2 hours).
Lay out the short-crust with a rolling pin and shape out the biscuits. Bake the biscuits in a preheated oven (160°C - 320°F) for around 15 minutes until golden brown. Out of the oven, dust half the biscuits with icing sugar, then put them on a cooling rack.
Just before serving, join the biscuits in twos with some apple butter spread in between.
Mash the apples with a hand-held liquidizer, return them to the fire to cook for another 10-15 minutes, stirring often. The apple butter should be creamy but quite dry.
Spicy short-crust. Mix the pieces of butter with the sugar and spices until you obtain several crumbs, add the yolks and the flour and yeast mixture and knead. Form a rectangular portion and leave it in the fridge for at least half an hour (ideally between 1 and 2 hours).
Lay out the short-crust with a rolling pin and shape out the biscuits. Bake the biscuits in a preheated oven (160°C - 320°F) for around 15 minutes until golden brown. Out of the oven, dust half the biscuits with icing sugar, then put them on a cooling rack.
Just before serving, join the biscuits in twos with some apple butter spread in between.
Difficulty: Medium
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Celebrate Christmas with these crumbly slightly spicy short-crust Modì cookies with a creamy apple filling.
Serve at tea or coffee time or for a special morning breakfast… you are sure to charm everyone!
The recipe for the filling is inspired to an American classic: apple butter, a fruity cream as soft as butter but containing no fats: just apples and sugar. Some is bound to be left over after you’ve made the biscuits, so you can put the “butter” in a jar and keep it in the fridge for a few days, to spread on toasted bread or to use to enrich your cakes in a healthy but tasty way.
Merry Christmas!
Serve at tea or coffee time or for a special morning breakfast… you are sure to charm everyone!
The recipe for the filling is inspired to an American classic: apple butter, a fruity cream as soft as butter but containing no fats: just apples and sugar. Some is bound to be left over after you’ve made the biscuits, so you can put the “butter” in a jar and keep it in the fridge for a few days, to spread on toasted bread or to use to enrich your cakes in a healthy but tasty way.
Merry Christmas!
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