12 Days of Holiday Treats: Holiday Lights Jam Sandwich Cookies

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!

Yield: 12 sandwich cookies

Holiday Lights Jam Sandwich Cookies

Print

Buttery cookies sandwiched with jam!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Chill Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 12 minutes

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

Make the cookies:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. When you are ready to bake, pre-heat the oven to 375˚F (190˚C) and line two baking trays with parchment paper.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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".
8. Place the remaining 12 cookies on the second baking tray. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies are just slightly golden.
9. Remove from the oven, place the trays on wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

Fill the cookies

1. Sprinkle icing sugar over the tops of the cookies with the cutouts using a small metal sieve.
2. Spread 1 1/2 teaspoons jam on the plain cookies nearly to the edges using a butter knife or offset spatula.
3. 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.
   

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

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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• 
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• 
  Ateco 10 Piece Plain Tube Set, Stainless Steel Pastry Tips

did you make this recipe?

please leave a comment or review on the blog or share a photo and tag me on Instagram @eatlivtravwrite !

I love the simplicity of these and they *do* look festive, don’t they?

A pretty way to end the 12 Days of Holiday Treats, don’t you think?

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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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Buy my books! In the French kitchen with kids and French Food for Everyone: le goûter  (after school snacks) and le dîner (dinner) are out now! Click here for details and how to order!

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