Valentine's Day Jam Shortbread Cookies

Name: Valentine's Day Jam Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients: 250 g flour; 150 g butter; 100 g powdered sugar; 2 egg yolks; zest of 1 lemon; vanilla powder (a pinch on the tip of a knife); a pinch of salt; jam or preserves (I used cherry); powdered sugar for dusting

Delicate, crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread cookies filled with tangy-sweet, fragrant jam and dusted with powdered sugar. As the base for this recipe I used classic shortbread made with powdered sugar and egg yolks. This variation produces the most tender result, so I wouldn't recommend substituting the egg yolks with whole eggs or the powdered sugar with granulated sugar. Of course, those swaps can be made and the cookies will still be delicious — just not quite as tender and crumbly as in this recipe. I also added my favorite lemon zest to the dough — I just love it in shortbread — along with a little vanilla powder. Since we're using powdered sugar rather than granulated sugar here, vanilla sugar isn't ideal either; it's better to add vanilla powder or vanilla extract. These cookies are perfect for an upcoming holiday, which is exactly what I had in mind, but of course there's nothing stopping you from making them any other day :-) This recipe made 16 assembled cookies in total.

Ingredients:

250 g flour
150 g butter
100 g powdered sugar
2 egg yolks
zest of 1 lemon
vanilla powder (a pinch on the tip of a knife)
a pinch of salt
Also:
jam or preserves (I used cherry)
powdered sugar for dusting

How to cook Valentine's Day jam shortbread cookies

Beat the softened butter and powdered sugar together until smooth and light.

Zest the lemon using a fine grater, taking only the yellow part. Add the zest, egg yolks, vanilla powder, and salt to the butter mixture and mix well.

Add the flour in portions, stirring thoroughly with a spoon each time.

Bring the dough together by hand into a ball — don't overwork it. Refrigerate the dough for 30–60 minutes until well chilled.

Roll the dough out to a thickness of about 5 mm. Cut out cookies using a cookie cutter. You can use any other shape you like, or cut a heart shape out of sturdy cardboard and trace around it with a knife.

In half of the heart-shaped cookies, cut out a smaller heart using a smaller cutter.

Transfer the cutouts to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. If the cutouts are not holding their shape well, it's best to chill them in the refrigerator again before transferring and baking.

Bake in an oven preheated to 180°C for approximately 5–15 minutes. I baked mine for 12 minutes, but adjust based on your own oven. As soon as the edges just barely start to turn golden, they're done — don't overbake. Let the finished cookies cool completely.

To sandwich the cookies together I used cherry jam, which I first blended until smooth for a more uniform texture. Any jam or preserves will work — ideally something tangy-sweet rather than just sweet. Spread a small amount of jam onto a solid cookie half.

Carefully place the cutout half on top (first dust it with powdered sugar through a fine sieve).

These jam shortbread cookies are incredibly tender and crumbly — they truly melt in your mouth! Treat yourself and your loved ones to this delicate little indulgence!