Good old Halloween… So exciting when you are a child. We have only just returned from a sunny Barcelona and as there is an inset day at school we are being very lazy (still in pyjamas at midday – what slobs, sometimes you just need it dont you?) so thought we would make a few jammy dodger style biscuits with halloween decorations in preparation for trick or treating tonight. The jam inside is perfect for Halloween blood and we have kept it simple with cobwebs and haunted faces but feel free to decoration with whatever you choose.

INGREDIENTS
Makes about 20 biscuits 

• 100g unsalted butter, cubed and softened
• 175g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 100g plain flour, plus extra for rolling out
• ¼ jar of raspberry jam (you can also use strawberry jam, I use bonne maman)
• tubes of coloured writing icing
• silver ball cake/biscuits decorations (if using)

1. Put the softened butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and mix together with a wooden spoon until totally combined together.
   
2. Add the egg and vanilla paste and continue to beat the mixture until full mixed together.
   
3. Add the flour and fold into the mixture until full combined, eventually forming the mix into a ball shape.
   
4. Place a large sheet of  parchment paper onto a kitchen surface and add some flour to prevent sticking. Tip your ball of dough onto the lightly floured parchment and roll out evenly to about a depth of 5mm.
   
   
5. Transfer your parchment onto a baking tray and place in your fridge for 10 minutes to firm up.
6. Remove from the fridge and press out your biscuits using cookie cutters, you can do any shape, I have done small flowers and circles but its entirely up to you, just ensure to do an even number as you will be doubling them up. Any leftover dough just form a new ball, roll our and cut as many shapes as you can from the dough. Prepare 2 baking trays with parchment paper and place your cutout shapes spaced out onto the baking trays. These need to go back into the fridge for another 10 minutes.
   
7. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 190/170 fan. Once the 10 minutes is up, bake your biscuits for 7 minutes, then take out of the oven and sprinkle a little bit of caster sugar over the biscuits, return to the oven for another 5 minutes.
   
8. Once cooked, allow to cool slightly in the trays, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool totally.
   
9. Once cooled, spread a teaspoon of jam onto the underside of one of the biscuits and sandwich another on top.
   
10. You can of course leave your bisuits like this so a vanilla biscuit with jam in the centre, equally delicious.
    
11. When you have doubled all the biscuits up you can then start decorating with your writing icing… let your creativity unleash.