Jam Cookies

Growing up, my family spent many a summer weekend (or week!) at our cottage in northern Michigan.

This was a completely magical way to spend your childhood summers. Not only was my immediate family at the cottage, but so were all my aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents.

My cousins and I would spend  hours playing in the lake, running around the woods searching for crackleberries and trying to find ‘hidden’ meadows, toasting dough boys over the fire and playing Ghost in the Graveyard once the sun set.

I feel like every memory I have of my summers up there is tinged golden around the edges. The memories are accompanied by the musty scent of the cottage’s old furniture, the constant shimmer of sunlight and an overwhelming warmth-h like the sun on your skin and a hug from a loved one all at the same time.

It was tradition for everyone to bring a dessert with them to the cottage, so these jam cookies were a staple of our summer.

Chocolate sheet cake, monkey bread and sour cream coffee cake all made regular appearances too. But when you’re a kid tearing around like a mad man for hours on end, these sandwich cookies made the perfect on the go snack.

We would sneak into the kitchen and steal them out of the Tupperware that sat strategically on top of the microwave in a seemingly pitiful attempt to keep the goods out of our reach.  We felt like we were being really sneaky, but I’m sure the adults knew what was happening!

I hope you set aside 20 minutes to bake these cookies. They are light, slightly buttery and have a great chewy-yet-soft texture. The homemade strawberry jam sandwiched in the center brings a fresh sweetness to the cookies that just tastes like summer.   Make some memories 🙂

Grandma Bright’s Jam Cookies

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup butter
• 2 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp water
• 1 tsp vanilla
• strawberry jam*

Preheat oven to 350°. Cream together the butter and brown sugar. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating on low, and then add in the vanilla and water and mix to combine. Combine the flour and baking soda together; slowly mix into the batter until incorporated.

Drop the cookie batter, by rounded tablespoon full, onto the cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the cookies are lightly golden brown on the edges.

Allow the cookies to completely cool on a wire rack. Spread about 1 tablespoon jam onto half of the cookies and then top with the other half to form cookie sandwiches, yum! 🙂

*Note: I’ve only made these with strawberry jam, but my Mom has done them with raspberry and blueberry too. I think these will be good with any fruit jam.

Enjoy!

– Erin

Daily Question: Do you have a favorite ‘Grandma’ recipe? Let me know what it is, leave a comment below!