Snaps Aka Jumbles

Total Time: 50 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 4 ounces butter
• 4 ounces granulated sugar
• 4 ounces golden syrup
• 4 ounces all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1 tablespoon or 1 tablespoon grand marnier
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 pinch salt
• 6 ounces mascarpone cheese
• 6 ounces creme fraiche
• 1 tablespoon orange flower water, to taste
• 1 pint strawberry
• mint sprig, for decoration

Recipe

• 1 heat the butter, sugar, syrup, lemon juice and grand marnier gently together in a saucepan until the butter melts and the sugar has dissolved. remove the pan from the heat, mix in the flour and leave to cool.
• 2 preheat the oven to 180ºc/350°f line 2 baking trays with non-stick baking paper with 6 circles of about 5 cm (2") marked on them, with good space between each. alternatively, place this template under a silpat – the circles will show through and you can slide the template out and reuse it. place a teaspoon of the mixture in the centre of each circle and smooth out to the edges of the circle with a wet flat knife or back of a spoon. spread them thinly, but not so thin that there are holes. bake for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned. to ensure enough time to roll the snaps, put one tray into the oven 5 minutes before the other.
• 3 remove the snaps from the oven and cool on the baking tray for a few seconds, then lift the cookies off with a palette knife and roll around wooden spoon handles. don’t wrap them tightly around the handle – the snap will dangle off it, and the only bit of the snap that needs to be held tightly against the handle is the overlap: press that join firmly to seal. then slide off the handle and place on a wire rack. if the snaps become too hard to roll, pop them back in the oven for a few seconds. repeat with the remaining mixture. snaps can also be rolled into cones.
• 4 dice the strawberries and taste: add a little sugar if they are not sweet and juicy enough. let them sit while you fill the snaps, so that they release a little juice.
• 5 to fill the snaps, stir together the filling ingredients and spoon into a piping bag fitted with a small star nozzle and pipe into each end of the biscuits.
• 6 top with a spoon or two of strawberries, and a sprig of mint if available. serve as soon as they are filled. leftover (ha!) unfilled cookies can be stored in air-tight containers for up to two weeks (if they last that long).