Lepelsteeltjies (cheesy jam-hole biscuits)

Lepelsteeltjies is another much loved South African combination of savoury and sweet: they are tiny biscuits made from cheddar cheese, with a wee bit of apricot jam in the centre.

They are not easy to pass by: the only safe way to store them is behind lock and key. Luckily, lepelsteeltjies will get stale if you leave them too long, so you’ll have the perfect excuse to liberate them.

This is our somewhat adapted version of the recipe published in YOU Let's Cook Top 500 Recipes.

Makes 30 to 36 small biscuits.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (250 ml) flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) salt
  • 120 gram / 1 1/4 cup (310 ml) cheddar cheese, finely grated
  • 120 gram butter (at room temperature)
  • 2 tablespoons (30 ml) smooth apricot jam

Method

  1. Grease patty pans or miniature mini-muffin trays. Spray-a-cook work really well.
  2. Sift flour, salt and baking powder together.
  3. Add grated cheese and butter, and combine into a dough.
  4. Roll walnut sized balls of dough and place them in the patty pans tray.
  5. Use the handle of a wooden spoon to press small hollows into each ball, taking care not to poke the holes through to the bottom.
  6. Spoon a small quantity of jam into each hollow. If you use too much jam, it will bubble over the edges when baking.
  7. Bake for approximately 15 minutes in an oven preheated to 200°C.
  8. Cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight container.

Notes

You can top up the hollows with additional apricot jam before serving.