It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! I love Christmas – it’s my most favorite holiday. Shortbread cookies (chocolate chip, that is) from Coles’ bakery aisle is a staple in my Aussie Christmas-themed shopping basket. It’s one of the first Christmas goodies of the season that I used to get to mark the festive season.

While tubs of these chocolate chip shortbread cookies aren’t available in Singapore, I found another goodie that’s available all year round: Tesco’s Jam Biscuits, made in the UK. It’s their answer to the jammy dodger (a classic British biscuit – two shortbread biscuits with a jam filling sandwiched between them), but with the addition of a cream filling with the jam. The only difference I noticed from Tesco’s packaging is the biscuits are shortcake instead of shortbread. The added bonus is it’s vegetarian-friendly! In the spirit of Christmas and cookies/biscuits, I headed to my local supermarket (Fairprice carries Tesco products, while Cold Storage features Waitrose) to get a pack of these biscuits.

Tesco is a famous supermarket chain in the UK, just like Coles in Australia. Their products are widely available in Singapore, therefore bringing a taste of Britain to the Lion City.

These exact biscuits are available in the UK, and a pack cost 45p normally (US$0.58; S$0.79), in contrast to its cost of S$2.80 (£1.60; US$2.06) in Singapore due to import costs I reckon. If you’re traveling to the UK over the holidays and are on a budget, it’s certainly a great option. And if you’re in Singapore and intrigued with biscuits that are available on supermarket shelves in the UK, this is a good opportunity to try them.

These little delights aren’t necessarily traditional Christmassy biscuits (except in some regions, apparently, as they’re treated as a Christmas biscuit), but I thought of trying them in the spirit of the holidays while waiting for Christmas goodies to hit the shelves for the year. I reckon the wait won’t be too long, but it’s fun to begin the festivities early. I had to take a little bite (by little, I mean an entire biscuit) to document the flavors!

The raspberry jam that peeks out from the top short biscuit layer reminds me of stained glass windows. I’m sure Santa approves the deep raspberry-red color in honor of the season. Rudolph may be exceptionally excited whilst maneuvering cautiously around his companions with a sweet tooth as his nose looks like the filling of this sweet treat. The jam’s got a glossy shine too, and the specks of sugar on top are reminiscent to tiny crystals! It’s certainly a charming biscuit.

I love the jam filling – its fruity and sweet melody is music to my taste buds. I wish there is more of the jam filling, though. The jam filling that you’d find in biscuits like this is sticky and pasty, as opposed to the texture of a jam spread. This results in a soft, sticky and chewy jam center – which is the best part. As for the vanilla cream, I think it’s pleasing with both the raspberry jam and biscuit base.

The shortcake biscuits are delicious, with their sweetness from the sprinkle of sugar and its balanced crumbliness complemented the soft fillings well in terms of texture.

I’m glad I tried these biscuits – it brings flashbacks of my older posts when I tasted Aussie biscuits, cookies and cakes from Coles and Woolworths. These jam biscuits are a wonderful start to my Christmas festivities!