Is it December already?  Time to get in the holiday spirit.  In my book that means baking cookies and listening to holiday tunes.  I am an unabashed lover of Christmas music.  You won’t find me anywhere near a mall on Black Friday.  Instead, I’ll be home pulling out my favorite Christmas CDs and kicking back.  I’ll wait for CyberMonday to get serious about shopping.  For my first holiday season blogging, it seems fitting to create a top 12 days of Christmas cookies list with holiday tunes to go along.  If you have a tried and true delicious recipe you make every year, I would love to post it here to share with everyone.  Just email or message me on Facebook.  A virtual cookie swap!   Don’t forget to include your favorite Christmas song, a picture of your creation, and if there is a special story behind the recipe.

I’m Excited, Lets Get Started!

Do They Know It’s Christmas by Band Aid just for you.

Just like her World Peace Cookie, this is another yummy cookie by Dorie Greenspan (how does she do it?) aptly named Jammers.  These edible jewels start with a tender shortbread cookie base topped with a nice dollop of jam and finished with a buttery, crumbly streusel topping.  Before Dorie released her recipe Tim of Lottie + Doof created his version.  The original Jammers are made in 3-inch ring molds.  I opt to make them smaller in mini-muffin tins, an idea I found on another blog. Either way, they are delicious.

A Couple of Tips When Making these Cookies

Feel free to use your favorite jam.  I often use a couple of different ones for the color appeal.  Butter or spray the tins well or the cookies will stick to the pan.  I use a tablespoon ice cream scoop to measure out the dough into each cup and lightly tamp the dough into the tins.  This is not like a tartlet or mini piecrust.  The dough should be a thick layer (~1/2 inch thick) filling approximately 2/3 of the cup.  I would leave some space at the top or the jam will spill out as the cookies bake.  Top with a generous sprinkle of streusel but try to leave spots of jam exposed.  It is prettier that way.

Go Big Or Go Home

Christmas Eve 2022: So I decided I wanted to get closer to the original Jammer, that is, a bigger cookie.  I pulled out my regular muffin tin to make Dorie’s Jammers.  Through experimentation, I settled on 25 grams of dough that I tamped into each muffin cup. Yep, no rolling and cutting.  This should give you a disc of dough about 1/2 inch thick that pretty much fills the tin.

The rest of the recipe is pretty much the same.  Baking time is a little longer, approximately 20-22 minutes until the edge is golden brown.

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Dorie Greenspan's Jammers

Ingredients

Adapted from Lottie & Doof's version of Dorie Greenspan's Jammers by Blackjack Bakehouse

Makes about 42 cookies

Cookie dough

• 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt heaping
• 2 large egg yolks at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour

Streusel Topping

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt heaping
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

Directions for dough:

• In large bowl or in bowl of an electric stand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until very creamy. Add the sugars and salt and beat until well combined, about 1 minute. With mixer on low, beat in egg yolks and vanilla until well blended, about one minute.
• Add all of flour at once and with mixer on low, blend with butter mixture until just combined. Do not overmix! (I barely beat it in and then combined the last few streaks of flour with a spatula.)
• Press dough into a mound and cover dough in bowl with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap against the dough. Cover bowl tightly with more wrap or foil and chill for at least 2 hours or for up to 2 days.

Directions for Streusel:

• Place butter in a microwave-safe bowl and melt in microwave. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until well-combined and pebbly. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours or for up to 2 days.

When ready to bake:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter or spray a mini muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray thoroughly. These babies like to stick a little, so grease the cups well.
• Break up the streusel crumb topping mixture with a fork until pebbly and set aside.
• Press small mounds of cookie dough, about 1 tablespoon-size, into each cup as though making a thick cookie crust (as opposed to a thin pie crust that will just crumble when you try to remove it from the mini muffin pan). The crust should come up to just below the rim of the cup and there should be a small indention in each cup for the filling.
• Place about 1 teaspoon of jam/pie filling in each indentation, then top the filled cookies with a generous sprinkle of streusel mixture.
• Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until the top edges of the cookies are golden brown and the crumb mixture is golden.
• Allow cookies to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then carefully remove and allow to cool directly on wire rack until completely cool.
• Store, uncovered or lightly covered, at room temperature