Scroll to the bottom of the post to get ALL the “12 Days” recipes from 2019, 2020, and 2021!
Welcome to Day 12 of
The Twelve Days of Holiday Treats!
Once again, this year, from December 1st-12th I’ll post a new holiday treat recipe every day – inspiration for your holiday entertaining!
The recipes I’m sharing are small-er batch (as many of us will still be attending/ hosting smaller gatherings) – each recipe makes 1-dozen or a few more smaller-sized treats that are simple to prepare and that use everyday ingredients and equipment so hopefully you’ll be able to whip up any of these on a whim. Check out the treats from 2019, 2020 and 2021 at the bottom of this post too for more inspiration!
Today it’s a take on the classic French goûter snack, “lunette” cookies! Here’s what they typically look like – ovals with two cutouts:
I was making these with a class a while ago and one of the students punched more holes in the top cookies than the traditional two (to make the “glasses” which the word “lunettes” means) and I noticed they looked a little bit like holiday lights with the pops of jam poking through so I figured why not re-invent this recipe using a cookie cutter that more people can find (the oval one isn’t always easy to get your hands on).
I also happen to have a LOT of mini jams on hand from the Bonne Maman Advent Calendar so this is a perfect recipe for right now!
Holiday Lights Jam Sandwich Cookies
Buttery cookies sandwiched with jam!
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 3/4 cup (113g/ 4oz) all-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoons (85g/ 3oz) salted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
- 1/4 cup (50g/ 1.75oz) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/2 teaspoon (5ml) pure vanilla extract
For filling and assembly:
- Icing sugar
- Jam of your choice
Instructions
- Pulse the flour, butter and sugar in a food processor fitted with a metal blade until the butter is evenly "cut in" and the mixture looks like coarse sand.
- Add the egg yolk and vanilla and pulse until the mixture clumps together around the edges of the bowl of the processor. This might take longer than you think but keep pulsing! The machine will sound different at this stage, too (like it’s working harder!). If you squeeze together some of the dough with your fingertips, it should stick together.
- Tip the dough into a small bowl and bring it together to form a ball with your hands. Flatten the ball slightly into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes.
- When you are ready to bake, pre-heat the oven to 375˚F (190˚C) and line two baking trays with parchment paper.
- On a floured surface or on floured parchment paper, roll the dough until you can cut out about 18 cookies using a 5cm (2.5 inch) round cookie cutter. For reference, the dough should be about 5mm (1/5 inch) thick. This is quite thin.
- Re-roll the leftover dough and cut out about 6 more cookies. You may need to refrigerate the rolled-out dough on a baking tray for about 5 minutes before cutting.
- Place 12 cookies on one baking tray. Use the small end of a plain piping tip 1cm (2cm/ 1/2 inch) in diameter to cut out a few rounds in the centre of each of the 12 cookies to make the "lights".
- Place the remaining 12 cookies on the second baking tray. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies are just slightly golden.
- Remove from the oven, place the trays on wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
- Sprinkle icing sugar over the tops of the cookies with the cutouts using a small metal sieve.
- Spread 1 1/2 teaspoons jam on the plain cookies nearly to the edges using a butter knife or offset spatula.
- Place the icing sugar-dusted cut-out cookies on top of the jam-topped cookies. Gently press down until the jam just rises to the edge of the cookie cutout.
Make the cookies:
Fill the cookies
Notes
Store in the fridge (with layers of parchment or wax paper between each layer if you are stacking them) to allow the jam to set slightly. Bring to room temperature for a few minutes before serving.
Recommended Products
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A pretty way to end the 12 Days of Holiday Treats, don’t you think?
Baking up a storm this holiday season?
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Check out the rest of 2022’s 12 Days of Holiday Treats:
Day 1: Chocolate Peppermint Creme Cups
Day 2: Chocolate-Dipped Wafer Cookies
Day 3: Gingerbread madeleines
Day 4: Funfetti Cookies
Day 5: Chocolate Sugar Cookies
Day 6: Coffee Financiers
Day 7: No-Bake Strawbery Cheesecake Cups
Day 8: Holiday Joys
Day 9: Holiday Spice Marmalade
Day 10: Soft Molasses Cookies
Day 11: Coconut Roughs
Check out 2021’s 12 Days of Holiday Treats:
Day 1: Speculoos financiers
Day 2: Chocolate Dipped Orange Sugar Cookies
Day 3: Madeleines à la Clémentine
Day 4: Chocolate Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies
Day 5: Sunbutter and Jam Chocolate Cups
Day 6: Hot Chocolate and Marshmallow Cookies
Day 7: Linzer Cookies
Day 8: Chocolate-Hazelnut Sandwich Cookies
Day 9: Choc-Mint Thumbprint Cookies
Day 10: Pailles (Puff Pastry and Jam Cookies)
Day 11: Strawberry Santa Hats
Day 12: Mulled Wine Jam
Check out 2020’s 12 Days of Holiday Treats:
Day 1: Rice Krispie Wreaths
Day 2: Cranberry Cheesecake Bars
Day 3: Peppermint Bark
Day 4: Orangettes
Day 5: Rocky Road Chocolate Crackle Slice
Day 6: Candy Cane Sugar Cookies
Day 7: Orange Pim’s
Day 8: Mendiants
Day 9: Chewy Chocolate Mint Crackle Cookies
Day 10: Apricot, Coconut and Cranberry “truffles”
Day 11: Chocolate, Cherry and Almond Brownies
Day 12: Peppermint Hot Chocolate
Check out 2019’s 12 Days of Holiday Cookies:
Day 1: Easy Three Ingredient Shortbread
Day 2: Jam Drops
Day 3: Chocolate Caramel Slice
Day 4: Melting Moments
Day 5: White Christmas
Day 6: Langues de Chat
Day 7: Chocolate Coconut Slice
Day 8: Cornflake Biscuits
Day 9: Rocky Road
Day 10: Honey Joys
Day 11: Rum Ball Truffles
Day 12: Giant Florentine Cookie (to share)
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