You can't find a more classic pairing than butter cookies and jam, and this homemade take on the classic British jammy dodger will have you feeling all the love!
Mix dries: combine flour, sifted powdered sugar, and salt using a hand or stand mixer on low until blended (for this particular recipe using a “sanding” technique, I highly recommend a stand mixer if you have the option for ease).
Sand dries + butter together: add in the butter, one tablespoon slice at a time, with your mixer on low speed. Sand the ingredients together by allowing them to continually mix on low until the mixture resembles a wet sand - this can take up to 5 minutes depending on your mixer, and you may need to scrape the bowl once or twice to make sure everything mixes in properly. (Don’t walk away from the mixer or turn up the speed because this mixture will make a full dough if you don’t stop it soon enough!)
Beat in yolks: add in the egg yolks and vanilla and beat again on low speed just until a smooth dough forms. (Do not overmix or your cookies might end up tough, not tender.)
Chill it: wrap your dough in a 1” thick brick or round, and chill for 30 minutes until it firms up a little. (Don’t leave it in for more than an hour though or it will be too cold to work with!)
TO ASSEMBLE THE COOKIES:
Preheat and prep: once dough is chilled, preheat your oven to 375°F, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Roll and cut: once dough has firmed up a bit, roll it out to about ⅛” on a well-floured surface. Cut out your desired shapes in pairs (I used a 2" fluted round cutter) as each sandwich cookie will need a matching top and bottom. For each of the tops, also use a smaller cookie cutter (I used a mini ¾” heart*) to cut a hole in the center of the top cookie that the jam will show through. Place the solid bottoms on the prepared baking sheets at least 2” apart, and set the tops to the side momentarily.
Fill and stack: drop or pipe (using a jam-filled pastry bag) 1 scant teaspoon of jam on each bottom cookie (definitely err on the side of less jam as it’ll spread out more than you think, and you can always add extra if you need to). Using lightly dampened fingertips, carefully pat down/spread the jam out into an even layer, leaving at least a ¼” border around the edge of your cookie. Place a top cookie on each jammy bottom, ensuring the jam has been spread to cover the full area of the hole in the top cookie.
Bake ‘em: bake for 10-12 minutes, just until there’s a golden-brown edge on the top cookies, the bottoms are golden-brown, and the jam has started bubbling.
Cool, share and enjoy: cool cookies all the way to room temperature if you can wait, as the butter cookies crisp up very nicely as they cool, and then share the buttery love and enjoy!**
Notes
*Mini cutter sizing: make sure your cookie cutter for the center hole is 1" wide or less (for a 2” round partner cookie cutter) so there's enough dough for the remaining top cookie to hold its integrity and not fall apart on you.If you don't have a mini cookie cutter, the back end of a frosting tip works well here!
**Add a little decoration: while part of these cookies' appeal is their traditional style and simplicity, there are always opportunities for decorations! You can use coarse sparkling sugar on top of the cookies before they bake. Or if you plan to ship them in a Christmas cookie box, for example, I'd sprinkle coarse sparkling sugar on the hot jam about 10 minutes after the cookies come out of the oven. This will cover the sticky jam surface, and make the cookies easier to stack and transport. You can also use a simple metallic pearl spray, or edible glitter to dress these cookies up. If you have an embossed rolling pin, you can pattern the top cookie's dough before the bake, and accent the pattern with luster dust brushing after the bake as well.
It’d mean so much to me if you could please give the recipe card a ⭐ rating on the site and leave a comment to help others find this sweet recipe! Xo, Jocelyn @ Mint+Mallow