Fruity Pillow Cookies

A cookie inside a cookie? Yes please! I didn't say no before, and I certainly wouldn't say no now. Plus these are delightfully colorful, and oh-so fruity. The last time I made cookies with "pillow" in the title was quite an adventure, so I figure these would be the same.

Making and assembling these cookies was pretty fun - a little on the time consuming side, but manageable. The taste is basically that of a sugar cookie - with a little added flavor from the jam, but not overwhelmingly so. If I make this again I might want to punch up that flavor with zest or extract.

Mine just weren't as pretty as the ones I spotted by Sommer at A Spicy Perspective, but I suppose I need to work on my rolling and flattening skills. Yet another thing to add to my to do list!

Tip of the Day:You won't get the sugar to stick to the glass for that first round of cookie flattening without first moistening the glass first. You could use some lemon juice, or even a little water will work fine. You may want to re-dip throughout the process.

Recipe: (from A Spicy Perspective) Makes about 2 dozen cookies

2 sticks (1 cup) butter or margarine, room temperature
1 cup and 1/2 cup sugar, divided
1 egg
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons jam or preserves
Food coloring

Beat together the butter and 1 cup of sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Add in the flour, baking powder and salt and mix until just combined.
Separate out 1/4 of the mixture, about 1/2 a pound (you could measure or just eyeball). Mix the jam in to this portion and tint with food coloring if you desire.
Chill both portions of dough for 30 minutes until firm.
Scoop out a slightly rounded tablespoon of plain dough and flatten in to a round. Top with a teaspoon of fruity dough and pinch up the sides to completely cover the middle, then flip it over so the seam is on the bottom.
Dip a glass in sugar and press down the cookie until flat.
Bake on parchment-paper lined baking sheets at 375F for 10 minutes.