These delightful jam-filled cookies bring the charm of European bakeries straight to your kitchen. With their tender, crumbly texture and burst of fruity sweetness, these pastries are the perfect balance between simplicity and elegance. The light, oil-based dough creates an incredibly soft cookie that literally melts in your mouth, while the jam filling adds a delicious contrast of flavors. Whether you’re hosting guests or treating your family, these beautiful cookies dusted with powdered sugar create an impressive dessert that’s surprisingly easy to make.
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 1 pinch of salt
- 60g (¼ cup / 2 oz) granulated sugar
- 100ml (⅓ cup + 1 tbsp) vegetable oil
- Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
- 280g (2¼ cups / 10 oz) all-purpose flour
- 10g (2 tsp) baking powder
- 4-5 tablespoons jam of your choice (strawberry, raspberry, or apricot work well)
- Icing sugar for dusting
Instructions
Dough Preparation
- Prepare your workspace: Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. This prevents sticking and ensures even baking.
- Create the base mixture: In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg with a pinch of salt using a whisk or electric mixer until the mixture becomes light and frothy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add sweetness and fat: Gradually add the sugar to the beaten egg, mixing well until fully incorporated. Slowly pour in the vegetable oil while continuing to mix, creating a smooth, emulsified mixture.
- Incorporate citrus flavor: Add the freshly grated lemon zest to the wet ingredients. The lemon zest provides a bright, fresh note that complements the jam perfectly.
- Combine dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour and baking powder to ensure even distribution and prevent lumps.
- Form the dough: Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing gently until a soft, workable dough forms. Avoid overmixing, which can make the cookies tough.
Shaping and Filling
- Roll the dough: On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough using a rolling pin until it reaches approximately 5mm (¼ inch) thickness. Keep the thickness uniform for even baking.
- Apply the filling: Spread your chosen jam thinly over exactly half of the rolled dough, leaving about 1cm border around the edges. Don’t overfill, as this can cause the cookies to burst during baking.
- Create the sandwich: Carefully fold the unfilled half of the dough over the jam-covered portion. Gently press the edges together to seal, ensuring no jam escapes during baking.
- Cut into portions: Using a sharp knife, cut the filled dough into rectangular pieces approximately 3-4cm (1.5 inches) wide. Make clean, decisive cuts to maintain the shape.
Baking Process
- Arrange for baking: Transfer the cut cookies to the prepared baking sheet, leaving adequate space between each cookie to allow for slight expansion during baking.
- Bake to perfection: Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden brown. The centers should remain pale and tender.
- Cool and finish: Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet before handling. Once cooled, generously dust with icing sugar using a fine-mesh sieve for an elegant presentation.
Time and Serving Information
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Bake Time: 15 minutes
Cooling Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Yield: 12-15 cookies
Serving Size: 1-2 cookies per person
Nutrition (per cookie)
- Calories: 165
- Fat: 6g
- Carbohydrates: 26g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
- Sugar: 8g
Why This Recipe is Special and Beneficial
These crumbly jam cookies offer more than just delicious taste – they represent a healthier approach to homemade desserts that you can feel good about serving. The oil-based dough creates a remarkably tender texture while being easier to digest than butter-heavy alternatives. Unlike many commercial cookies, this recipe allows you to control every ingredient, ensuring no artificial preservatives or excessive additives.
The use of vegetable oil instead of butter reduces saturated fat content while maintaining the melt-in-your-mouth texture that makes these cookies so special. Fresh lemon zest provides natural citrus oils and vitamin C, adding both flavor complexity and nutritional value.
When you choose high-quality jams, particularly those made with real fruit, you’re adding beneficial antioxidants, vitamins, and natural fruit sugars that provide sustained energy rather than the quick spike and crash of refined sugars alone. Homemade cookies allow portion control and the satisfaction of creating something beautiful from scratch.
The moderate sugar content makes these cookies a more balanced treat compared to heavily sweetened commercial alternatives. Baking at home also means you can experiment with different jam varieties, from antioxidant-rich berry jams to vitamin A-packed apricot preserves, making each batch a unique nutritional experience.
These cookies prove that homemade desserts can be both indulgent and mindful, offering the perfect way to enjoy something sweet while maintaining awareness of ingredients and portions. The act of baking itself provides therapeutic benefits, making these cookies good for both body and soul.