Eat Sweet

April showers?  I hope so!  I would love to spend a rainy afternoon baking these lovelies.  There is a little window of time while the dough is chilling that is just right for a nap.  

These cookies are a bit labor-intensive.  However, all of the components can be prepared in advance, making them perfect for entertaining.  With so many baby showers, wedding showers, and Mother’s Day on our horizon in the spring, I thought this would be a great recipe to share with you. The recipe is inspired by Dorie Greenspan, who produces many exotic and mouthwatering versions of these cookies in her New York shop.  Let me know how they turn out in your kitchen.

Beurre and Sel Jammers

*adapted from Dorie Greenspan

Ingredients

Cookie Dough

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

2 large egg yolks, room temperature

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

Streusel and Assembly

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 tsp fine sea salt

5 1/2 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup thick jam, such as lingonberry, apricot, orange marmalade, or blackberry

Special equipment

2-inch cookie cutter; 3 standard 12-cup muffin tins

Preparation

Cookie Dough

1. Using an electric mixer at medium speed, beat butter in a large bowl until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. 

2. Add both sugars and salt; beat until well blended, about 1 minute. 

3. Reduce speed to low; beat in egg yolks and vanilla. 

4. Add flour and mix just to combine. Dough will be soft and slightly sticky.

5. Divide dough in half. Place each half between sheets of parchment or waxed paper. Flatten dough into disks. 

6. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out dough, occasionally lifting paper on both sides for easy rolling, until 1/4 inch thick. Freeze dough in paper until firm, at least 2 hours. DO AHEAD: Dough can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and keep frozen. 

Streusel

1. Mix flour, sugar, and salt in a small mixing bowl. 

2. Using your fingertips, rub butter and vanilla into dry ingredients until no large lumps remain and butter is well incorporated. 

3. Streusel will be sandy and hold its shape when pressed between your fingers. Cover and chill. DO AHEAD: Streusel can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled. 

Assembly

1. Arrange a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 350°. 

2. Using cookie cutter, cut out rounds of frozen dough. Place rounds in the bottom of the muffin cups and gently pat to flatten. Continue cutting frozen dough into rounds; gather scraps and repeat process of rolling out and cutting to make 34 rounds. 

3. Cover muffin tins with foil and chill in freezer until dough is firm, about 30 minutes or up to 2 days.

4. Spoon about 1 teaspoon jam into the center of each round of dough. Using your fingers or a small spoon, sprinkle 1-1 1/2 tablespoons streusel around edges of each cookie, trying not to get any in the jam. 

5. Bake cookies, in batches if needed, until sides and streusel are golden, 20-22 minutes. 

6. Let cool in tins for 15 minutes. Run a small knife around edges of muffin cups; gently remove cookies and let cool completely on a wire rack. DO AHEAD: Cookies can be baked 2 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

TRY THIS:

• make meyer lemon marmalade to use

• at my house we used a heaping teaspoon of peanut butter and black raspberry jam together for a sophisticated pb&j twist

• make a strawberry/rhubarb jam to use

• a little almond extract in the cookie dough could be quite a nice addition

• I wonder how delicious these would be if you went in a savory direction??