We often don't think to make cookies in summer, not with so many other good options around (hello ice cream, pies, s'mores and juicy in-season fruit of all kinds to eat straight out of hand). But here, with the ease of using a delicious "hand-made" jam that you didn't spend a hot summer night sweating over, is the perfect specimen. Buttery, chewy, fruity, with an echo of fruit crisp flavour, the perfect cookie for your summer picnics (or to pair with that essential ice cream).
The best flavourings matter more than people think in a cookie like this, where they're really able to shine. Burlap & Barrel's Royal cinnamon is worlds away from what's in most spice jars, and a little goes far in the crumble. Little Pod's vanilla bean paste means actual flecks of vanilla bean running through the dough, not just vanilla flavour standing in for the real thing. Using the good versions here isn't fussy, it's the key to getting a really superior cookie.
Honestly, if you use other jam you'll have to experiment as I can't promise all will work as well, but Kitten & the Bear's jam is perfect here. It's made in small batches in Toronto's west end using traditional confiture methods, just fruit, sugar, and lemon juice, with the lemon juice helping the fruit's own pectin set the jam naturally.
As you shape the cookies, keep the jam contained in the wells you've made for it, and scatter the crumble so it partially covers the jam rather than burying it. Once they're out of the oven, if you want them extra photogenic, loosen them from the parchment while still warm and use a round cookie cutter (or a bowl just slightly larger than the cookie) to spin and "round up" the edges. It's a classic food styling trick sometimes called the cookie scoot, and you can see it here.
And if you don't want to make cookies at all, just buy the jam, good salted butter, and sourdough, and make yourself very happy.
Jam Crumble Cookies
Makes 18-20 cookies
Ingredients:
Cookie Dough
2 1/2 cups (340 g) all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
¾ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
1 cup (225 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar, packed
1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
2 tsp Little Pod natural vanilla bean paste
⅓ cup Kitten & the Bear Sour Cherry & Rhubarb Jam (cold from the fridge)
Oat Crumble Topping:
3 tbsp (35 g) light brown sugar
3 tbsp (42 g) cold unsalted butter, cubed
3 tbsp (15 g) rolled oats
1/3 cup (45 g) all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp Burlap & Barrel Royal Cinnamon
Big pinch of salt
Method:
- Combine flour, baking powder, soda and salt in a small bowl and stir with a fork until combined. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer (or by hand) beat together butter and sugars, then add egg & yolk and vanilla and beat until well combined. Add flour mixture and beat until fully absorbed. Put dough in the fridge for about 20 min to firm up enough to form into balls.
- While dough is chilling, combine ingredients for oat crumble topping in a small bowl and work with your fingers until you have a clumpy mixture. Chill in fridge.
- Heat oven to 375 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Roll dough into 2 tbsp size balls and place about 3-inches apart on baking sheets (don't flatten the balls). Use a finger or the back of a spoon to poke 3 deep holes into the top of each cookie. Use a 1/4 tsp measure to carefully fill the holes with jam, trying to keep all the jam on the top of the cookie, and top each cookie with a few small bits of crumble (in a way that somewhat covers the jam). Bake for 13-14 min or until cookies are golden at the edges and set. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
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