Jam Drop Cookies

The festive season is round the corner and sweets are going to creep into our lives from every quarter. Let us bring about a little variation in our sweet platter. Cookies! Not just any cookies but colourful ones.

Jam drop cookies are simple to make and attractive to the eye. As my grandmother said “what looks beautiful will also taste good.”

Once you have made these jam drop cookies they are going to be a regular in your kitchen. And children simply love these. Give them as snacks with milk or as a lunchbox snack. You will make these over and over again for those smiling faces.

Ingredients:

• Salted butter- 1 cup
• Powdered sugar – 1/2 cup + 2 tbsps for dusting.
  
• Maida (all purpose flour) – 2 cups
• Rice flour- 4 tbsps 
• Baking powder- 1 tsp
• Salt – 1/2 tsp
• Vanilla essence- 1 tsp
• Jams of your choice. 

Method:

Sift maida (all purpose flour) and baking powder together and set aside. 

Preheat oven to 160 degree centigrade. 

Cream sugar, butter and vanilla in a large bowl. Add salt and mix a little more. 

Add the maida and rice flour and knead into a soft dough. Make small even balls and press a little. 

Using your finger or a round object make an indent in the centre. Keep the indent of moderate depth. Too shallow will cause the jam to overflow and too deep may cause the cookies to break. 

Place cookies on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. There should be 2inches of space between the cookies as they tend to expand. 

Now we drop the jam into the indents. I have used strawberry preserve, orange marmalade and mixed fruit.  

Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 30 minutes or till you see the sides turning brown. 

Transfer on to a rack to cool. 

When cool dust with powdered sugar. Store in airtight containers…if any reach the container!