Dayrecipe Food Community

What a delight these exquisite little cookies are. Think shortbread that is so tender and flaky that they truly do melt in your mouth. They should be harder to make for the wonderful results that you get but thankfully they are simple enough for a beginning cook. They are always beautiful on those holiday cookie trays.

MAKES: about 30 cookies
INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup fine white sugar (often called Berry Sugar)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups sifted all-purpose unbleached  flour
• 1/2 cup strawberry, cherry or raspberry jam or preserves
• Red decorating sugar

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Cream butter and sugar until the sugar has dissolved and the mix is light and fluffy.
3.  Add sifted flour, a 1/2 cup at a time,  and mix well.
4. Shape dough into 1 inch diameter balls and place on cookie sheets.
5. With your finger make an indentation in the center of 1/2 inch in size .
6. Carefully drop a spoon tip of jam or preserves into each indentation to fill it.
   Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until they are barely beginning to turn golden brown at the edges.
7. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle the red decorating sugar over the jam centers while still hot.
8. Cool on the baking sheets for 3 to 5 mins and remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.