Nicky-L-G's Mushrooms

This recipe is from The Australian Women's Weekly Sweet Old-Fashioned Favourites. My friend's father has just been diagnosed with Cancer and he was craving some of these, but we couldn't find a recipe here for them. They are a sweet and they are only called mushrooms because they look like them!

• Ready In: 57 mins
• Serves: 30
• Yields: 30 mushrooms

Ingredients

• 90  g butter
• 1  teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1⁄3 cup caster sugar
• 1  egg
• 1 2⁄3 cups plain flour
• 1⁄3 cup  raspberry jam
• 1⁄3 cup  crushed  mixed nuts
• 2  teaspoons  cocoa

• Filling

• 90  g butter
• 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1⁄3 cup caster sugar
• 1⁄3 cup milk
• 1⁄3 cup water

Directions

1. Beat butter, essence and sugar until smooth and creamy.
2. Add egg, beat until just combined.
3. Stir in sifted flour.
4. Turn mixture onto lightly floured surface, knead gently until smooth. Cover and refridgerate 30 minutes.
5. Roll pastry out to 2mm and cut 6 1/2 cm rounds. Place into greased shallow patty pans. This makes the cases.
6. To make the stalks, roll pastry scraps into a log and cut 30 stalks 1 1/2cm long. Place on lightly greased oven tray and bake cases and stalks in mod hot oven for about 12minutes or until lightly browned.
7. Flatten pastry cases about half way through cooking with back of spoon to remove air bubbles. Cool on wire racks.
8. Spread inside of each pastry case with about 1/2tsp jam, sprinkle with about 1/2tsp nuts. Spread about 2 level tsp filling into each case. Sprkle with a little sifted cocoa and press a stalk into the filling.
9. FILING: Have butter and milk at room temperature Beat butter, essence and sugar in small bowl with mixer until as white as possible. Gradually beat in milk and water a teaspoon at a time.