Strawberry Jam Cookies

5 from 1 vote

Strawberry Jam Cookies are pretty little cookies with a buttery lemon shortbread cookie base topped with tangy lemon cream cheese frosting and strawberry jam. They're the perfect sweet treat for Valentine's Day, your Christmas cookie platter, or anytime.

Prep Time30

Cook Time12

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 129kcal

Author: Cara Lanz

Ingredients

Lemon Shortbread Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) room temperature
¾ cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ½ cups flour
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup strawberry jam

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 ½ tablespoons lemon zest
1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
3 cups powdered sugar
¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Lemon Shortbread Cookies

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Cream butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Start on low and increase speed to medium-high. Add lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Whip until fluffy and liquid has been incorporated.
Mix in flour and salt on low speed until just combined. With your hands, gather the dough into a ball. Divide it into two portions and pat them into thick discs.
Roll out each portion of dough onto a lightly floured surface or between two sheets of parchment paper to ⅛" thickness. Cut with 2" cookie cutters. Re-roll and cut the scraps.
Place cutouts an inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake 12-14 minutes or until the bottoms turn light golden brown.
Cool on the pan 2-3 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Whip butter and cream cheese at medium-high until smooth and fluffy. Mix in the lemon zest and lemon juice, then the powdered sugar and salt until smooth and creamy.

Assemble the Cookies

With a piping bag and star tip or ziploc bag with the corner snipped off, pipe ½ to ¾ tablespoon frosting into a circle on top of each cookie. Dollop ½ teaspoon of strawberry jam into the center.
Serve or chill until ready to serve. If desired, before serving, sprinkle with lemon zest and dust with powdered sugar. The powdered sugar will eventually dissolve into the jam but remain on the frosting.

Notes

No chill time is needed, however, if the dough is too soft, chill it for 30-60 minutes.
To roll out dough to an even thickness, use rolling pin guides or place two dowels or thin cutting boards on either side of your rolling pin.
For tender, soft cookies, be careful not to overbake. Check the baking time early and bake until the bottom edges of the cookies just start to turn light brown.
If the lemon cream cheese frosting gets too soft during piping, chill it for a few minutes in the refrigerator or freezer. It will firm as it chills.

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