I firmly believe every cookie tray needs an old fashioned jam cookie. Those coconut, chocolate, peanut butter, peppermint, gingerbread, sugared pecan concoctions have their place but, in the midst of such chaos, a straightforward old fashioned cookie is just the thing.  

I won’t lie to you—this recipe is a bit of a bother to make—but the end result is a delicious jam cookie.  First, make the dough and then refrigerate it for an hour or so. Then, roll out the dough (always a mess), spread it with jam (not too thick, not too thin, not too close to the edges), and then roll back up (messy)! Then you’ll need to roll the whole thing in sprinkles, if you’d like, and refrigerate for another many hours.  Then, unroll, slice and bake. THEN, take the cookies off the cookie sheet after they firm up but before they begin to stick—it’s one of those cookie recipes, that you have to make in bits and pieces.

This recipe is from the 2010 Better Homes and Gardens “Christmas Cookies” Special Interest Publication, page 59.

Jam Pinwheels

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1½ cups sugar
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 3¼ cups all purpose flour
• 2/3 cups seedless raspberry preserves
• Optional: rainbow or Christmas sprinkles

DIRECTIONS

1. With an electric mixer, beat the butter for about 30 seconds. 
2. Add sugar, baking powder, and salt—beat until well combined.
3. Beat in eggs, one at a time and then lemon peel.
4. Beat in flour.
5. Divide dough in half, cover and refrigerate for an hour or so or until dough is firm enough to roll out.
6. Roll each half of dough into a square approximately 10×10″.
7. Spread each rolled dough square with 1/3 of a cup of raspberry preserves.
8. Roll up dough—at this point you can roll the whole roll in sprinkles, if desired. This extra step does add a nice touch.
9. Refrigerate for 2 to 24 hours, or until firm enough to slice.
10. Preheat oven to 375°.
11. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
12. Cut rolls into ¼” thick slices (discard end slices), place on parchment lined cookie sheet, and bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until edges are firm and bottoms are lightly browned.
13. Cool cookies on tray for a minute or so then transfer to a rack to cool. Don’t dilly-dally on this step!
14. Makes about 60 cookies.
15. Store in refrigerator for 2 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

(Photo lifted from 5 Ingredients, 15 minutes until I manage to make another batch. Many of my photos melted into the atmosphere after the Great Computer Fire).

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today!