Blackberry Meltaway Cookies

Last week’s cookies used jam, and I noticed that one other that I plan to post this month have, jam, so I decided that would be my theme this month. All of the cookies in March contain jam/jelly/preserves in some form, but I have tried to mix up the flavors for different experiences. For the most part, jam flavors are interchangeable, just make sure that there isn’t a secondary flavor that would clash with you jam of choice. Last week I used cherry jam, and this week it’s blackberry jam.

When you are searching for jam cookie recipes, you find a lot of thumbprint cookies. I have grown to like thumbprint cookies, but there are many other options. These cookies use jam as a decorative topping, and I think they just turned out beautifully. The original recipe called for raspberry jam, but I used some lovely blackberry jam made by my friend at work.

The recipe states that you should use seedless jam. The blackberry jam wasn’t seedless, but I wanted to use it anyway. You use such a tiny amount, which I piped by cutting a tiny tip off of my pastry bag, and the seeds get in the way. The blackberry jam worked, but I routinely had to squeeze the seeds out of the piping bag. Annoying. The cookies themselves are simple, and the sweetness comes from the jam and the icing. They are crumbly and do want to meltaway, and they taste great.

Blackberry Meltaway Cookies
1 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup cornstarch
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 cups flour

3 tablespoons butter
½ teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons milk
1-1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons blackberry jam

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter and cornstarch and beat on medium until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and almond extract and mix to combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour and stir until the dough comes together. Refrigerate the dough for about 15 minutes.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking sheets.

Scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet and roll into a ball about 1-inch in diameter.  

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until set. As soon as the cookies are removed from the oven, press the cookies down with the bottom of a glass. Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the topping: melt 3 tablespoons butter, then stir in the vanilla and milk. Gradually whisk in 1 cup of powdered sugar, adding additional powdered sugar if the topping is too thin. Cool slightly, then spoon onto the cooled cookies. Allow to set for 10 minutes, then pipe a few drops of jam on top of the glaze and swirl the topping with a toothpick or the tip of a knife. Set completely before serving.

Recipe from Family Cookie Recipes