Go Back

Christmas Special: Jelly Bowl Cookies

Servings 160 cookies

Ingredients
  

  • 4 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 cups 3 sticks butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 tsp. salt if using unsalted butter; if using salted butter, reduce to 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1 cup jam heated until warm and then strained fine (preferably raspberry or apricot jam; blackberry and strawberry are also fine options)

Instructions
 

  • Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Measure the flour by spooning it into your measuring cup and sweeping off the excess with the back of a knife. Set aside.
  • Cream together the butter and sugar by hand or using a mixer until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks, then the vanilla and salt. Slowly beat in the flour until combined and smooth to form the dough (unless your butter was extremely soft, the dough might be a bit stiff at the end, and you may need to add the last cup of flour by hand). Taste the dough at this point: if it's not salty enough, add an additional pinch or so of salt. (The salt helps to bring out the flavors of the butter and candied jam.)
  • At this point, you can either proceed with baking or refrigerate the dough, well-wrapped, for up to three days, and let come to room temperature before proceeding to the next step. If your dough is very soft, definitely follow the instructions to refrigerate before proceeding.
  • Form the dough into teaspoon-sized balls and make a depression in the middle with your thumb. (If the dough starts to crack, don't hesitate to roll it again between your hands until the dough warms and softens.) Spoon jam into the depression.
  • Space the cookies about 1-1.5 inches apart on a baking sheet and bake until medium brown, approximately 20-25 minutes, turning the cookie sheet from front to back about 5 minutes before the cooking time is up.