Strawberry Jam Cookies

These two bite Strawberry Jam Cookies can be whipped up in 30 minutes. There's no chill time required and the cookie dough requires only 6 ingredients--they couldn't be easier! I love the texture contrast between the soft cookie with crispy edges and the sticky sweet gooey jam center.

You may also be interested in my Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies, another delightful treat that combines a crisp chocolate cookie with a rich chocolate ganache center.

My four year old son peeked over the counter and saw these cookies set out on the cooling rack and exclaimed "Oh! I bet those are made with LOTS of love!". I couldn't have said it better myself! These delightful little cookies would be perfect for Valentine's Day or for a Christmas cookie box or anytime you want to show someone a little love.

Do you love naturally sweetened desserts? Visit my posts for Chocolate Mint Date Fudge, Healthy Chocolate Pudding, Apple Mousse, Earl Grey Panna Cotta and Caramel Date Paste.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• The perfect recipe for Valentine's Day!
• Fun to bake with kids (just like my Peanut Butter Oatmeal Energy Bites)
• Naturally sweetened
• Bake right away--no chill time required
• Easy to adapt for the seasons -- swap out jams to the fruit you're in the mood for
• Only 6 ingredients required for the cookie dough

Ingredients

• Date sugar - you can see above in the shot of the ingredients that the date sugar is quite fine. I tested this recipe with fine date sugar as well as regular granulated sugar and both worked. The date sugar version will be slightly less sweet.
• Butter - ensure your butter is room softened at room temperature before baking
• Egg - at room temperature
• Jam - I choose seedless because I prefer the smooth texture in my cookies but you could choose a jam with seeds or even a chia based jam if you enjoy an additional crunch. You can even make your own homemade Strawberry Chia Jam.

See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

Substitutions & Variations

• Sugar: I've tested this recipe with both regular white sugar and fine date sugar and both are great options.
• Vanilla extract: Swap for a 1 teaspoon of almond extract.
• Strawberry Jam: swap for any jam you love! Here are some jam flavor ideas: concord grape jelly, strawberry kiwi, apricot, marmalade, lemon curd, fig jam, blueberry or mixed berry.
• Nut Butter Filling: Instead of jam, fill the indentations with peanut butter, almond butter, or cashew butter. It would be super cute to fill half the cookies with strawberry jam and half with a peanut butter filling so you can have a PB&J cookie platter.

I have not experimented with any other substitutions or alterations for this recipe. If you decide to make any changes by adding or substituting ingredients, I would love it if you could share your results with us by leaving a comment below.

How To Make Strawberry Jam Cookies

Here are the step-by-step instructions to make this recipe.

Step 1: Preheat the oven and mix the dry ingredients.

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour and salt thoroughly.

Step 2: Cream together wet ingredients.

In another medium bowl, cream together the softened butter, sugar until light and fluffy and then add the room temperature egg, and pure vanilla extract.

Step 3: Mix wet and dry ingredients together.

Mix wet and dry ingredients together until just combined.

The dough will be quite firm and may seem a little dry. That's ok! A firm dough ensures that the cookies will hold their shape during baking.

Step 4: Roll small cookie dough balls and press a heart shape into each cookie.

Shape the dough into small 2-teaspoon-sized balls (I measured mine at 25 grams each) and place them on the prepared cookie sheets. These cookies don't spread much so you can fit at least 12 to a sheet.

Press the dough down into a little disk. Create two small indentations in the center of each cookie using your pinky finger, forming a heart shape.

Note: if the dough is cracking as you try to form the heart shapes I have two recommendations: 1) Reroll the cookie dough ball and allow the warmth from your hands to soften the dough. 2) Alternatively, melt 2 tablespoon of additional butter and slowly incorporate it into the dough one teaspoon at a time until the dough is soft and not cracking as easily.

Step 5: Add jam.

Fill each indentation with about ½ teaspoon of seedless strawberry jam.

Step 6: Bake the cookies.

Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. (it takes exactly 12 minutes in my oven) Allow the cookies to cool slightly and enjoy!

This recipe yields around 30 cookies.

Expert Tips

• Measure the flour carefully and accurately. The best way to do this is to spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife. Inaccurately measuring the flour in this recipe can cause the dough to crack as you make the heart indentation.
• If you're using salted butter instead of unsalted butter then decrease the amount of added salt to the dough.
• When combining the wet and dry ingredients, mix until just combined. Overmixing can lead to tough cookies.
• Use a teaspoon measure or a baking scale to ensure consistent cookie sizes. This really helps with even baking.
• Use light-colored baking sheets to prevent excessive browning on the bottoms of the cookies.

Recipe FAQs

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