raspberry jam

Butterball Cookies

December 4, 2018 by Marisa 43 Comments

Cute as a button and with only 3 ingredients in the dough, these Butterball Cookies are simply irresistible! They’re sandwiched together with seedless raspberry jam and rolled in aromatic vanilla sugar for a sparkly appeal.

This post was originally published in December of 2015 and republished December 4, 2018 with updated photos and content.

My exquisitely fragrant Vanilla Sugar is ready and waiting to coat these cute little one bite Butterball Cookies!

I am filling mine with raspberry jam as it seems to be everyone’s favourite. But also because the redness of the jam really adds a festive colour this time of the year. This is especially wonderful when you serve a platter full of Christmas cookies. They stand out like little jewels ready to be plucked off the tray!

Alternately the butterball cookies can be filled with Nutella or even chocolate ganache. However you choose to fill them they will garner many smiles from both kids and adults alike.

Its not an overly complicated recipe or with any fancy techniques. We are taking a few simple ingredients, which you probably already have on hand. And, we are turning them into these irresistible buttery morsels.

So get comfortable, play your favourite holiday music and lets roll some butterballs!

How To Make Perfect Butterball Cookies

You will need 3 cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.

Make sure your dough has been chilled at least 4 hours before rolling the cookies. You can also make the dough up to 5 days in advance and refrigerate till ready to use.

Measure out 1/4 teaspoon of cookie dough and roll in the palm of your hands, no bigger than the size of a hazelnut in it’s shell.

Continue with the remaining dough and chill the butterballs in your freezer for 30 minutes before baking.

When ready to bake space them out on the cookie sheet about 2 inches apart as these will spread. Bake one cookie tray at a time while keeping the remaining cookies chilling in the freezer.

Once the cookies are baked and cooled, place a small dollop of jam on the flat surface of one half of the cooled cookies and top with another half to sandwich them together. Roll the cookies in the vanilla sugar.

They’re simply beautiful served in an elegant footed glass bowl and also make a wonderful addition to any holiday cookie platter.

Which ever way you serve them, they’re sure to impress your guests!

If you make this recipe remember to tag @marisasitaliankitchen on Instagram so I can see your creation!

Butterball Cookies

Irresistible Butterball Cookies! They're sandwiched together with seedless raspberry jam and rolled in aromatic vanilla sugar for a sparkly appeal.

Course Cookie

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 8 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 8 minutes

Author Marisa

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
1 cup vanilla sugar for rolling

Instructions

Using a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the butter on medium speed for about 3 to 5 minutes until the butter is light and fluffy. Mix in the sugar until well blended then add in the flour and continue mixing until the dough is formed. Wrap the dough with saran wrap and chill the dough for about 3 hours. Chilling the dough will prevent the cookies from spreading out too much when baked.
Preheat the oven to 375*F.
Use a small spoon to tear out small pieces of dough and use the palm of your hands to roll them out into small balls about the size of a hazelnut. Place them on a cookie sheet and chill them in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Line 3 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Place the cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets (cookies will spread). Bake one sheet at a time for 8 to 10 minutes or just until the cookies are firm and pale golden in color. Keep the remaining cookie sheets chilled till ready to bake the next batch.
Spread the flat side of half the cookies with the jam and then top with remaining cookies to form a sandwich. Once you have paired them and formed little sandwich cookies, roll them in vanilla sugar to coat all over.

Recipe Notes

This recipe is adapted from a wonderful cookbook: Chocolate and Vanilla by Gale Gand

Italian Rainbow Cookies

December 14, 2015 by Marisa 27 Comments

When planning my Christmas baking, these Italian rainbow cookies are one of my very first to make. I bake them two weeks before Christmas as this allows the flavors to mellow and both the raspberry and apricot jams layered between the sponge cakes keeps these dense rainbow cookies moist and packed with flavor.

If you love almond scented cookies then you will adore these little morsels of deliciousness.These rainbow cookies have graced my Christmas cookie tray for many years and have always been one of the first to disappear.

I have always made these cookies with store bought almond paste, however this year I decided to forgo the store bought and made homemade almond paste. It is fairly easy to make, with just a few simple ingredients, a blender and it is far more superior! However if making your own seems somewhat daunting, by all means go for the store bought…whatever works for you is fine.

This almond paste recipe works really well and yields approximately 2 cups, but note that you will only need 1 cup for my rainbow cookies. It is made with a simple syrup which renders the almond paste with a loose like consistency and not as pasty as the the store bought variety. The remaining almond paste can be refrigerated for one month or frozen for up to three months. Or just simply make half of the almond paste recipe.

So lets start baking!!

Once the cookie dough is equally divided, use the 8 to 10 drops as a guideline. You can go as bright or as pale as you like. Just keep adding more drops till you get the desired shade.

When ready to assemble the layers, be sure to have a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper ready. Starting with the green cookie layer, invert onto parchment lined cookie sheet, spread with the raspberry jam, top with white cookie layer,spread with apricot jam and top with pink cookie layer.

Cover with plastic wrap and place another cookie sheet (or heavy flat pan) over to compress the layers together and chill overnight.

Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl, spread evenly over the pink cookie layer and sprinkle generously with chocolate jimmies. Let set.

Once the chocolate is set, trim off the edges with a sharp knife.

When ready to serve, cut 1/2 inch strips across the width and then each strip into 4 pieces.

These rainbow cookies are wonderful any time of the year but are extra special for Christmas and will impress your guests!

