Jam Thumbprint Cookies

I know we're well past Christmas, but I didn't get a chance before I went on holidays to share one of my family's biggest traditions. In an attempt to cut down on the rampant Christmas spending that haunted us every year, we switched to Kris Kringle a few years ago - meaning that the adults only got one gift each (the kids still get a pile taller than themselves). But there is still that niggle, that little thing in all of our minds (by which I mean the female side of the family) saying that you still need to give everyone something even if you aren't allowed to buy anything. So, what to do you do? Make jam!

Now this isn't a blog about jam making (I had to rescue mine); jam recipes are everywhere. This is a blog about how to use all those jars of jam that everyone seems to accumulate over a summer. Having said that, seeing that the jam is going to go in the oven if you have one that is high in pectin (more of a jelly texture than a loose jam) then that is the one to use.
My jam is strawberry rhubarb and it is quite sweet so rather than the usual shortbread base for this recipe I decided to go for a cream cheese cookie dough - the slight sour of the cream cheese cutting through the strong sugar.

Ingredients

• 250g cream cheese
• 130g butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 cups plain flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cup jam

Take the cream cheese and butter out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you want to start cooking so that they soften.

Method

1. Add the cream cheese, butter and sugar to a bowl and beat until light and fluffy
2. Sift in the flour and salt, then mix together either by hand or on a low speed
3. Once the dough has come together, place on baking paper and chill it in the fridge for 20mins. If you want you could also double gladwrap the dough and freeze it
4. Preheat your over to 180 degrees and remove the dough from the fridge
5. Roll and drop heaped tablespoon size balls of dough onto a lined baking tray
6. Using your thumb, press a hole into the centre of each ball - you only want to create a depression, not go the whole way through. I'd recommend making a wider rather than deeper hole
7. Fill the hole with 1/2 a teaspoon of jam
8. Bake for 12-15 mins or until the edges are golden

Makes about 30 small cookies

Enjoy!

Glutton