The taste counts and that’s why some foods tickle your taste buds. Putting together the right ingredient produces a different tasting dish or a perfect dish. Culinary skill is not in borne, it has to be acquired and learnt. I know the plum jam is making a repeated appearance and I myself can’t stop it. These jam cookies are very easy to make and don’t require a strenuous effort and makes a wonderful presentation at your breakfast or coffee table while entertaining your loved ones. Making a jam cookie was always on my mind and I didn’t want to miss this before the jam goes off my shelf.

The Plum jam filling turned so delicious with the flavor of cardamom added to the cookie dough. The butter added to the dough is the key to these cookies and baking in with the jam on top gives a ruby red dazzling button on the cookies making it more pretty. Any flavor of jam would work for this cookie. The dough keeps well too and any unused dough can be kept refrigerated for two days for later use. You can say it is a form of the legendary ‘Thumbprint Jam Cookies’. These Jam beauties will dress up your coffee table and with just the right amount of sweetness.

The melted butter in the dough is the key ingredient for this cookie. I have used salted butter for this recipe but you can add in a pinch of salt if using unsalted butter. Clarified butter too is a good option. A high sugar pectin free jam is perfect as it would thicken up a little and get nice on baking. A runny jam or jellies should be avoided for these cookies. If using a jam with pectin, you could try boiling your jam a little to thicken up before putting on to the cookies as pectin jam melts and leaves in more liquid making it runny. I am sure you will enjoy making this cookie as much as I did. This recipe gives about two dozen cookies. Give it a try and share your joy of baking it.

Ingredients:-

1. Butter – 1 cup.
2. Wheat flour – 2 cups.
3. All-purpose flour – 1- 1/2 cups.
4. Egg – 1 no.
5. Cardamom – half teaspoon. (Ground).
6. Baking powder – half teaspoon.
7. Plum Jam As required.

Method:-

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F or 180 degrees Centigrade.
• Cream butter and sugar well. Add the ground cardamom and mix well.
• Add the egg and beat well till fluffy with a whisk or a beater. Gradually combine the flour with a spatula and mix till all well incorporated to form a soft dough. (Do not knead just use your hands to combine the dough very lightly. You can add in more flour if the dough is very soft just to hold its shape but not more than half a cup).
• Shape it into a log and wrap it in a foil. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
• Cut and divide the dough equally when it’s still cool and stiff with a dough cutter or a palette knife (or just use the back of your knife).
• Roll it between your palms and shape into one inch discs. (Refrigerate for few more minutes if the dough is too soft to shape into balls.) Make a small indent in the center of each disc.
• Spoon in the plum jam into these small indents with the help of a coffee spoon. (A coffee spoon is smaller than a teaspoon). Keep these refrigerated in trays lined with butter or parchment paper and bake them in batches.
• Bake for 15 – 18 minutes or until the edges are light golden. Cool on the baking tray before transferring to a cooling rack or a container.

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