Jam Buttons Recipes

JAM BUTTONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• With an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, salt, orange zest and vanilla until well combined. Do not overmix. Beat in yolk. Sift the flour and add into the mixture until just combined. Scrape the bowl and mix again. Turn dough onto work surface and knead together until smooth.
• On a lightly floured surface, press the dough into a 1/2-inch thick patty. Dip a 1-inch round cutter into flour and cut out circles. Place cookies on an ungreased baking sheet at least 1 inch apart. Gather up scraps, form another patty and repeat until all the dough is used up.
• Using your thumb or the end of a large wooden spoon, make an impression in the center of each cookie without going through. Fill each impression with about 1/4 teaspoons jam.
• Bake for 22 minutes or just until the jam bubbles. Let the cookies cool on a baking sheet for 20 minutes, then cool completely on wire rack.

THUMBPRINT COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
• Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixer bowl on medium speed until light in color and fluffy. You should be able to see the change in color happen and know it's ready.
• Add the egg yolks one at a time and mix until well combined after each.
• Add the vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
• Add the flour and salt and mix until the dough is just well combined. Do not over mix.
• Create 1 1/2 tablespoon sized balls of cookie dough. Gently roll into a ball, then roll in additional sugar (if using), then set the balls on the baking sheet.
• Use the end of a spatula, your thumb or the bottom of a measuring spoon to press the centers of the cookies down. Do this immediately after rolling them to help prevent the cookies from cracking.
• Fill the centers with jam. I used roughly 1/2 teaspoon per cookie.
• Bake cookies for 10-13 minutes or until the edges JUST begin to brown. You don't want to overbake them and have dry cookies.
• Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes, then move to a cooling rack to finishing cooling.