Jam drop cookies: beautiful jewels with a burst of fruit flavor for your holiday cookie plate – gluten free and grain free recipe.

Jam drops are my favorite holiday cookie. Buttery shortbread, crunchy nuts, and a pop of fruity jam. They also make a beautiful addition to a holiday cookie plate without any fake red stuff. When I was a child, my mother would make would make 7 or 8 kinds of cookies and stack them in the Christmas tins in our pantry. I would try to ration the jam drops. Put one on a plate, but take another kind too. You can’t have the jam drops run out faster. Maybe no jam drops today. Move the tin to the bottom of the stack. Impossible feats of willpower for this jam drop loving child.

For years I’d been met with disappointing grain free shortbread cookies, jam drops included. That is, until I started using my reliable cassava and almond sugar cookie dough. Too many recipes have melted and spread in the oven, but cassava prevents that. Cassava cookies aren’t as flavorful of delicate as I’d like and the addition of a little almond flour livens up the flavor and makes the crumb more delicate. I also tried putting some arrowroot or potato starch back into this dough to make it crumbly. You can get away with about 1/3 of a cup, but I don’t notice much flavor/texture difference and the cookies are less sturdy and reliable. Another plus, this dough holds its shape without cracking. The addition of xanthan helps but isn’t required here.

There are a few tricks to better “thumbprints”, namely don’t use your thumb. I have a spatula with a little round end – but think pinky sized imprint in these cookies. These also puff a little so I like to reindent them mid bake for maximum jam capacity.

Finally, these don’t have to be jam drops. I’ve filled these almond scented cookies with chocolate and also with caramel (caramel and chocolate perhaps?)

Fill up a plate with all your favorite gluten free and grain free cookies and merry Christmas! Here are some of mine:

Sugar Cookie Cut-Outs

Russian Tea Cookies (AKA Snow Balls, Mexican Wedding Cookies)

Gingerbread Cut Out Cookies

Candy Cane Cookies

Substitutions: You can use coconut oil in place of butter, maple sugar in place of the white sugar, and if you don’t tolerate almond flour sub 1/3 cup of cassava for the 1/2 cup of almond flour.

Jam Drops

Easy holiday jam drops featuring my buttery grain free sugar cookie dough

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Ingredients

  

• 1⅔ cups cassava flour 8 oz.
• ½ cup almond flour 2.5 oz.
• 1 cup granulated sugar, 7 oz. I use organic sugar, but maple sugar works well too
• 1 cup salted butter softened at room temperature, coconut oil also works
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ tsp almond extract optional
• 1 cup finely chopped walnuts, pecans, or pistachios optional
• 1 egg beaten for egg wash optional
• 2 cups jam I like strawberry or raspberry

Instructions

 

• Cream butter until fluffy (I usually do this in mixer but the food processor works too). Add eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, almond extract, baking powder, salt if using. Scrape down and mix again.
• Add flours and mix, scraping down the bowl once mid mix.
• Shape into small balls (¾ inch diameter)
• Optional: dip in bowl of egg mixture then roll in nut mixture and set on parchment lined baking sheet.
• Make the “thumbprint” with pinky or some similarly sized implement (I use the end of a mini spatula dipped in starch) to create the imprint . If the imprints have puffed up push them (gently) back down.
• Bake until light golden brown and set (about 10 -15 minutest total).
• Remove and let cool a bit on the pan.
• While cooling melt jam in microwave or on stove and blend with hand blender if it is lumpy jam like strawberry with whole strawberries in it. Fill each cookie – I use a little demitasse spoon to keep it precise you could use a pastry bag if you are so inclined.

Keyword Buttery, Gluten Free, Grain Free