Rating:

5.0 (1 vote)

Even my friends who don't like to cook find themselves baking every holiday season. These gorgeous jam cookies are so impressive and come out beautifully every time. The dough is buttery and sweet and each little gem combines three flavors of jam into one cookie. This recipe came out of Gourmet Magazine a few years ago and has proven to be one of the most popular holiday recipes. Wrap these beauties up as gifts or just leave them out for Santa on Christmas Eve.

2 ½ cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
¼ each raspberry jam, apricot preserves, and blueberry jam (or 3 different colored jams of your choice)

Whisk together flour and salt. Beat butter and sugar in a mixer until very pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes, then beat in egg and vanilla and almond extracts. At low speed, mix in flour mixture until a dough forms. Divide dough in half, then chill, wrapped in plastic wrap until firm, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Roll 3 separate level teaspoons of dough each into a ball, then flatten each ball slightly (to 1 inch wide and less than 1/2 inch thick). Arrange them in a triangle on baking sheet with edges touching in center, then make a deep indentation in center of each round with wooden spoon handle. Make more cookies, arranging them 1 inch apart on baking sheets.

Fill indentations in each cookie with a bit of jam, using either a small measuring spoon or pastry bag (each cookie should have 3 different fillings), avoiding any large pieces of fruit.

Bake until cookies are baked through and golden-brown on edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely.