If you love butter cookies like I do, try this very buttery one with jam in the middle! It is an easy recipe with very few ingredients! For the chocoholics I know I add some drizzled chocolate on top. Use whatever preserves or jam you like! I made the ones pictured a little bigger. I used a cookie scoop and that will make 20 cookies, but if you follow the recipe to make 1-inch balls, you will yield 27! Enjoy!

Makes: 27

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup fruit preserves or jam, not jelly,

DIRECTIONS:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• 2. With a mixer, mix together the butter, sugar, and vanilla extract until creamy.
• 3. Add in the flour and salt and mix to form a soft dough.
• 4. With your hands, roll small pieces of the dough into 1-inch balls and put them on the cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
• 5. Use your thumb to make an indent in the center of the ball. Then spread the indent a little wider, keeping a round shape to the cookie. This way you can get in more jam!
• 6. Fill the depressions with jam to the top of the cookie. The jam will sink a little during the baking.
• 7. Bake at 325 degrees for 12-13 minutes until just lightly browned around the edges. Do not over bake!
• 8. Put the cookie sheet on a wire rack and let the cookies cool for 3 minutes still on the cookie sheet, then remove the cookies to the wire rack to cool completely. (Drizzle some melted chocolate on top of the cooled cookies if you’d like!)
• 9. Store the cookies covered on the countertop.