Growing up I loved these sugar cookies that my grandma would make. They were big and sweet, and had a little thumbprint filled with jam right in the middle. I would nibble around the edge of the cookie closer and closer until I got to the delicious jammy part right at the end.
I tried to recreate those cookies this week, but they didn't come out quite the way I was expecting. Before being baked they were soft and round, like in the picture below, and I was expecting them to come out kind of the same, judging by the pictures on the recipe I found. But instead they came out flat and thin, like in the picture above. They still taste really good though--they're so buttery that they literally melt in your mouth.
They were also a little fragile though, they kept crumbling away if you tried to pick them up by the edges, so you had to kind of balance the cookie on your palm while nibbling at them. I solved that, however, by keeping them in the refrigerator--which was really an excellent decision I think, because they were still flaky and buttery, but much sturdier, and the central jam part tasted better cold. I think that the next time I make these though I'll try one whole egg instead of 2 egg yolks, and see if they come out a little less crumbly.
I had fully intended to do half strawberry and half grape cookies, but when I opened the jar of grape jelly it had lots of little white and green lumps, so I decided to chuck that, and stick with strawberry!! They are really easy to make though--with only a few ingredients, and the thumb-printing, jelly-squeezing part is kind of fun. I don't recommend telling people how much butter is in them though, you wouldn't want people to feel guilty about eating such delicious treats!
Jam Filled Butter Cookies
adapted from allrecipes.com
3/4 cup butter (either use salted butter, or add about 1/4 teaspoon salt if using unsalted butter)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup fruit preserves/jam
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla. Mix in the flour a little bit at a time (and the salt, if using) until a soft dough forms. Roll dough into one inch balls; if the dough is too soft to work with at first refrigerate it for 15 to 20 minutes. Place the balls two inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Use your thumb (or maybe a spoon, I tried that though, and the thumb worked way better) to make a well in the center of each cookie.
Fill a ziploc sandwich bag with the jam, and squeeze all the jam into one corner, making sure to let all the air out of the bag. Snip the very tip off the corner of the bag, and use the bag to pipe the jam into the well in the center of each cookie.
Bake for 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees or until the cookies are golden brown around the edges. Let them cool on the pan for several minutes before attempting to move them, they're very fragile! Remove them to wire racks to cool completely, then store refrigerated in an airtight container. Makes about 40 cookies.
Look, this one came out as a heart! Noel and I split it! Awww....
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