July 23, 2008

Jam-Filled Shortbread Cookies

These cookies are best with a filling of homemade raspberry jam but you can use whatever fruit jam you have. You can also make these with a hazelnut filling like Nutella.

  • 1 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 3 tbsps milk
  • 2 tsps real vanilla extract
  • 2-3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
  • 2 tbsps cream of tartar
  • 1 tbsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup raspberry preserves
  • icing sugar (optional)
Cream butter and sugar.
Beat in egg yolk, milk, and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt.
Gradually add dry ingredients to butter mixture, mixing after each addition.
Shape cookie dough into a round.
Place dough in bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
Chill cookie dough in fridge one hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut dough in half.
Flour a rolling pin.
Roll out half the dough on lightly floured parchment paper to 1/8" thick.
Cut dough into rounds with a 2" round cookie cutter.
Place rounds on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Spoon 1/2 tsp raspberry preserves in the center of each round.

Roll out the remaining half of the dough to 1/8" thick.
Cut dough into rounds with the same cookie cutter.
This time, cut a small hole in the center of each round.
You can use any small round object to do this: a plastic water bottle cap, or the screw-on cap to a pastry bag.
Top each jam-topped round with a cut-out round.
Pinch to seal the edges.
Bake in preheated 350 degree F oven 10-12 minutes.
Place the parchment paper underneath a cooling rack.
Remove baked cookies from oven.
Carefully move cookies from the hot cookie sheet to the cooling rack. 
When cookies are cool, dust with icing sugar.
Store in a paper lined cookie tin with a tight lid.
Makes about 3-1/2 dozen cookies.