Description
These Best Jam Cookies are buttery, tender, and delightfully filled with sweet strawberry jam. The combination of a soft sugar cookie base and a colorful jam center makes them perfect for teatime or festive occasions. Easy to prepare with simple ingredients, these cookies are sure to become a household favorite.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup icing sugar, sifted, plus extra for dusting
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted, plus extra to roll out the dough
Filling:
- 1/2 cup strawberry jam
Instructions
- Prepare the dough: Preheat your oven to 325°F (165°C). In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the softened butter, sifted icing sugar, salt, and vanilla extract until the mixture becomes light and fluffy. This process should take at least 3 minutes to ensure proper aeration.
- Combine with flour: With the mixer running, gradually add the sifted all-purpose flour until just combined. A ball of dough should form during this step.
- Knead and chill: Remove the dough from the mixer and knead it briefly by hand until it forms a smooth ball, about 1 minute. Wrap the ball tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow the dough to firm up, making it easier to roll out.
- Roll out the dough: On a floured surface, roll out the chilled dough using a rolling pin to about 1/4 inch thickness. Sprinkle additional flour on the surface and rolling pin as needed to prevent sticking.
- Cut cookie shapes: Use a 3-inch circle cookie cutter to cut out cookies, rerolling scraps as necessary. From half of these circle cookies, cut out a 1 1/2 inch heart shape in the center using a heart-shaped cutter.
- Arrange cookies for baking: Place both the whole circle cookies and the cut-out heart cookies on parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing them evenly.
- Bake the cookies: Bake on the top and bottom racks of the oven, switching and rotating the pans halfway through baking. Bake until the edges turn a light golden color, approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
- Cool the cookies: Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool completely on the baking sheets.
- Assemble the jam cookies: Lightly dust icing sugar over the cut-out heart cookies. Spread strawberry jam evenly over the bottom side of each whole cookie. Then sandwich a whole cookie onto each cut-out cookie with the jam side down and the powdered sugar side facing up, creating beautiful jam-filled cookies.
Notes
- Room temperature butter is crucial to achieve the creamy texture of the dough. Cold butter will make mixing difficult.
- Ensure the dough is well chilled before rolling for easier handling and cleaner cookie shapes.
- If jam is too runny, gently warm it and stir to thicken before spreading to prevent cookies from becoming soggy.
- Store jam cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- For variation, try different fruit jams such as raspberry, apricot, or blueberry.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15-20 minutes
- Category: Dessert, Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: jam cookies, sugar cookies, strawberry jam, sandwich cookies, baked cookies, festive desserts, cookie recipe
