These shortbread-style Jam Sandwich Cookies are my favorite cookies to make! These cookies are short, buttery, crumbly, and perfect when filled with fruit jam.
This is the perfect cookie to give away at Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter, or even for no reason at all. I often make these jam sandwich cookies with homemade jam, but when pressed for time store-bought jam works just as well.
If you love making sandwich-style cookies I have some recipes you just have to try! Like these Coffee Chocolate Cookies, these Lemon Biscuits, or this recipe for Heart Shaped Sugar Cookies.
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Ingredients
To make these delicious jam sandwich cookies you will need the simple ingredients listed below. Remember to always use fresh, quality ingredients when baking.
- Unsalted butter
- Castor sugar
- Extra-large eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Cake flour
- Salt
- Jam
- Powdered sugar
Unsalted butter – choose unsalted butter rather than salted butter when baking, so that you can adjust the saltiness on your own. Take the butter out of the fridge about an hour before making this recipe. It shouldn’t be rock hard or too soft.
Castor sugar – use castor sugar or superfine sugar for this recipe.
Cake flour – use cake flour or all-purpose flour to make these cookies.
Extra-large eggs— out of their shell, the eggs I use weigh 56 grams. If you aren’t sure if you have the same eggs, weigh the eggs you have and adjust accordingly.
Jam – I used apricot jam to fill these cookies, you can do the same or pick your favorite jam. Berry jams like strawberry jam will also work well.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
To make these jam cookies, follow the simple instructions below. First, make the cookie dough, allow it to rest, and then bake and fill the cookies.
STEP 1: Cream butter and sugar. Add the softened butter and sugar to a food processor. Pulse until well combined and there are no lumps of butter.
STEP 2: Add the eggs and vanilla. First, add the whole egg to the creamed mixture with the food processor running, and pulse until combined. Then add the egg yolk and vanilla and pulse again.
STEP 3: Add the dry ingredients. Sift together the flour and salt and add this flour mixture to the egg and butter mixture all at once. Pulse until a dough forms, do not overmix.
STEP 4: Chill dough. Remove the dough from the food processor, cover it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for an hour.
STEP 5: Preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F) and line two large baking trays with parchment paper.
STEP 6: Roll dough. Remove the chilled dough from the fridge and roll it out on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of ½ cm ( ¼ inch) using a rolling pin.
STEP 7: Cut out cookies. Cut 50 circles from the dough using a 7cm (3 inches) round cookie cutter and place the cookies onto the prepared baking sheet pans. Use a smaller cookie cutter to cut hearts or circles into half of the cookies.
STEP 8: Bake. Bake the cookies in a preheated oven for 15 minutes or until the cookies are light golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool on a cooling rack.
STEP 9: Fill cookies. Spread a teaspoon of jam over the cookies that will form the cookie base. Place the top cookie onto this and then dust the top of the cookie sandwiches with icing sugar. Serve, and enjoy!
Hint: If your dough is difficult to roll, place it back in the fridge to firm up.
How to Roll and Cut Cookies
My preferred way to roll out cookie dough is on a large floured cutting board. If you do not have a cutting board large enough, then clean and flour your kitchen counter. Flour the top of the dough as well as the rolling pin and press lightly on the dough while rolling the pin upwards.
Throughout the process of rolling, I continue to flip my dough to ensure that both sides are floured. This also helps with rolling out an even thickness throughout the dough. Ensure you work quickly so that the dough doesn’t get warm. It is much easier to shape the perfect jam sandwich cookie with chilled cookie dough.
Variations
This is a great recipe to get creative with! You can choose to fill these cookies in so many different ways. Try out different jams like sweet raspberry jam, apricot, or blueberry. Or you could fill these cookies with chocolate spread, peanut butter, lemon curd, or dulce de leche.
You can also add flavors to this simple sugar cookie dough like lemon zest, almond extract, and even spices!
Have a look at this recipe Spiced Cherry Jam to learn how to make your own cherry jam.
