Fixin' Leaks and Leeks

Blizzards of powdered sugar are in the forecast, and I suspect that a chef’s apron will be useless against the onslaught. So I’m donning a ski suit to breeze past gum drop forests and slide across buttered Bundt pans to land face first in a cookie jar.

The first rule of landing face first in a cookie jar with minimal injury to the face, head, and neck is to make sure the cookie jar is filled to the top, preferably with cookies. That’s why, this year, the Fixin’ Leaks and Leeks Team will fill this blog with cookie recipes once a week as a kind of countdown to Christmas, just so that face-planting into jars of cookies, or cake, or what have you, is just as merry and bright as it could ever be.

This week, I’m trying a jam-filled jewel of a cookie. Basically, it’s a sugar cookie with jam that peeks out from inside, which is kind of scary, if you think about it: a cookie that wants you to see its insides—like it’s wearing a trench coat of sugar cookie dough, and then Bam! You see its jelly.

However, based on ancient manuscripts that have only recently become available, thanks to the power of imagination, the jam-filled cookie made its debut in a kingdom far, far away. Royal jam makers made too much jam, so the king ordered everyone in the kingdom to put jam on everything, or they would lose their heads. Soon, the countryside was swarming with goats and cattle smeared with jelly. People would slather jelly on their feet before going hunting or leaving the house. Soon, everything and everyone was covered in flies, until the royal chefs baked cookies and put jam in the middle. The king was pleased, but he didn’t like surprises. “What kind of jam’s inside?” he’d ask, and the royal chefs became so annoyed that they’d just cut a hole in the top part of the cookie, so the king would see exactly what he was getting. The End.

Now that the history of jam-filled cookies has been thoroughly and accurately explained (Actually, you can learn more from the What’s Cooking America website here (Linzer Torte History) and here (Raspberry Linzer Cookie Recipe)), let’s get started on the recipe.

This jam-filled cookie that I made is not a traditional Linzer cookie recipe from Austria (see links above). I simply used my favorite sugar cookie recipe (or you can buy sugar cookie dough), cut it into shapes, baked them, and made peek-a-boo sandwiches with good quality jam in the middle.

Results: If you enjoy sweet and crispy sugar cookies with just a jolly tang of cherry-orange zesty jam, then you’re in for a treat. Line the edges of a cookie jar with cushioning and dive in, face-first, knowing exactly what’s waiting for you inside, because the results are revealing.

Your Turn: Do you like jam-filled pastries, such as cookies, cakes, and doughnuts? Do you like surprises? Discuss!