Covid-19 Recipe Series: Jam-Jam Cookies

This week's recipe is jam jam cookies also known as thumbprint cookies or hallongrotta, which means "raspberry cave" in Swedish. There is a considerable amount of dispute about the origin of these cookies.They have also been called bird's nest cookies, butterballs, or Polish tea cakes, and they are believed to have originated in the 19th century. It's unclear where they came from; some people say Poland, Sweden, or the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe. Either way they are delicious and we're sure you'll enjoy them. 

Jam-Jam Cookies

Yield: 5 dozen

 Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
3 cups flour 
1 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
Strawberry or seedless raspberry jam

Directions:

Cream butter and sugar. Add syrup, vanilla, and eggs and stir until well combined. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into creamed mixture and stir well again. 

For rolled cookies, roll the dough out thinly and cut with cookie cutter; use a small cookie cutter to cut a design in the centre of half of the cookies, if desired. Bake at 350ºF for about 4 minutes until lightly browned. Spread jam on warm cookies and put together. 

For thumbprint style, make 1 1/2” balls and flatten slightly. Make a depression in the centre of each cookie and fill with jam. Bake at 350ºF for 8-10 minutes until lightly browned.