Equipment
To make the cookie dough you will need a food processor or an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. This recipe can also be made using an electric hand mixer.
You will also need a large baking tray, a wire rack for cooling, and two sizes of cookie cutters.
I also always use an accurate kitchen scale when baking.
Storage
After baking and decorating these cookies, store them in an air-tight container at room temperature for about four days.
Unfilled cookies can be kept in an airtight container for up to one week, choose to crisp them up in the oven before filling them with jam.
The cookie dough can be frozen before baking. Cover the dough in plastic wrap, store it in the freezer for up to 3 months, and bake them at a later date. Thaw the dough in the fridge overnight before using.
I do not recommend freezing cookies that have already been filled with jam.
Top Tips
To make the perfect buttery cookies follow my top tips below
- Only fill the cookies with jam once they have cooled.
- Cookies burn very easily so make sure you have tested the true temperature of your oven. If you don’t trust your oven, try baking a few cookies first and see if they burn or not – then adjust the temperature as needed.
- Make sure the butter and sugar have creamed enough before adding the eggs.
- If you are struggling to roll out the dough, cover it and place it back into the fridge to firm up – chilled dough is much easier to roll.
- Make sure you have rolled the dough evenly before cutting out the cookies, cookies of different thicknesses will bake differently.
FAQ
Use an oven thermometer to accurately set the temperature of the oven. Cookies are very sensitive to high temperatures. And to avoid burnt on the bottom and raw on the top cookies make sure you have set your oven correctly.
Roll out your dough on a floured surface, this helps the dough from sticking. Flip the dough often when rolling as this ensures that both sides are floured and helps to make sure that you are rolling out the dough evenly. If your dough is still sticky and hard to work with, put it back in the fridge to firm up.
I don’t suggest freezing jam sandwich cookies after you have filled them with jam. Freshly baked cookies or biscuits are always best. Because of this, I would rather freeze the unbaked dough, defrost, roll, and bake it when I wanted fresh cookies. Alternatively, one could bake the cookie rounds, and freeze them after baking and cooling. To ensure the cookies don’t stick together when freezing, freeze them with layers of baking paper in between the rows. Or freeze them lying flat and once frozen add them to a container or bag.
Related
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Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with [this recipe]:
I have lost count of the number of times I have made these shortbread-style jam sandwich cookies! They are the best cookies to make because it's such an easy recipe to follow and they turn out delicious every time!
Let me know in the comments below what you thought of this recipe or tag me in your creations on Instagram @with_love_kitty
Happy Baking
With Love,
Kitty
📖 Recipe
Jam Sandwich Cookies
Equipment
- 2x large cookie sheet pans
Ingredients
- 200 g unsalted butter
- 100 g castor sugar
- 1 egg extra-large
- 1 egg yolk extra-large
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 350 g cake flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 100 g jam
- icing sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Add the softened butter and sugar to a food processor. Pulse until well combined and there are no lumps of butter.
- First, add the whole egg to the creamed mixture with the food processor running, and pulse until combined. Then add the egg yolk and vanilla and pulse until well combined.
- Sift together the flour and salt and add this flour mixture to the egg and butter mixture all at once. Pulse until a dough forms, do not overmix.
- Remove the dough from the food processor, cover it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F) and line two large baking trays with parchment paper.
- Remove the chilled dough from the fridge and roll it out on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of ½ cm ( ¼ inch) using a rolling pin.
- Cut 50 circles from the dough using a 7cm (3 inches) round cookie cutter and place the cookies onto the prepared baking sheet pans. Use a smaller cookie cutter to cut hearts or circles into half of the cookies.
- Bake the cookies in a preheated oven for 15 minutes or until the cookies are light golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool on a cooling rack.
- Spread a teaspoon of jam over the cookies that will form the cookie base. Place the top cookie onto this and then dust the top of the cookie sandwiches with icing sugar. Serve, and enjoy!
Mel says
The cookies are so buttery and delicious!