Lemon and Strawberry Thumbprint Cookies – Pihikete Tapukara Rēmana me te Rōpere
I recently did a campaign for the lovely Barkers of Geraldine team as they launched their new Squeezy Fruit Preserves. They asked me to come up with a few recipes and these pihikete (biscuits) were one of them. I originally made them just as a thumbprint cookie should be, a simple pihikete rēmana (lemon biscuit), filled with tiamu rōpere (strawberry jam) and they were so good! However, in true Naomi style, I just had to see if I could make these a little more fancy. I didn’t want to add buttercream as I knew it would be too heavy for this delicate biscuit. So, I went with one of my favourite decorating recipes, the French Meringue and it works perfectly. It adds a beautiful flare but also an extra delicate flavour that pairs so beautifully with the pihikete (biscuit) and tiamu rōpere (strawberry jam). My whānau (family) definitely preferred the decorated one so which one with you choose?
Credit to Olivia Moore for this beautiful videography and photography for this recipe. All others on this website are by Sarah Henderson.
Lemon and Strawberry Thumbprint Cookies – Pihikete Tapukara Rēmana me te Rōpere
Ingredients
The Lemon Biscuits – Ngā Pihikete Rēmana
- ½ C (120 g) huka one (caster sugar)
- Kiri rēmana (lemon zest of one lemon)
- 125 g pata kūteretere (softened butter)
- ¼ tsp tote (salt, fine)
- 2 tsp wanira (vanilla)
- 1 hēki (egg, size 6)
- 1 ¼ C (185 g) puehu parāoa noa (plain flour)
- ⅓ C (40 g) puehu kānga (cornflour)
- ¼ tsp 1/4 tsp pēkana paura (baking powder)
- 20 tsp (150 g) tiamu rōpere (strawberry jam)
French Meringue Decoration – Kahu Tāhungahunga Wīwī (Optional)
- 1 quantity French Meringue
- A sprinkle of rōpere tauraki-tio (freeze-dried strawberries)
Instructions
The Lemon Biscuits – Ngā Pihikete Rēmana
- Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Pre-heat the oven to 170 °C.
- Add the huka one (caster sugar) in to a large bowl. Finely grate the kiri rēmana (lemon zest) in to the bowl. Rub the kiri (zest) in to the huka (sugar) with your hands until the rēmana (lemon) is fragrant.
- Add the pata kūteretere (softened butter), wanira (vanilla) and tote (salt) in to the sugar mix. Using a hand mixer, whip on high for 3 minutes until light and fluffy in colour.
- Add the hēki (egg) and whip again for 30 seconds on medium speed.
- Add in the puehu parāoa (flour), puehu kānga (cornflour) and pēkana paura (baking powder). Stir well with a fork or wooden spoon.
- Mould the mixture in to 20 equal sized balls.
- Place them on the prepared tray, with a large gap in between each one. Squash the balls down with the palm of you hand and make a large dent in the centre with your thumb or with the round wooden handle. Make it large so you can fit heaps of preserve or tiamu (jam) in.
- Fill each of the holes with the tiamu (jam), filling them to the top.
- Bake for 12 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before eating.
- These pihikete (biscuits) will keep well for 7 days in a sealed container in the fridge or in a cooled cupboard.
French Meringue Decoration – Kahu Tāhungahunga Wīwī (Optional)
- Make one batch of my French Meringue recipe.
- Once it is ready, add it to a piping bag with a petal piping tip. Working your way around the cooled pihikete (biscuit) create little petals or whatever shape you want come from the edge of the tiamu (jam) to the edge of the pihikete (biscuit). Repeat with each one.
- You can keep them plain but I prefer to torch them because it is more fun and it helps the meringue hold its shape for a bit longer. Sprinkle with rōpere tauraki-tio (freeze-dried strawberries) if you want to.
- The decorated pihikete (biscuits) can be stored in the pouaka makariri (fridge) for up to 24 hours. The meringue starts to loose its flare after that, so keep these decorating times in mind. They don't last much longer than that in our whānau!
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