Star Shaped Jam Cookies Recipes

THUMBPRINT COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
• Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixer bowl on medium speed until light in color and fluffy. You should be able to see the change in color happen and know it's ready.
• Add the egg yolks one at a time and mix until well combined after each.
• Add the vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
• Add the flour and salt and mix until the dough is just well combined. Do not over mix.
• Create 1 1/2 tablespoon sized balls of cookie dough. Gently roll into a ball, then roll in additional sugar (if using), then set the balls on the baking sheet.
• Use the end of a spatula, your thumb or the bottom of a measuring spoon to press the centers of the cookies down. Do this immediately after rolling them to help prevent the cookies from cracking.
• Fill the centers with jam. I used roughly 1/2 teaspoon per cookie.
• Bake cookies for 10-13 minutes or until the edges JUST begin to brown. You don't want to overbake them and have dry cookies.
• Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes, then move to a cooling rack to finishing cooling.

FILLED STAR COOKIES

Steps:

• BEAT shortening, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer until blended. Beat in egg yolks and orange juice. Combine flour and salt. Mix in gradually until dough is soft. Add more flour if needed. Wrap in wax paper or plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.
• HEAT oven to 350 degrees F.
• ROLL out half of chilled dough at a time to about 1/4-inch thickness on a floured surface. Cut using a star cutter. Place on ungreased cookie sheets. Cut out centers of half the stars using a small round cutter. Repeat with remaining dough. Keep chilled until ready to use.
• BAKE 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on cookie sheets for 1 minute. Place on cooling racks to cool completely. Spread whole stars with preserves. Place stars with centers cut out on top. Sift with powdered sugar.

JAM THUMBPRINT COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until they are just combined and then add the vanilla. Separately, sift together the flour and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the creamed butter and sugar. Mix until the dough starts to come together. Dump on a floured board and roll together into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
• Roll the dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. (If you have a scale they should each weigh 1 ounce.) Dip each ball into the egg wash and then roll it in coconut. Place the balls on an ungreased cookie sheet and press a light indentation into the top of each with your finger. Drop 1/4 teaspoon of jam into each indentation. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the coconut is a golden brown. Cool and serve.

FINNISH STAR COOKIES (JOULUTORTTU)

Steps:

• Whisk together flour, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and cream cheese on medium speed until well combined, about 1 minute. Add sugar and lemon zest and continue to beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add 1 egg and beat until combined. Beat in flour mixture on low speed until combined. Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a square, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, 1 to 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Remove one-half of dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured sheet of parchment, roll out dough into a square about 1/8 inch thick. Cut out squares using a 3 1/2-inch square cutter, then carefully transfer to prepared baking sheets, spaced about 1 1/2 inches apart. If dough becomes too soft, transfer parchment with dough to a baking sheet and refrigerate until firm.
• Place 1 teaspoon preserves in the center of each square. Using a small paring knife, cut 1 1/4-inch slits diagonally from each corner toward the filling. Fold every other tip over to cover filling, forming a pinwheel. Press lightly to seal. If dough becomes soft, refrigerate until firm.
• Lightly beat remaining egg with remaining pinch of salt. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush tops of cookies with egg wash. Bake until edges are golden and cookies are slightly puffed, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool on sheets 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

JAM-FILLED CREAM-CHEESE COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, butter, and sugar until light and fluffy. With mixer on low, add flour and salt; beat until combined (do not overmix).
• Divide dough into 3 portions; flatten each into a disk. Roll each disk to an 1/8-inch thickness between sheets of parchment. Stack dough (still in parchment) on a baking sheet; refrigerate 20 minutes. (To store, wrap in plastic and freeze on sheet, up to 2 weeks. Thaw until pliable before using.)
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Mix egg yolk with 1/2 teaspoon water. Working with 1 dough sheet at a time, peel off parchment (save for baking). With a 2 1/2-inch round or 2-inch star-shaped cookie cutter, cut out cookies. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon jam into center of each and brush exposed dough with egg wash. Shape cookies; arrange, 2 inches apart, on 2 parchment-lined baking sheets and refrigerate 20 minutes (reroll scraps).
• Bake until cookies are light golden brown, about 15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool completely on wire racks. (To store, cover and keep at room temperature, up to 4 days.)

