These strawberry jam cookies are easy to make and require no chill time! They have melt-in-your mouth shortbread cookie base, strawberry jam filling, and a simple icing on top. Your family will love these thumbprint cookies.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or grease. Set aside.
Cream together butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and almond extract for 4 minutes. The mixture should resemble thickly whipped cream and be light, smooth and glossy.
Add in salt, cornstarch, and half of the flour.Mix on low until the mixture comes together.
Add in the rest of the flour and mix on low until you have a soft dough.
Scoop 1 tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball.Roll the dough in granulated sugar.
Place on the baking sheet and either using your thumb or the back of a teaspoon measuring spoon create a well. The indentation created needs to be large enough to hold the strawberry jam.
Fill each cookie well with a ½ teaspoon of strawberry jam. The cookies should not spread much so they can be placed fairly close together on the baking sheet, leave at least 1 ½ inches between the cookies dough balls.
Bake at 325 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Let cool before icing the cookies.
Whisk together powdered sugar, vanilla, and water for the icing until smooth. The icing should be thin enough to drizzle, but thick enough to not spread everywhere. If you icing is too thin add powdered sugar, if it is too thick add small amounts of water until you reach the desired consistency.
Drizzle thins lines of icing over top of thecooled strawberry cookies. The icing will set up as it sits.
Make them Heart-shaped
To make these strawberry shortbread cookies heart-shaped, make the dough according to instruction above. Scoop about 1 tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball, then roll in granulated sugar. Use your pinky to create a small indentation at an angle.
Use your pinky to create another angled indentation going the opposite way, creating a heart shape.
Use the edge of your finger to further define the edges of the heart.
Use your finger create deep well in that follows the heart shape. Fill the well with a scant ½ teaspoon of strawberry jam, you do not want to over fill the cookies with jam. Coax the jam using a spoon or your finger into the crevices of the heart-shaped indentation. Bake according to normal instructions. See our blog post for pictures.
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Notes
Use thick jam. These thumbprint cookies call for strawberry jam or preserves in the center of the cookies. If your jam is on the runnier side you will want to thicken it before inserting it into the center of the cookie dough. Runny jam will likely melt and run all over your cookies. To thicken your runny jam, add to a saucepan over medium heat and whisk in 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Cook the jam until it reduces and starts to thicken up. cool completely before adding to the cookie dough centers.
How to Store this Recipe. They are fine to set at room temperature for several days. They can sit uncovered for 2 days, after that store them in an airtight container for up to 3 additional days. These strawberry shortbread cookies freeze beautifully. After you have iced them, let the icing set up. Then, transfer them to an airtight container or a gallon Ziploc bag. If storing them in a plastic bag, try to remove as much as possible to prevent freezer burn. Let thaw and come to room temperature before eating. Use within 2 months of making.