When I was growing up, we all gathered at my grandparents house to celebrate Christmas. The house was full of family, fun, laughter and love. My Grandma Smith would spend weeks baking different kinds of cookies for the occasion. Grandma’s Double Sugar Cookies with Jam were by far my favorite. And now, it is just not Christmas unless I make them, too. Merry Christmas and thanks for visiting raveaboutfood.com over the past year!
These cookies take me back to my childhood. They taste like Christmas and make the holidays complete in our house.
Grandma Double Sugar Cookies with Jam
Ingredients:
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 sticks (1 cup) of unsalted butter, softened
- 2 egg yolks (whites reserved)
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream (or whole milk)
- Grated lemon rind (1/2 lemon)
- Flour for rolling cookies
- 2/3 cup walnuts or pecans, finely chopped
- red sugar for decorating
- 1 -8 ounce jar of jam, any flavor (seedless, thick jams work the best)
How to make double sugar cookies with jam?
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the first 7 ingredients in a large bowl on low speed. The lemon zest and juice really make this cookie dough smell and taste so good. Wrap the cookie dough in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
- Select a cookie cutter or two that are about 3 inches. You want your cookies to be fairly small since they have two layers. I used a Christmas tree cutout and one that resembles a flower. You will also need a thimble or a small cap from a jar to cut the center hole on each cookie top. I used the cap to my vanilla extract bottle.
- Dust the counter with flour and place half of your cookie dough in the center. Sprinkle the top of the dough with more flour and then dust the rolling pin with flour and roll the dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut 15-20 cookies of all the same shape. Using a spatula, put the cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. These cookies will be the bottom of your double cookies.
- While the cookies are baking, gather the scraps and the rest of the dough, dust the counter, and roll the dough out again. Cut the same number of cookies from the dough. This time use a thimble or small cap to cut the center out of each cookie. Using a spatula, place the cookies on a second cookie sheet. Next, decorate them cookie tops before baking.
Tips on decorating the cookies?
- Beat the reserved egg whites in a small bowl until they are foamy. Put the finely chopped nuts and red sugar in a small bowl. Using a brush, dab a bit of egg whites on the cookie tops.
- Do not use too much egg whites, as it makes the cookies stick to the baking pan. Sprinkle each cookie with the chopped nuts and red sugar mixture. These cookies will be the top of your double cookies.
- Remove the first sheet of cookies from the oven and allow them to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Bake the cookie tops for about 8-9 minutes, checking them often. When done, remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack. They will cook a bit more quickly than the cookie bottoms.
- I normally have at least two batches of dough to roll and cut and bake, so I repeat this process until the dough is gone. Make sure to have the same number of tops AND bottoms of your cookies, so they match up later. You can also just roll it out and cut different shapes of sugar cookies, decorating them as you wish.
How to assemble Grandma’s Double Sugar Cookies with Jam?
- Once your cookies are cooled, place the bottoms on one plate and the tops on another plate. This makes it easiest for assembling the cookies.
- Select the jars of jam you will use. I always use seedless raspberry. I also used strawberry and grape. Orange marmalade is another good option. Place a small amount of jam in the center of the bottom cookie.
- Stack a top cookie on the jam and press down slightly. Place the finished cookies on a tray or in an airtight container for serving later.
- This recipe makes about 2 1/2-3 dozen double sugar cookies, depending on the size of the cookie cutter you choose and how thick you roll them out.
I miss baking with my grandma and the time we spent together. She was a terrific baker and I know she would love my cookies and be so glad we are continuing her tradition of making these cookies on Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas to all!
For more tasty cookies, check out these recipes: