These buttery Swiss sandwich cookies with jam are made with a blend of all purpose flour and almond flour to keep them extra soft, while lemon zest, cinnamon, and almond extract add bright, cozy flavor. Then they get sandwiched with strawberry jam and topped with powdered sugar for a festive holiday cookie.
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"I'm prepping my list of christmas cookies and am so happy I found these! These will be perfect for my cookie boxes!!" -Kaylah
The Jam Sandwich Cookies I Make Every Christmas!
Growing up in Germany, Christmas markets meant wandering from stall to stall with a paper bag of powdered-sugar-coated cookies just like these. I've been chasing that memory ever since, and this recipe is my way of bringing the Weihnachtsmarkt home.
Traditional Spitzbuben call for almond flour, and while some modern recipes skip it, I think it's necessary to keep these cookies tender and moist instead of turning dry and crumbly. Which especially matters here since they bake in just five minutes, and can go from soft to crisp fast! I also add almond extract (which isn't traditional) to make that nutty flavor unmistakable rather than just sitting in the background.
Lemon zest and cinnamon are fairly standard in Spitzbuben dough, but I add nutmeg and clove as well, so the spice is layered and cozy instead of one-note. It's a small addition, but it's what makes these taste like the Christmas markets I remember rather than a generic holiday cookie.
The construction stays classic with two soft, buttery shortbread cookies cut into stars, circles, or snowflakes, sandwiched with strawberry jam (or your favorite fruit jam, as long as it's smooth and chunk-free so the cookies sit flat). Finish them with a heavy dusting of powdered sugar, and you'll have one of the prettiest cookies to share at the holidays!
If you love the cookie-jam combo here, my Linzer raspberry cookies are another European sandwich cookie worth trying, made with the same AP flour and almond flour base. And if you want those same cozy flavors with half the effort, my jam thumbprint cookies skip the sandwiching and cookie cutters altogether.
Let's Make Sandwich Jam Cookies Together!
1. Beat the butter until it's light and creamy.
2. Add the sugar and beat until it's fluffy.
3. Mix in the egg, almond extract & lemon zest.
5. Press the dough into discs & chill in the fridge.
7. Cut out shapes from the dough.
9. Dust cookies with the centers cut out with powdered sugar, then spread jam on each of the cookies with the centers intact (so the jam doesn't get cloudy).
4. Add all purpose flour, almond flour, salt, and spices.
6. Roll out the dough to about ⅛ inch thickness.
8. Chill again then bake until golden.
10. Gently press the powdered sugar-covered cookies with the center cut out on top of the jam-coated cookies to form your delicious cookie sandwiches!
Carissa's Kitchen Tip
I highly recommend to bake your cookies in batches, to keep the dough cold and firm.
As I'm rolling out one disc of dough and cutting out the cookies, the other is chilling in the fridge.
And while the cut cookies are chilling a second time, I'll roll out the second dough disc.
My Testing Tips for Cut-Out Sandwich Cookies
- Most Spitzbuben recipes skip a crucial detail: chill time. After testing this dough countless times, I've found two sets of chill time for the dough prevents them from spreading and losing their shape. They really need at least an hour in the fridge to get firm enough to roll without adding extra flour, which is what keeps the cookies tender instead of tough. Then chill them after cutting out your shapes, to ensure the butter in the dough is solid when it hits the oven.
- If you don't have cookie cutters, you can use the rim of a drinking glass to cut out circle cookies. Then use the wide edge of a piping nozzle or a paring knife to cut out a circle in the center of half the cookies.
- This dough can get soft & sticky if it gets warm, due to the high amount of butter. If it starts sticking to the counter, pop it back in the fridge for 15 minutes to firm up. This is the lifesaver that I rely on to avoid the butter leaking out of the dough and onto the pan in the oven.
Spitzbuben | Swiss Strawberry Jam Cookies
developed & tested by:
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature (2 sticks)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 Tablespoon lemon zest (from one whole medium lemon)
- 2½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup blanched almond flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt (use table salt or fine sea salt)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 10 ounces strawberry jam
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to beat the softened butter until it's light and fluffy, after about 1 minute.
- Add the granulated sugar and beat again until it's fluffy and pale yellow, after about 1 minute.
- Add the egg, almond extract, and lemon zest and mix until it's combined.
- Add the all purpose flour, almond flour, salt, and spices. Mix with a large spoon until it forms a thick cookie dough.
- Separate the dough in half and press it into two even-sized discs. Wrap each individually in plastic cling wrap, and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour until it's firm, or up to 3 days.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.Working in batches, take one dough disc out of the fridge and unwrap it from the plastic wrap. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to about ⅛-inch thickness.
- Use a round, star, heart, or fluted cookie cutter to cut out the cookie shapes. Use a smaller cookie cutter or a paring knife to cut out a small shape in the center of half of the circles of dough.Use a thin spatula to gently transfer the cookies onto your prepared baking sheet, spread out at least ½ inch apart.
- Chill the cookies in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, to ensure the butter is cold and firm before they go in the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the cookies just until the edges turn golden, for about 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the baked cookies to a cooling rack and allow to cool to room temperature.While the first batch of cookies bakes, roll out and cut circles of the other disc of dough and chill them. Bake them once the first batch of cookies comes out of the oven.
- Dust the cookies with the centers cut out with powdered sugar. Spread about one tablespoon of strawberry jam on each of the cookies without the center cut out. Gently press the powdered sugar-covered cookies with the center cut out on top of the jam to form cookie sandwiches. Enjoy!!
Notes
- Space-Saving Tip: If your baking sheet doesn't fit it your fridge, put your cookies on the parchment paper then place them in the fridge on something smaller and flat, like a cutting board.
- Jam: You can swap in your favorite jam (lingonberry, apricot, and raspberry are my favorite variations). Just make sure it's smooth and not chunky, otherwise the cookies won't lay flat when you sandwich them together.
- Storing: Store assembled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Separate layers of stacked cookies with parchment paper or wax paper.
- Make-Ahead: You can make the cookie dough ahead of time and freeze it for up to 3 months. And you can also freeze baked, unassembled cookies. Let them thaw at room temp, then assemble with jam.
Nutrition
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Lina says
Perfect for the holidays!!
Carissa Erzen says
Thanks, Lina! I agree! 🙂
kaylah says
I'm prepping my list of christmas cookies and am so happy I found these! These will be perfect for my cookie boxes!!
Carissa Erzen says
Yay! These will be PERFECT for your christmas cookie box!!
Lina says
These would be perfect for christmas, great photos!
Carissa Erzen says
Thanks, Lina! I had a lot of fun shooting these photos 🙂