Jam Sandwich Cookies
It wouldn’t be Christmas without jam sandwich cookies—they are a staple on the cookie platter. Raspberry jam sandwiched between two buttery cookies are simply delectable this time of year! You only need seven ingredients and one hour to bake this festive dessert.
The fun part about making jam sandwich cookies is using mini cookie cutters to make shapes in the center for the jam to peek through. I used a mini Christmas tree and heart for a few. If you don’t have a cookie cutter small enough, use a frosting tip or straw to make a hole in the center.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Super simple. The recipe uses only 7 ingredients and the cookies are ready in 1 hour.
- Festive and fun. This treat is popular around the holidays and are fun to make with holiday cookie cutters!
- Perfect texture and flavor. The butter cookies are sturdy enough to hold the tart raspberry jam, but melt away in your mouth with their buttery texture.
- Versatile recipe. You can use whatever flavor jam you have on hand (or even a non-fruit filling like Nutella).
Ingredient Notes
- Butter: Use unsalted butter that is softened, but still cool. Cut into pieces so it’s easier to mix into the dough.
- Cream cheese: This makes the cookies extra tender and rich. Use full-fat block style cream cheese for best results.
- Vanilla: For the best flavor, use 100% pure vanilla extract (not imitation).
- Raspberry jam: I prefer raspberry jam for cookies, but you can choose your favorite flavor or do a few different flavors!
Recipe Variations
Add almond extract. Almond and raspberry is one of my favorite flavor pairings. Add 1/2 teaspoon almond extract when adding the vanilla.
Use a different jam. Any flavor jam will work in this recipe! Strawberry, blueberry, huckleberry… the list goes on!
Try a different filling. The nice thing about this recipe is how versatile it is. You can fill these cookie sandwiches with Nutella, dulce de leche or chocolate ganache. Feel free to get creative here!
How to Make Jam Sandwich Cookies
- Whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, sugar and salt.
- Add the butter pieces and mix with an electric mixer until crumbles form. Add the cream cheese and vanilla, then mix until combined.
- Divide the dough into two and form into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill the dough for 30 minutes.
- Roll dough until about 1/8-inch thick. Use a three-inch cookie cutter to cut dough into circles. Use a mini cookie cutter to cut shapes into the centers of half the cookies.
- Place cookies on baking sheet and bake at 375 F for 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges are turning golden. Cool completely.
- Match up cookies with a bottom and top. Spread jam on the bottom cookie and gently press another cookie with a keyhole on top. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve.
Expert Tips
Weigh your ingredients for accurate measurements. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, spoon your flour into a measuring cup and level with a knife (don’t pack it down).
Chill the dough before rolling it out. Making sure the dough is cold will help prevent the cookies from spreading while they bake.
Make holes in the center of only HALF the cookies. I nearly cut a little hole in all of them, but then I realized if I sandwiched two cookies with holes together the jam would fall right out! Blonde moment 🙂
Use room temperature jam. It’s easier to spread! I like to give it a good stir in the jar so it will be less lumpy.
Make Ahead and Storage Tips
Make ahead: The dough may be kept in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours. Let the dough sit at room temperature for 10 minutes or until is soft enough to roll. You can also bake the cookies 48 hours ahead of time and store in an airtight container. Assemble 1 hour before serving.
Storage: Jam sandwich cookies should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. They are best the day they are eaten as the cookies will get soft from holding the jam.
Freezing: Dough may be frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator before rolling and baking. The baked cookies (without jam) may also be frozen. Stack a half dozen cookies together and wrap in plastic wrap for ultimate freshness. Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Recipe FAQ
Jam sandwich cookies are shortbread cookies made with butter and all purpose flour. Linzer cookies feature a combination of all purpose flour and almond flour with a bit of cinnamon. Both have jam sandwiched in the center.
The dough was probably too warm. This can happen if you’re baking in a warm climate or hot kitchen. Alternatively, the baking sheet might have been hot if you’re working in batches.
This is a butter cookie recipe, which doesn’t need an egg. Eggs make cookies more pliable, which in my experience can cause the dough to stick the rolling pin. Without the egg, the cookies turn out crisp and study—perfect for holding jam.
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Get the Recipe: Jam Sandwich Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups (312 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (226 or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 cups raspberry jam
- Confectioners’ sugar for dusting, optional
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix the flour, sugar and salt until combined, about 5 seconds. With the mixer on low, add the butter one piece at a time; continue to mix until the mixture looks crumbly and slightly wet, about 1 to 2 minutes longer. Add the vanilla and cream cheese and mix on low until the dough just begins to form large clumps, about 30 seconds.
- Turn the dough out onto the countertop and form into two 4-inch disks. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until they begin to firm up, 20 to 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375° F. Roll out one of the dough disks to an even 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes cutting a hole in the center of half the cookies. Place cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet about 1 1/2-inches apart. Repeat with second dough disk.
- Bake at 375° F for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are light golden brown. Rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking time. Cool cookies on wire rack.
- To assemble, spread the jam on the bottoms of half of the cookies, spreading it lightly at the edges. Top with the remaining cookies, bottoms down. Dust the tops with confectioners’ sugar.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Baking Illustrated.
15 Comments on “Jam Sandwich Cookies”
Would you freeze the discs before or after baking? Thanks!
Hi Teresa – Freezing the discs refers to step 2 where the dough is separated into two round discs and chilled. You can alternatively freeze the dough and defrost it in the refrigerator befor rolling out and cutting with cookie cutters.
Hello ! How much butter do you use ? A bit confused on how much
Thank you ! Have a happy holiday!
Hi Niri! This recipe calls for 1 cup (which is equivalent to 2 sticks or 16 tablespoons)
Cookies look so beautiful!!!
This recipe totally bombed!
The cookie dough was so dry it did not hold together!!! Crumbled apart!!
Please advise!!!
Hi Patty – I am so sorry this happened! I have made this recipe a few times without trouble. Did you weigh your flour? Every measuring cup is different and yours may measure more than 125 g per cup. The most accurate way to add ingredients is by weighing them on a scale. If you do use a measuring cup, spoon the flour into the cup. Don’t scoop with the measuring cup or pack it down in any way. If there is still an issue, double check the rest of your ingredients are measured properly. You can also add 1-2 tablespoons milk to add more moisture to the dough.
I have a jar of pomegranate Merlot jam and strawberry mojito jam and I was wondering if the alcohol content would affect baking these cooking
Hi Andy – The jam is added after the cookies are cooled and baked. Depending on the amount of alcohol, there is a chance it may saturate the cookies and break them down. However, if they are served the same day they are prepared I think they should be fine!
Love this recipe. So simple snd the cookies came out perfectly. Thank you.
I made these into heart shapes for Valentine’s Day and not only were they sweet to look at but they are absolutely delicious.
I had to refrigerate my dough overnight and made them the next morning. When I removed the dough from the fridge I was worried the dough wasn’t going to come together, it was super crumbly but I let it warm up a little and worked it and I was able to roll out.
So buttery and rich. It’s a delicious recipe, thank you for sharing!
turned out great, was able to make really cute designs
The dough would not form at all – so as suggested added milk – I added 4 tablespoons which did the trick . Excellent other than that problem.
Hi Trish – Did you weigh your flour? It sounds like there is too much. If you don’t have a scale, fluff up and spoon your flour into a measuring cup and level with a knife. Don’t pack it down. Here are more tips for measuring flour.
These cookies were buttery and the jam makes them just sweet enough! I used strawberry preserves, because that’s what I had on hand. (I did add milk to my batter, just because it was a little dry) These cookies are not super hard to make and are adorable. I will definitely be making them again.