Jam Butter Cookies are colorful, crunchy treats that melt in your mouth and deliver bright, fruity flavor. Jam is mixed directly into the dough to create sturdy cookies that travel well in cookie jars or care packages. Cut with a daisy-shaped cutter and dipped in sparkling decorating sugar, they look like an edible bouquet.
Why you’ll love this recipe
With warmer weather on the way, bakers sending treats in care packages need to consider shipping conditions. High temperatures cause melting and can speed spoilage, so recipes without chocolate coatings or soft icings are better choices for summer shipping. These Jam Butter Cookies avoid gooey toppings and stay crisp, making them ideal for short domestic care-package runs.
Heat also affects the shelf life of moist baked goods and can accelerate rancidity in nuts, seeds, and butter. For extreme conditions—such as military mail to hot regions—special “desert safe” recipes are recommended. While these jam cookies are delicious and sturdy, I don’t suggest mailing them to locations exposed to sustained extreme heat.
To make these cookies travel-friendly, the classic thumbprint idea was reversed: instead of pressing jam into the top of a plain butter cookie, the jam is blended into the dough itself. That produces a uniform fruity flavor and a crisp texture. I used peach, strawberry, and blackberry jam simply because they were on hand, but any jam without large fruit chunks will work.
A small amount of fruit-flavored extract or flavoring oil intensifies the fruit notes; I prefer concentrated flavorings that echo real fruit. A few drops of food coloring help distinguish each flavor if you want a colorful assortment.
Instructions
This is an overview of the steps. The full, detailed directions follow in the recipe card below.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
- Cream butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla with an electric mixer and the paddle attachment.
- Beat in the dry ingredients to form a slightly sticky dough.
- Divide the dough into three equal portions for three flavors.
- Leave one portion in the bowl; remove two portions and set them aside.
- Mix the lightest jam (peach) into the dough in the bowl along with 1 ½ tablespoons of flour, the extract, and food coloring.
- Wrap the peach dough in plastic and chill.
- Repeat with the remaining portions to make strawberry and blackberry dough, wrapping and chilling each.
- Roll each chilled dough between parchment to ¼” thickness.
- Keep the three dough portions sandwiched in parchment and freeze for about 20 minutes to firm them up.
- When ready to bake, remove one dough portion from the freezer, cut out shapes, press the tops into colored decorating sugar, and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake at 350° F for about 10 minutes, until the bottom edges begin to turn golden.
Storage
Store cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to one week.
Baking tips
- These cookies work well with any jam that does not contain large fruit chunks. Small-seed jams are fine; avoid jams with sizable pieces of fruit that can interfere with dough texture.
- To avoid washing the mixing bowl between flavors, work from lightest to darkest jam, scraping the bowl well between batches.
- If you lack a matching fruit extract, use a complementary flavor (for example, blueberry extract with blackberry jam). Vanilla will work, but the fruit flavor will be milder.
- The dough is soft and must be chilled before cutting. Proper chilling ensures clean cutouts and easier transfers to the baking sheet.
- Do not add extra flour to avoid chilling; adding more flour changes the texture and can make the cookies dry.
- If you don’t have flower cutters, circles or squares also look lovely.
Tips for gifting and shipping
- For local gifts, stack cookies alternating the colors inside a cellophane bag and tie with a ribbon or twist tie for a pretty presentation.
- For mailing, only use cellophane if the cookies are snug and won’t shift. Otherwise, wrap groups of 6–9 cookies (alternating colors) in plastic wrap, then place the wrapped stacks in a freezer-weight zip-top bag with as much air removed as possible before sealing.
Related recipes
Cookie Press Butter Cookies are quick and easy if you want to make dozens of colorful cookies fast. Dragon Cookies are classic melt-in-your-mouth butter cookies pressed by hand for special celebrations. Lemon and Lime Butter Cookie Rosettes offer a bright citrus pairing for tea, while May Flowers Sugar Cookies show how simple techniques make beautiful floral cookies. Hamantaschen are soft triangular cookies with jam or other fillings, and Raspberry Rugelach combines a buttery pastry with tangy jam. These suggestions provide a range of butter- and jam-based cookie ideas to explore.
Jam Butter Cookies
Equipment
-
2″ cookie cutter (flower or preferred shape)
Ingredients
Base dough
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
For 3 flavored dough portions
- 1 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour per dough portion (4 ½ tablespoons total)
- 1 tablespoon each of peach, strawberry, and blackberry jam
- ¼ teaspoon fruit extract for each flavor (peach, strawberry, blackberry)
- Food coloring as desired (peach, pink, purple)
- Decorating sugar to match colors
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.
- In a mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Mix in eggs and vanilla, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Add the flour mixture and beat until combined; the dough will be slightly sticky.
- Divide dough into three portions. Leave one portion in the bowl and set the others aside.
- To the dough in the bowl add the lightest jam (peach), 1 ½ tablespoons flour, fruit extract, and food coloring; mix to combine.
- Scrape the peach dough onto plastic wrap, wrap tightly, and refrigerate.
- Repeat for the other two portions to make strawberry and blackberry dough, reusing the mixing bowl and scraping it clean between batches.
- Roll each chilled dough between parchment to ¼” thickness. Keep each portion sandwiched in parchment and freeze or chill until firm (about 20 minutes).
- Pour about 2 tablespoons of each colored decorating sugar into separate shallow bowls.
- When ready to bake, remove one dough portion from the freezer, peel off the top parchment, and cut out cookies.
- Gently press the top of each cookie into the matching decorating sugar, place cookies 1″ apart on a prepared baking sheet, and bake one sheet at a time for about 10 minutes or until edges begin to brown.
- Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to one week.
Notes
- Use any jam you like, avoiding large fruit chunks.
- Start with the lightest jam color to minimize bowl cleaning between batches.
- Substitute complementary fruit extracts if a matching extract is unavailable.
- Chill the dough rather than adding extra flour for easier cutting and better texture.
- Flower cutters are pretty, but circles or squares also work well.
Packing tips
For local gifting, stack alternating-color cookies in a cellophane bag and seal with a twist tie.
For mailing, wrap stacks of six cookies, alternating colors, in plastic wrap. Place wrapped stacks upright in a freezer-weight zip-top bag and remove as much air as possible before sealing.
Nutrition
First Published: May 15, 2020. Last Updated: March 10, 2022. Updated for additional information and improved reader experience.