It’s Christmas cookie season and I’m all about this life. I love Christmas cookies, and wanted to punch up a spin on a classic cookie. This is a riff on a jam thumbprint cookie, but with a bit more vegan butter, and a crunchy spiced streusel topping. These vegan jam shortbread cookies are highly addictive, so make at your own caution.
Shortbread
I mean, there is nothing crazy going on here. This is a classic eggless shortbread cookie that I veganized. So use your favorite vegan butter for this! Don’t skimp, as it is the main flavor. I will be honest, I am not well versed in shortbreads, so when I first mixed up this recipe I thought I included too much flour. I was trying to follow a 2-1-3 ratio. Immediately, I sent a text to my friend who is the shortbread queen, and she re-assured me that shortbread will be sandy and clumpy! So if yours also comes out like that, don’t worry. As long as your shortbread comes together when you squeeze it together in your hands, it will be perfect.
Streusel Topping
This is where the twist on the jam thumbprint comes in. I wanted to add in a crunch that did not include nuts. I don’t know why, I never cared for nuts on a jam thumbprint (sue me) but wanted a little texture still. So, I created a streusel topping with a hint of spice. You can omit the spice if you don’t want any!
The only issue I was having while creating this recipe was the shortbread and streusel spreading when baking them free form. So in came the muffin tin. The muffin tin helps these vegan jam shortbread cookies retain their shape, and get a nice crisp cookie. You also end up with clean edges, that make for a visually appealing cookie. I also think it is easier to make these cookies. You can just press them into the wells of the muffin tin, rather than rolling them out and cutting them! As for jam, just use your favorite, I used strawberry jam as I thought it looked festive!
Vegan Jam Shortbread Cookies
- V
- VG
- DF
Nutrition per portion
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226g) Room Temperature Unsalted Vegan Butter Cubed
- ⅔ cup (134g) Sugar
- 2 cups (284g) All Purpose Flour
- ½ tsp (3g) Kosher Salt
- 1 tsp (4g) Vanilla Extract
- Streusel Topping
- ¾ cup (112g) All Purpose Flour
- 5 tbsp (70g) Chilled Unsalted Vegan Butter Cubed
- 2 tbsp (30g) Sugar
- 2 tbsp (32g) Light Brown Sugar
- ¼ tsp Kosher Salt
- ¼ tsp Cardamom or Your Favorite Spice (like cinnamon, but also may omit!)
- Jar of your favorite fruit jam or preserves
Method
Make the Shortbread- In a large bowl, add the cubed room temperature vegan butter and sugar. Mix with a hand-mixer on medium for 1 minute until combined.
- Add in the vanilla and continue mixing with the hand-mixer on medium high for 2-3 minutes until the mixture is fluffy.
- Sift the flour into a medium bowl and add in the salt. Then add the flour into the butter sugar mixture and mix on low speed until all flour is incorporated. The dough will be sandy, but should clump together when you squeeze some in your hand.
- Shape the dough into two discs and wrap each in plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator for 2 hours, or up to overnight.
- In a bowl, add the flour, sugars, salt and cardamom and give a whisk. Add the vegan butter into the bowl and coat each piece of butter with the flour sugar mixture.
- Working piece by piece use your index finer and thumb to smoosh each piece of butter into the mixture. Keep breaking down each piece of butter until your mixture looks mostly sandy with a few pea sized pieces. You can also do this with a pastry blender.
- Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, or up to overnight.
- Preheat your oven to 350°. Lightly grease the muffin tin with spray oil. If you are worried about them sticking because of the type of muffin tin you have (non-stick), add little parchment circles to the bottom of each well.
- Take 2 teaspoons of the shortbread dough and place in each well of the muffin tin. Press down the dough until mostly even in height. You are looking for about 1/4 inch of dough in the bottom of each well. Depending on the size of your muffin tin you might need more or less dough in each well.
- On top of each shortbread, take about a heaping teaspoon of streusel and add to the top, trying to leave a well in the middle to place the jam.
- Top each shortbread with about a half teaspoon of jam in the middle. Place the muffin tin in the fridge for 20 minutes.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan in the oven to get even browning. Continue cooking for an additional 10-14 minutes until the edges of the streusel are nicely browned.
- Remove the muffin tin from the oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes. Then run a sharp knife along the edges of each cookie to help release. Carefully take each cookie out and let them cool further on a rack.
- Repeat the above assemble steps until all cookies have been made!