SWEETHEART THUMBPRINT COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350˚F. Beat butter with confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and salt until thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. Beat in flour until a dough forms.
• Roll level tablespoons of dough into balls; arrange 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Using the end of the handle of a flat-bottomed eating utensil or rubber spatula, press two deep indentations into the center of each ball to create a V (it will expand during baking to become a heart).
• Bake until bottoms are golden and cookies are just set, 17 to 20 minutes. Meanwhile, stir together sanding sugar and a tiny pinch of luster dust. In a small bowl, beat egg white with 1 teaspoon water. Working with a few cookies at a time, brush tops with egg wash and sprinkle generously with sanding-sugar mixture.
• Return to oven and bake until egg wash is dry and sugar has set, about 1 minute. Let cookies cool 5 minutes on sheets, then transfer to wire racks and let cool completely.
• In a small saucepan, bring jam to a boil. Press through a fine-mesh strainer; discard solids. Spoon into heart indentations (about 1/2 teaspoon per cookie), or transfer heated jam to squeeze bottles for more precision. Let jam set completely before serving. (Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days.)

STAR-SHAPED JAM COOKIES

Steps:

• Beat cream cheese, butter, granulated sugar and vanilla in large bowl with mixer until blended. Gradually add flour, mixing well after each addition. Refrigerate 30 min.
• Heat oven to 350ºF. Place dough on floured surface; roll out to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into 72 shapes, using 2-inch star-shaped cookie cutter, rerolling scraps as necessary. Use small star-shaped cookie cutter to cut small star-shaped piece out of center of each of 36 cutouts. Discard removed centers.
• Place cutouts, 2 inches apart, on baking sheets.
• Bake 10 to 12 min. or until edges are lightly browned. Cool 3 min. on baking sheets. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.
• Spoon 1/2 tsp. jam onto center of each whole cookie; cover with cut-out cookie. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

RASPBERRY STAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg. Combine the flour and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Dough will be stiff. On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough out to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into star shapes using a cookie cutter. Set cookies 1 inch apart onto the prepared cookie sheets. Place a teaspoon of jam onto each cookie and spread out towards the points of the stars. Roll out remaining half of the dough and cut into stars the same size. cut holes in the center of each star, then place them onto the jam stars.
• Bake for 7 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden around the edges. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks. In a small bowl, mix together the confectioners' sugar and almond extract to form a glaze. Add water a teaspoon at a time if the mixture is too thick to drizzle. Drizzle glaze over cooled cookies.

JAMMY STAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Blitz the butter, flour and a pinch of salt in a food processor until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and blitz again. Add the vanilla and egg yolk and blend until balls of dough have formed. Tip the dough onto a work surface and knead briefly to make a smooth ball. Cut into two equal pieces, pat them into discs, then wrap and chill for at least 30 mins. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment.
• Remove the dough from the fridge 15 mins before you roll it out. Lightly flour your work surface and rolling pin. Unwrap 1 piece of dough and roll it out to the thickness of a 50p coin. Use a 6cm star cutter to stamp out stars (you should get about 15) and transfer to a baking sheet.
• Unwrap and roll out the other piece of dough. Stamp out 15 more stars and transfer to the second baking sheet. Stamp holes from the middle of 15 of the biscuits using the smaller cutter. Cover and chill for 15 mins. Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Bake for 10-15 mins (the stars with a hole need less time), cool for 5 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the filling. Whisk the butter, sugar and 50g of the jam with an electric whisk. Transfer to a piping bag with a small round nozzle, or snip off the end to make a ½cm opening. Put the remaining jam in another piping bag and snip off the end to make a slightly smaller hole.
• Pipe blobs of the filling around the edge of each whole biscuit, leaving a space in the centre. Fill the space with jam, then sandwich a biscuit with a hole cut out on top of each one. Will keep in an airtight container for up to three days.