I dare to declare that these lovely plum jam biscuits are as popular (if not more popular) as scones in Hungary. Their Hungarian name is lekváros papucs, which literally means plum jam slippers referring to their shapes. There is no uniform recipe, every household has its own, so they can be prepared in many ways. The base is usually a yeast dough, but I have already eaten biscuits made of puff pastry. The filling is always shiny black plum jam, which is – as far as possible – homemade and unsweetened. This kind of jam is heat resistant, so you don’t have to fear that it flows out from the biscuits.
In my family we bake plum jam biscuits according to 2 different recipes. The first one is made of a plain yeast dough containing lard and sour cream. This dough is a bit sweet. In case of the second recipe the starting point is the salty dough of the traditional crackling scones, the only difference is that the ingredients are simply kneaded together into a smooth dough, which is not folded. You might now wonder how crazy we are because we combine a salty crackling dough with sweet plum jam, but trust me, this is one of the best flavour pairing on Earth.
If you prepare plum jam biscuits, you might face one problem, namely the 2 pinched corners sometimes come apart during baking, inspite of the egg wash. If it occurs, don’t make a tragedy of it and don’t go into exile, it can happen to the professionals, too. That mistake doesn’t diminish the biscuits’ taste and value.
Plain yeast dough
photo: zserbo.com
Ingredients:
- 500 g (~4 cups) all-purpose flour
- 150 ml (~2/3 cup) milk
- 25 g fresh yeast (2 1/2 tsp dry yeast)
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 200 g (~1 cup) lard
- 100-120 g (~3/4 – 1 cup) sour cream
- 1 egg
- plum jam for the filling
- 1 egg for egg wash
Dissolve yeast with sugar in lukewarm milk. Rub lard into the flour. Add activated yeast, salt, egg and sour cream, and knead into a smooth dough. Cover and leave it to rest until it doubles in size.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 200°C / 392°F.
Roll out the dough thin and cut into squares. Place a teaspoon of plum jam onto each piece and pinch 2 opposite corners. Place onto the baking sheet and brush tops with beaten egg. Slide into the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
Crackling dough
photo: zserbo.bom
Ingredients:
- 500 g (~4 cups) all-purpose flour
- 200 ml (~3/4 cup + 2 tbsp) milk
- 25 g fresh yeast (2 1/2 tsp dry yeast)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 egg
- 100 g (~3/4 cup) sour cream
- 3 tsp salt
- 250 g (~1/2 lb) ground cracklings
- 2 tsp black pepper
- plum jam for the filling
- 1 egg for egg wash
Dissolve yeast with sugar in lukewarm milk. Place flour in a bowl, add ground cracklings, activated yeast, egg, salt pepper and sour cream, and knead into a smooth, pliable dough. Cover and let it rise for about 40-50 minutes.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 200°C / 392°F.
Roll out the dough thin and cut into squares. Place a teaspoon of plum jam onto each piece and pinch 2 opposite corners. Place onto the baking sheet and brush tops with beaten egg. Slide into the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
