Handsindough: Almond strawberry-jam cookies

Versión Española

I must admit that, the look of the cookies I obtained, was not the one I had expected. The recipe comes from the book "Home baked" (I recommend this book, not only for the recipes it includes, but for the the pictures it contains, that makes you want to enter the book to be able to taste any of the delights included in there...). Well, in that book, these cookies are really cute: round, with the jam nicely placed in the center... In my case, probably because I smashed them too much while doing the hole in the center, jam ended up spread through the surface of the cookie (instead of remaining in the hole) and they are not as nice as they should. Despite of this, they are very tasty, perfect for breakfast or an afternoon coffee...

Before we start:

Difficulty: easy
Preparation time: 35 min
Cooking time: 25 minutes per tray (I used 2 trays) + cooling time
Cost: cheap
Origin: International
Recipe obtained from: Home baked, "Almond jam cookies"

Ingredients (makes 30):

185 butter, chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
165g caster sugar
2 egg yolks
60g almond meal
225g plain flour
Half teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
4 tablespoons raspberry jam (approximately)

Preparation:

Beat butter, extract, sugar and egg yolks in medium bowl with electric mixer, until just combined.
Stir in almond meal, flour and baking powder and mix well.
Roll level tablespoons of mixture into balls and place them about 5cm apart on oven trays covered with baking paper (at least 2 trays will be required).
Using the handle of a wooden spoon (lightly floured), press a hollow in the center of each ball, about 1cm deep and 1,5cm wide. Don't make holes to big, or jam will spread!
Mix jam with rind and spoon carefully the mixture into the cookies.
Bake in pre-heated oven at 170ºC for about 25 minutes or until cookies are browned lightly. Cool on trays.

Comments:

In the original recipe, half of the cookies were filled in with apricot jam and the other half with strawberry jam. I made them all with strawberry jam, as I had a jar in the fridge and I wanted to finish it. So, feel free to use other kinds of jam but do not forget the lemond rind. It gives an incredible taste...

I used the egg whites to make some coquitos, as they are not required in the recipe. They are very easy to make and, this way, we do not throw away anything!