Strawberry Jam Cookies are chewy sugar cookies loaded with swirls of strawberry jam. They are easy to put together and can be made in one bowl for easy cleanup.
Below is the simple but secret trick to get ribbons of delicious strawberry jam on the tops of each of your strawberry sugar cookies.
The dough requires refrigeration because the strawberry jam adds water content to the cookie dough and makes the dough extra soft. Refrigerating firms up the dough and prevents the cookies from spreading too thin while baking.
Another favorite berry dessert of mine is this Raspberry Lemon Loaf Cake studded with fresh strawberries, lemon glaze, and lemon drizzle (super good!) or these Lemon Poppyseed Blueberry Muffins (bright fresh blueberries with lemon zest and poppyseeds). Or for an easy spring cookie bar, try these Mini Egg Bars.
Jump to:
Why You'll Love These Cookies
Swirls of Strawberry Jam: These cookies have delicious swirls of strawberry jam throughout and on top.
Soft & Chewy: These cookies are soft and chewy, not thin or crispy. Using 3 cups of flour balances the water content in the strawberry jam, and prevents the cookies from becoming too thin or crispy.
Like Strawberry Pie: The buttery cookie smells like a buttery pie crust. Combined with strawberry jam, these cookies smell just like strawberry pie fresh out of the oven.
Ingredients
Below are the ingredients needed to make Strawberry Jam Cookies.
- Butter: Softened to room temperature.
- Light Brown Sugar: Use light brown sugar rather than dark brown sugar to keep the cookies lighter in color and to allow the color of the strawberry jam to stand out.
- Granulated sugar: Adds sweetness without impacting the color of the cookies.
- Eggs: Use large eggs.
- Baking powder: To help the cookies rise.
- Baking soda: To help the cookies rise.
- Salt: To allow the butter, vanilla, and strawberry flavors to shine.
- Vanilla Extract: For the vanilla, buttery cookie flavor.
- Flour: Any unbleached all-purpose flour works well.
- Strawberry Jam: I prefer Bonne Maman (red checkered top), but anything works. Make sure that the jam has been refrigerated prior to use, otherwise the jam will be too soft. You'll need to swirl ribbons of jam into the cookie dough without the jam totally dissolving into the dough. If it’s not yet refrigerated, stick the jar in the freezer for a little bit while you make the dough.
To learn more about these cookie ingredients, see my Guide to Cookie Ingredients.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Strawberry Jam Cookies
Below are the step-by-step instructions and photos for how to make Strawberry Jam Cookies.
Note: The recipe card with instructions, ingredient list, and quantities is included further below these step-by-step photos.
Step 1. Combine the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.
Step 2. Add the eggs and combine.
Step 3. Add the baking powder, baking, soda, salt, and vanilla and combine.
Step 4. Add the flour and combine.
Step 5. Add drops of strawberry jam on top of the dough. Stir the jam into the dough 3-4 times keeping ribbons of jam intact and not fully mixed into the dough.
Expert Tip:
When adding the strawberry jam to the dough, do not over-mix. You want to see bright ribbons of jam swirled into the dough. About 3-4 stir rotations of the dough should do it.
The swirls of strawberry jam will begin to melt into the cookies as they bake adding all the sweet strawberry sugar to the cookies.
Step 6. Add about a ¼ teaspoon of strawberry jam to the bottom of a cookie or ice cream scoop. Then scoop up 2 tablespoons of dough and drop the cookie dough on a cookie sheet or on a sheet of wax paper on a plate. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Expert Tip: Adding a small amount of strawberry jam to the bottom of the cookie scoop creates a ribbon of jam on the top of the cookie when you turn the cookie scoop upside down and onto the baking sheet.
This is an easy way to ensure a bright ribbon of jam on the top of each cookie.
Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
Step 7. Preheat the oven to 350℉. Add the baking sheet directly from the fridge to the oven. Bake for 11-12 minutes.
When you remove the cookies from the oven, allow them to cool for about 2 minutes. Then with a stiff, firm spatula, firmly but carefully remove each cookie to a flat plate to fully cool. Do not move to a drying rack. The cookies will be too soft and will sink through the drying rack.
It is important to remove the cookies from the baking sheet prior to them fully cooling. Otherwise, any jam that dripped onto the baking sheet will harden on the baking sheet. This will make it much harder to remove the cookies.
Storing the Cookies
These cookies will last 1-2 days wrapped in plastic or in a plastic container on the counter. Because they are made with strawberry jam, the earlier they are eaten the better.
Strawberry Jam Cookie FAQs
In this recipe, you cannot substitute fresh strawberries for strawberry jam. Fresh strawberries have a much higher water content than strawberry jam which would impact the texture and consistency of the cookies.
To prevent the cookies from spreading too much, refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours up to overnight.
You can use any kind of jam that you like. A few variations that would be great: raspberry jam, blueberry jam, and mixed berry jam.
Yes, it is helpful to refrigerate cookies made with jam prior to baking. The extra water content and sugar in the jam causes the cookies to spread more than typical and refrigerating the cookies helps them to keep their shape when baking.
If you're looking for other strawberry or cookie recipes, you may love these:
If you tried this Strawberry Jam Cookies Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Strawberry Jam Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar *see note
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (420 grams)
- ⅓ cup strawberry jam + additional for topping the cookies
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine the softened butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Add the eggs and combine. Add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and vanilla and combine. Add the flour and combine.
- Drop small spoonful’s of strawberry jam on top of the cookie dough. Very gently stir, about 3-4 times to incorporate the jam. You want to leave large ribbons of jam throughout the dough, leaving visible drops of jam in places.
- Add about a ¼ teaspoon of strawberry jam to the bottom of a cookie or ice cream scoop. Then scoop up 2 tablespoons of dough and drop the cookie dough on a cookie sheet or sheet of wax paper on a plate.Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉.
- Wait until the oven is preheated, then remove the cookies from the fridge. Arrange on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 11-12 minutes or until the cookies start to brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool for 2 minutes, then remove from the baking sheet before they are fully cool. This prevents the jam from hardening on the baking sheet. Add to a flat plate, not a drying rack and allow to fully cool.
Veronica says
I wanted to love these cookies but they are too soft. The texture is not a chewy cookie. It's gooey and feels under cooked. I suggest adding more flower and baking a little longer than the recipe suggests.
Lauren says
Hi Veronica, Thanks so much for your feedback and suggestion! I'm sorry the cookies turned out too soft. I updated the recipe to include the amount of flour in grams, which hopefully helps to clarify the exact amount of flour needed for the cookies to prevent the cookies from being too soft. Thanks again for your note!