Jam drops
You know how people write about how there’s sooo many things you can bake with just flour, sugar, butter and eggs, but when you need to bake something right now without going to the shops, you just can’t think what to make? Of course, it has to be something quick and easy, universally adored by everyone, and bonus points if looks pretty. Well, the next time you’re in that situation, Jam Drops are your answer! (Don’t try to tell me you don’t have a jar of jam in your pantry…). This old school favourite is a buttery shortbread cookie with a dollop of jam baked in the middle, it’s a combination that just works, is simple to make and loved by all. Why aren’t we making Jam Drops more often??
Ingredients in Jam Drops
Here’s what you need to make Jam Drops. The cookie is a cross between melt-in-your-mouth buttery shortbread cookies and classic vanilla biscuits. I blend the two because I feel like shortbread cookies are a little too sandy-crumbly for this shape of cookie, whereas vanilla cookies are a little crisper than what I want.
Jam – Any flavour you want! Strawberry and raspberry are common (strawberry is pictured), apricot is also popular. Whatever you use, and especially if it’s from the fridge, give it a good mix beforehand to loosen it up so it pools nicely in the dent. (Microwave gently if necessary but be sure it’s at room temperature before you use it, else it will melt the butter). Unsalted butter, softened – Use unsalted rather than salted butter, as the amount of salt in butter varies from brand to brand. Soften it to room temperature so it can be creamed – around 17-20°C is ideal (63-68°F), if you want to be exact! If it gets too soft, it will be greasy, melted, sloppy mess. Flour – Just regular plain flour / all-purpose flour. Don’t use self raising flour (ie with baking powder built in), it will make the cookies puff up and get too soft. Sugar – Caster sugar / superfine sugar is ideal here because the grains are finer so it ensures you don’t end up with any undissolved sugar in the cookie. However, regular sugar / granulated sugar works fine too. Vanilla extract – For lovely vanilla flavour. Use vanilla extract rather than imitation vanilla essence (fake isn’t as good). I personally don’t use vanilla bean or vanilla bean paste because it’s more expensive – I reserve it for creme brûlée, creme anglaise, that sort of thing! Egg – Just one large egg, which is an industry standard weight of 50-55g/2oz per egg (sold in cartons labelled “large eggs” which are 600g / 1.2lb for a dozen). Salt – Just 1/4 teaspoon, to bring out the vanilla and buttery flavour in the cookies. Well accepted standard baking practice these days.
How to make Jam Drop Biscuits
Here’s how to make Jam Drops. Depending on your rolling speed, they take around 40 minutes from start to finish (5 minutes dough mixing, 21 minutes rolling/assembling, 14 minutes oven).
1. Make the cookie dough
2. Forming cookies
I have a very specific method to shape jam drop cookies so they don’t crack. The typical method is to roll all the balls, put them on the tray then make an indent in the middle which also flattens them slightly. When you do the indent, it makes the cookies crack. You can fix it by pressing the edges together but honestly, I just find it easier to do this roll > flatten > indent method, working one cookie at a time (plus the cookies come out so neat!).
- Not the end of the world if you don’t have paper, you can bake on an un-greased tray as they won’t stick because they are so buttery. The paper protects the base of the cookie slightly so it cooks a little more evenly.
3. FILLING & BAKING
Jam Drops will last for 5 to 7 days in an airtight container in the pantry, though they are at their best in the first 2 – 3 days after baking. After this, the jam starts to soften the cookie a touch, I find. ⚠️ Don’t be too greedy with the jam! Fill so it’s level with the surface of the cookie. It will spread and we don’t want overflow. Also, you can top the jam up after they come out of the oven, if you feel they need it.
- By this, I mean move the tray on the lower shelf onto the top shelf and the tray on the top shelf onto the lower shelf. No more! I can chatter away and hide it in the collapsable section. I love it. – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
For cookie monsters
Life of Dozer
Playing a few roles today: But fundamentally, they are all the same – a vanilla butter biscuit, typically like shortbread, with a jammy centre. Some cookies are shorter (ie more crumbly) than others, like shortbread. Some are softer cookies, like my Soft Choc Chip Cookies. Some are more like vanilla biscuits and not as buttery. Mine is a cross between shortbread and a vanilla cookie – it’s beautifully buttery with a really lovely vanilla flavour and crisp with a “melt in your mouth” texture. But it is not as crumbly as traditional shortbread cookies (too crumbly = mess when you bite into the cookie). It annoyed me. Yes, these are the sort of thoughts that invade my mind when I’m trying to sleep. For Jam Drops, I actually do not want the cookie as “crumbly” as traditional shortbread so I deliberately don’t use it. As a side note (for fellow baking nerds!) I typically find that if you make a cookie dough with the appropriate proportions and mixing technique, the addition of cornflour or custard powder is usually not required for the “perfect” result. Like – shortbread cookies. I tried with and without cornflour (and rice flour, the alternative). The difference is so negligible with my recipe, so I don’t bother (one less ingredient!). But, for shortbread cookies, other recipes I tried call for much more dough kneading and handling, which toughens the cookie so it needs custard powder to rectify the cookie texture. I made this recipe using US cups, Australian cups and the weights I’ve provided and there was no difference in the end result. So the difference in cup sizes does not matter for this recipe!
Shoot assistant Cookie-sitter Aroma diffusor (his natural body odour. I want to tell you he smells like roses but it’s suspiciously like duck poo again).
