Apple Cranberry Homemade Jam Cookies

5 from 1 vote

Apple Cranberry Homemade Jam Cookies

Jam is easy to make, and so are the cookies. You do need to leave the cookie dough in the refrigerator for an hour before baking the cookies.

Prep Time35

Total Bake Time33

Chill1

Total Time2 8

Course: Cookies, Holiday, No-Eggs

Cuisine: American

Difficulty: Medium

Servings: cookies

Calories: 181kcal

Ingredients

APPLE CRANBERRY HOMEMADE JAM

1 Granny Smith apple makes about 2 cups of peeled and diced apple
1 cup Fresh cranberries
1 ¼ cup Sugar white
¼ cup Water
1 teaspoon Holiday spice blend*
1 tablespoon Lemon juice
1 tablespoon Lemon zest

COOKIE DOUGH

8 oz Cream Cheese softened
1 cup Butter unsalted 2 sticks room temperature
1 cup Sugar white 198 g
2 ½ cups All-purpose flour 300 g
Powdered sugar Sprinkle on top

Instructions

APPLE CRANBERRY HOMEMADE JAM

Peel and dice the Granny smith apple and diced it pretty small. These pieces will need to go into a well in the center of the cookie. Zest and juice 1 lemon into 2 bowls and set aside.
In a medium-size saucepan, add the cranberries, diced apple pieces, water, and sugar, bringing the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Don't worry about the size of the whole cranberries. They will pop open and become small. Stir constantly for about 10 minutes till the cranberries open, and the apple pieces soften. Add the lemon zest and juice plus the holiday spice blend. Stir and cook until it starts to thicken and become syrupy. Transfer to glass containers to cool. This recipe for the jam will make 2 batches of these cookies. I have 4 small canning jars that I put mine into to cool. I use 2 for this recipe and can make another batch to use the other two later.

COOKIE DOUGH

Weigh or measure the flour and sugar into two separate bowls and set them aside. In a stand or handheld mixer, add the cream cheese and butter, blending on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the sugar and blend till it looks like a thick cake batter (about 2 minutes). It will look smooth. Stop and scrape down the sides and the bottom of the mixing bowl and blend for another 30 seconds. Turn the mixer onto low speed and gradually add the flour till incorporated. Cover loosely and refrigerate for an hour.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C or 180°C), and line 2 cookie sheet pans with parchment paper. For these cookies, I use a medium cookie scoop. Take the cookie dough scoop, make a ball using your hands, and place it on the cookie sheet. I get 12 balls to a sheet pan.
Taking your thumb and pushing down right through the middle of the dough ball to make a well. I move my thumb around in a circular motion, so the well opens up some to accommodate more of the jam. Fill the well with the jam. I use a teaspoon to push the jam off the spoon easier than using a measuring spoon.
Bake for 11 - 13 minutes until they are light brown on the bottom. Move them to a cooling rack and let them cool completely. I take a powdered sugar shaker and sprinkle the sugar on top. This recipe makes about 2-½ dozen. Enjoy the cookies!

Notes

* The holiday blend I used was the Cinnamon Plus by Pampered Chef. You can make your own depending on what spices you add together. Usually, it is cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and more. It does not have to be all them just what you like. Pampered Chef added orange peel in theirs, and that sounded really good to me. Just had to try it...

Nutrition