VCC 232 - Jam Cookies

This delicious cookie recipe has come from Singapore kindly contributed by Devagi Sanmugam to the group cookbook project 'You Can Cook' for 'Feed a Hungry Child' campaign. Let me also share with you today that Devagi has written 14 cookbooks and owns a restaurant in Singapore.

Jam Cookies Recipe

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 25 minutes
Makes: 24 cookies

Ingredients:
220 g butter, room temperature
120 g caster sugar
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Grated zest of half a lemon (optional)
200 g plain flour, sifted
¼ teaspoon fine salt
80 g ground hazelnut
150 g raspberry jam or your choice of jam

Method:
1. Put butter and sugar into a mixing bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until fluffy.
2. Add the egg yolks, vanilla essence and lemon zest.
3. Beat to combine well.
4. Add the flour, salt and ground hazelnut. Mix to combine well into a soft pliable dough.
5. Preheat oven to 180°C.
6. Line baking trays with non-stick paper.
7. Roll the dough into 2.5 cm balls. Place on the prepared baking tray about 2 cm apart.
8. Using your thumb or end of a wooden spoon, make a deep indentation in the center of each cookie.
9. Bake for 20 minutes or until cookies are set and lightly brown on the bottom.
10. Remove from oven and place on wire rack. If the centers of the cookies have risen, use the end of a wooden spoon to gently make the indentation again.
11. Remove cookies from baking tray and leave on a wire rack to cool completely.
12. When cookies are cool, spoon a little jam into the center of each cookie.

Note: You can store the unfilled cookies for about a week. I like to fill the cookies with jam on the day I serve them.

VCC: VCC Q4-2006: FAHC: FAHC-campaign