Well, Thanksgiving’s over, and so is our annual pumpkin-palooza. Which means it’s time to move on … to Christmas cookies!
Having heard that I’m looking for cookie ideas, my co-worker and fellow blogger Sarah Linn let me borrow this great book from now-defunct Gourmet magazine. It’s basically a collection of their best cookie recipes — one recipe for every year the magazine had been in publication.
It has so many intriguing recipes that it was hard for me to choose one to make. Ultimately, though, I went with the cover cookie — little thumbprint butter cookies topped with strawberry jam. I chose them partly because they are adorable, and partly because they look very similar to some really tasty cookies sold at Trader Joe’s that I’m completely addicted to.
They taste very similar to the Trader Joe’s cookies, too. After baking the cookies, I brought some into the office (I had plenty to spare — the recipe said it made 8 dozen, but I ended up with closer to 12 dozen) and offered them to a few co-workers. As they took their first bites, I said, “They’re just like those Trader Joe’s cookies!” and they replied, in unison, “But better!”
There’s something about the combination of a buttery cookie and sweet fruity filling that is just irresistible.
Now, I know that some of you are wondering what makes this a Christmas cookie. True, it isn’t a traditional holiday cookie, but it does have a festive red center! If you’re a stickler for authenticity, you could probably try that canned cranberry stuff instead of strawberry jam. Same basic concept, I think.
Recipe: Aunt Sis’s strawberry tart cookies
Adapted from The Gourmet Cookie Book
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 sticks (1½ cups) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
- 2 large egg yolks, beaten lightly
- 1 cup seedless strawberry jam
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter bits, and blend the mixture with a pastry blender until it resembles coarse meal.
- Pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer. (If you don’t have a stand mixer, I hope you have strong arm muscles.) Add the egg yolks and mix at medium speed until a dough forms. (It’ll look at first as though there’s no way this flour-y mess could become dough, but just hang in there.) Form the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper or lightly greasing them. Let the dough soften slightly at room temperature.
- Using a sturdy teaspoon — “sturdy” is key; I snapped a plastic measuring spoon in half doing this — scoop out level teaspoonfuls of dough and roll into balls, arranging them about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets.
- Press your thumb into the center of each ball of dough, being careful not to crack the dough around the edges. (If the dough cracks, it’s probably too cold; roll it between your hands to warm it up a little and try again.)
- Now put the jam on the cookies. If you’re handy with a pastry bag, this will be quick and painless — just fill it with the jam and squeeze about ¼ teaspoon into each little indentation. Otherwise, you can use a spoon.
- Bake the cookies in the middle of the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges are pale golden. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 2 minutes before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely. The cookies may be made 1 month in advance and kept frozen in airtight containers.
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7 comments
man from moqui
November 29, 2010 at 10:30 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Cookies!
Sarah
November 29, 2010 at 1:19 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
So cute! These cookies are adorable … and tasty too!
Becca
December 10, 2010 at 2:10 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
You made the most beautiful cookies here! Please tell me how you made such lovely indents. If you used your thumb, mine must be misshaped compared to yours! And, I wonder if the stand mixer can similarly crumble butter into flour?
Many thanks and happy holidays!
Chrissy
December 11, 2010 at 12:10 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Hi Becca! I did use my thumb, although I first tried a couple measuring spoons in hopes that’d be quicker … but the bowls of the spoons weren’t deep enough and the handle left a weird mark in the dough. But you could try your measuring spoons, and maybe look around for a kitchen utensil with a handle that’s round enough to make a nice indent.
As far as the pastry blender goes, I am pretty sure there’s a good reason you’re supposed to use one instead of just mixing it, but I don’t know what it is. :) You could try your stand mixer; I think the worst that could happen is the texture would be different, maybe a little more dense?
Becca
December 12, 2010 at 6:07 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Thanks, Chrissy! I’m so glad I found your site again after neglecting to bookmark it. Thanks for your reply…your thumbs it was, then, nice. Now that I made the cookies again, another thing I appreciate is that your cookies are thick, smooth, and rounded all the way to the edges, whereas mine are getting a thinner, sometimes crumbly lip around the edges. Retaining their shape during baking is a challenge. Was your dough very cold when you rolled it? Or maybe you chilled the shaped and filled cookies before baking?
See, I’m trying to recreate a cookie that my husband and I bought in NY when we lived there. It was a nightly ritual: two raspberry thumbprint cookies and a cup of tea. So thanks for sharing your wisdom! We’re both grateful.
Chrissy
December 13, 2010 at 1:00 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Hi Becca, the dough was cold when I rolled it, although I had to warm it up a little between my hands to stop the dough from cracking. I can’t remember whether I chilled the shaped and filled cookies before baking … I usually do that with cutout cookies, so it’s possible I did it with these ones, too. Or maybe my indents were deeper or shallower than yours?
That’s a cute story … I’m glad you found the recipe! I hope it works out for you.
Janice
November 28, 2012 at 7:30 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
To make perfect indents using those rubber corks that sometimes are used to bottle wine works nicely.