Description
Heart Jam Cookies are delightful Linzer-style sandwich cookies featuring buttery, tender heart-shaped cookies filled with sweet seedless raspberry or strawberry jam. Perfect for Valentine’s Day or any special occasion, these cookies combine a delicate texture with a burst of fruity flavor, dusted optionally with powdered sugar for a festive touch.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
Filling & Topping
- 1/2 cup seedless raspberry or strawberry jam
- Extra powdered sugar for dusting (optional)
Instructions
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large bowl, cream the softened butter and powdered sugar together until the mixture is light and fluffy, ensuring a smooth base for the dough.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Beat in the egg and vanilla extract until fully incorporated, creating a homogenous batter.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour and salt to evenly distribute the salt.
- Combine Wet and Dry: Gradually add the dry flour mixture into the wet ingredients, mixing until a soft dough forms, careful not to overwork the dough.
- Chill Dough: Divide the dough into two equal portions, shape each into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to firm up.
- Preheat and Prepare Baking Sheets: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper for easy cookie transfer and cleanup.
- Roll and Cut Dough: On a lightly floured surface, roll out one chilled dough disc to approximately 1/8-inch thickness. Use a large heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out cookies. Then, use a smaller heart cutter to cut out the centers from half of these cookies, creating the ‘window’ tops.
- Transfer to Baking Sheets: Place all the cut cookies onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them slightly apart.
- Bake: Bake in the preheated oven for 9 to 11 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are just beginning to turn golden, to achieve a tender texture.
- Cool: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely, ensuring they hold their shape.
- Assemble Sandwiches: Spread a small spoonful of seedless jam on the flat side of each whole cookie, then top with a cutout cookie to form a charming sandwich.
- Optional Dusting: Dust the finished sandwich cookies with powdered sugar if desired, adding a sweet and festive finish.
Notes
- Chill the dough again if it becomes too soft to handle during rolling to maintain shape consistency.
- Choose any flavor of jam you prefer, but ensure it is thick and not too runny to avoid sogginess.
- Store the assembled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days to keep them fresh.
