French Vanilla Jam Swirled Cookies
Have you ever tried to find red and green holiday sprinkles in December? Trust me, it's almost impossible! My entire family was out going store to store in search of them. Caleb is a little young to be in the grocery store so Macky would stay in the car with him as I ran (literally) around like a crazy person on a sprinkle mission. Fortunately, I found these holiday confetti sprinkles which worked out well - thanks Kmart!
So let's talk about how to make these extremely delicious cookies. The flavor is out of this world. They may be my favorite, but it's so hard to chose. The dough gives off a burst of vanilla flavor thanks to my secret ingredient of powdered vanilla coffee creamer. Yes, it's a little weird but it is so good and makes such a difference. I highly encourage you to try it. The raspberry jam compliments the vanilla flavor perfectly. And course, they are beautiful and will look outstanding on your holiday cookie plate.
I believe you can absolutely make these to look like my pictures as long as you follow my tips to success. I made many batches with different variations so you don't have to! Yay!
Dough: The dough is very straight forward. My only tip is not to over mix the dough and try not to add additional flour.
Jam: I tried this recipe with Stonewall Kitchen black raspberry jam, Bonne Maman raspberry preserves and store brand seedless strawberry preserves. The black raspberry was delicious but it has a purple color that wasn't the look I was going for. The store brand strawberry preserves were my least favorite. The texture of the jam was slightly off after baking and the flavor just wasn't the same as the higher quality preserves. The Bonne Maman raspberry preserves had the flavor, consistency and color (no they aren't paying me to say that). I highly recommend paying a bit more for the higher quality. In terms of amount, stick with the 1/4 cup indicated in the recipe and resist the urge to add more. Any more will ooze out as you roll the dough.
Sprinkles: I tried nonpareils but they bled into the dough a bit. If those are all you can find, your cookies will still look nice just a little more colorful. Then I tried Betty Crocker's Holiday Sequins which are the confetti like sprinkles you see in the pictures. I would have liked to have tried standard sprinkles but as I said, no where to be found.
Chilling Time: The refrigeration and freezer time may be inconvenient but I tried to make these several different ways and the times indicated will give you the best cookie. Trust me!
French Vanilla Jam Swirled Cookies
Vanilla flavored butter cookie with a jam swirl
Makes: 21 cookies
- 1 1/2 cups (187.5 grams) all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 tablespoons french vanilla powdered coffee creamer
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1.2 ounces Holiday Sequins (confetti sprinkles or sprinkles of your choice)
- 1/4 cup raspberry preserves (recommended: Bonne Maman)
- Parchment paper and plastic wrap
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour and salt. Set aside
- In a large bowl attached to a stand mixer, add the butter, coffee creamer and sugar
- Mix on low speed until it starts to combine then increase the speed to medium high and beat until creamed - approximately 4 minutes
- Scrape the bowl. Lower the speed to medium low, add the egg and vanilla extract and mix for about a minute
- With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour until incorporated - be careful not to over mix
- Scrape the dough into the center of a large piece of parchment paper and shape into a ball
- Place another piece of parchment paper over the dough and use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a 8.5 x 11 inch rectangle
- Remove the piece of parchment on top of the dough and liberally and evenly sprinkle your sprinkles over the entire rectangle
- Reapply the piece of parchment and use your hands to carefully press the sprinkles into the dough so they stick
- Carefully lift the dough (still between the pieces of parchment paper) onto a cookie sheet and place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. This amount of time will make the dough easier to work with but will not make it so cold that it cracks when you go to roll the dough)
- After 15 minutes, remove the dough from the refrigerator and flip over so the side without the sprinkles is facing up
- Evenly spread the preserves over the dough, leaving about 1/2 inch along the edges jam free
- Carefully roll up the longer edge until you are left with 11 inch long log
- Wrap the log in plastic and place in the freezer for approximately 1 1/2 hours. This amount of time will make the log frozen enough that the dough won't compress down when you cut it but won't be so frozen that it is hard to cut through
- After 1 1/2 hours, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and remove the log from the freezer
- Use a ruler to mark off every 1/2 inch on the log, using a knife to make a small mark
- Cut the dough along the marks so you have 1/2 inch thick discs of cookie dough. It is best to use a very sharp knife and to quickly (and confidently) make the cuts. Some jam may start to come out of one side of the disc. Place that side down on the cookie sheet
- Place the discs on a cookie sheet lined with either a silicone baking mat or parchment paper
- Bake for 12 - 15 minutes, the bottom should just be starting to turn light brown
- Leave the cookies on the cookie sheet to cool for a couple minutes then remove and place on a cooling rack