Italian Rainbow Cookies

A tri colored sponge cookie with homemade almond paste, layered with both raspberry and apricot jams and spread with melted chocolate.

Course Cookie

Cuisine Italian

Author Marisa

Ingredients

ALMOND PASTE
1 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
1 1/4 cup ground almonds
1 1/4 cup icing sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
COOKIES
1 cup almond paste home made or store bought
1 cup butter softened
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs separated
2 cups all-purpose flour
8-10 drops red food coloring
8-10 drops green food coloring
1/3 cup seedless raspberry jam
1/3 cup apricot jam
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
chocolate sprinkles jimmies

Instructions

Make the Almond Paste: Combine the water, granulated sugar and the corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved and set aside.
Place the almonds and icing sugar in a food processor or a blender and pulse until combined. Gradually add the sugar syrup and the almond extract and pulse again until further combined. Set aside. Yields approximately 2 cups but you will only need 1 cup for the rainbow cookies. (you can use the remaining cup in a different recipe).
Butter three, 13 inch by 9 inch baking pans (or use 1 pan). Line the pans with parchment paper and butter the paper.
Preheat oven to 350*F
In a large bowl, cream together the almond paste, butter, sugar and egg yolks until fluffy and smooth. Stir in the flour.
In a small mixing bowl, beat the egg whites (with clean beaters) until soft peaks form. Fold the beaten egg whites into the dough until it is thoroughly blended.
Divide the dough equally among three small bowls. Color one portion with the red food coloring and one with the green and leave the third portion uncolored. Spread each portion into the prepared pans, smoothing the top with an offset spatula.
Bake in preheated oven for about 10-12 minutes, until the edges are a light golden brown.
Transfer the pans on a cooling rack.
Once cooled, invert the green layer onto a cookie sheet and peel off the parchment paper. Spread the raspberry jam evenly all over. Top with the uncolored layer and spread evenly with the apricot jam. Top with the pink layer and cover with saran wrap. Set a cookie sheet on top to compress the layers together. Refrigerate overnight.
The next day, melt the chocolate in the microwave, in 15 second intervals until melted. Spread the chocolate over the pink layer and set aside to harden. Once the chocolate is set, trim off the edges with a sharp knife.
To serve, cut 1/2 inch strips across the width and then each strip into 4 pieces. Store in airtight container and keep refrigerated.

Recipe Notes

The Almond Paste recipe is adapted from Krystina Castella 's Crazy About Cookies.
Her Almond Paste recipe is made with a simple syrup which gives it a more loose consistency and not as pasty as the store bought variety. Having said that, it works extremely well in the recipe but feel free to use your favorite brand, whichever your most comfortable with. (updated December 18, 2016)

Raspberry Linzer Cookie

February 13, 2015 by Marisa 4 Comments

These classic heart shaped Linzer cookies filled with ruby red raspberry jam make a perfect Valentine’s dessert. With all the flavors of the original Linzertorte and said to be the oldest cake in the world. The Linzertorte, dating back to 1653 from Admont Abbey in Austria, is filled with preserves and has a lattice pattern on top. Who new!!!

These cookies are eye catching, gorgeous, delicious and usually the first snatched up from my platter of cookies.

I find the hazelnuts really compliment the raspberry jam but you can also make them with almonds. Just remember to grind them really fine so that you have no problem pressing the cookie cutter through the dough. You can use any shape and size cookie cutter that you like. I used a 3 inch and a 2 inch heart shaped cookie cutter.

This would make a fun weekend project for the little ones in the house and just as pleasing to the older kids.

Happy Valentine’s Day !!!!

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 egg
2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 cups hazelnuts, toasted and finely ground
2/3 to 3/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
3/4 cup of icing sugar,approximately

To Toast Hazelnuts: Preheat oven to 350*. Place hazelnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast for 10 to 15 minutes until they are fragrant and lightly golden and the skin is blistered. Wrap them in a clean kitchen towel and rub to loosen the skins. It’s ok if you can’t get all the skin removed. Let them cool completely before grinding them in a food processor.

For The Cookies

Preheat oven to 375*

Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl beat butter, sugar and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy.

Add the egg and mix until well combined. Beat in the flour until combined and stir in the nuts.

If your dough is not holding together just knead it gently and you’ll be good to go.

Divide the dough in half keeping one half covered with saran wrap while working with the other so it doesn’t dry out. Lightly flour your workplace and rolling pin. Roll one half of your dough ball to about 1/8 inch thick.

Cut out dough using a 3 inch heart shaped cookie cutter. Use an off-set spatula to pry the cookies off the counter and gently place on your prepared cookie sheets. I place 12 cookies on each pan about 2 inches apart.

On the second pan of cookies use a 2 inch heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out the center.

Keep the small cutouts to re-roll and make more cookies.

Bake in preheated oven for 6 to 8 minutes or until the edges are slightly browned.

Let cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before you transfer on a cooling rack to avoid any breakage.

Repeat with the remaining ball of dough, rolling and cutting out the cookies and re-rolling the small cut out pieces until you have used up all the dough.

When the cookies are cooled, spread some raspberry jam on the “whole” cookie covering almost till the edge.

Sift icing sugar on the cookies with the carved out centers and gently place them over the jam filled cookies.

You can bake these cookies in advance and freeze unassembled cookies in layers separated between wax paper in an airtight container for up to 3 months. When ready to serve just thaw and fill with jam. They keep well at room temperature for up to 3 days.