These are an addictive cross between a tart and a biscuit – hence the name. But whatever you call them, the tender, buttery pastry filled with toasted hazelnuts and slicked with raspberry jam is quite irresistible.
125g blanched hazelnuts
225g unsalted butter, plus extra for the tray if needed
280g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp mixed spice
½ tsp fine sea salt
180g caster sugar
1 large egg
1 vanilla pod, split in half lengthways and seeds scraped out
225g raspberry jam, at room temperature
Makes: 12 | Takes: 1 hour
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
Place the hazelnuts in a 30 x 20 x 5-cm roasting tray. Roast for up to 10 minutes, or until golden, shaking the tray halfway through – keep an eye on them so they don’t burn. Cool for a few minutes, then blitz in a food processor until finely ground. Set side to cool completely.
Meanwhile, line the roasting tray with baking parchment so it overhangs the sides; a few dabs of butter in the tray will help to keep it in place, if needed. Tip the cooled nuts into a mixing bowl, add the flour, mixed spice and salt and whisk together. Set aside.
Beat the butter and sugar together with electric beaters or an electric mixer until fluffy, then beat in the egg and vanilla seeds. Gradually stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture to make a soft dough. Set aside about 350g, or roughly one-third, of the mixture for the topping, and spoon the rest into the prepared roasting tray in mounds. Using lightly floured hands, firmly press the mounds into an even layer of dough covering the base of the tray.
Stir the jam to loosen, then spread over the dough with the back of a spoon. Scatter clumps of the remaining dough on top and flatten with the back of a lightly floured spoon. There should be jam visible through gaps in the topping.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until pale gold on top. Leave to cool in the tray for 10 minutes, then carefully lift out using the baking parchment for handles. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, then cut into 12 rectangles.