Shortbread Jammers

Recipe from “The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion”

Adapted by The New York Times

Updated March 5, 2025

Shortbread Jammers
Lisa Nicklin for The New York Times
Total Time
45 minutes
Cook Time
35 minutes
Rating
5(1,533)
Comments
Read comments

With a shortbread base, these pretty cookies are akin to a linzer but a whole lot easier to make — people will think you’ve gone through a lot more fuss than you actually have. Use a thick, quality jam or preserve but not jelly, which is too runny. Rice flour in the dough helps keep the cookie very tender, but it's fine to use all-purpose flour in its place. —The New York Times

Featured in: Readers' Holiday Cookies and Recipes

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone
    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.
    Subscribe

  • Print Options

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:16 squares
  • ½pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • ¾cup granulated sugar
  • 1teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2cups all-purpose flour
  • ⅓cup rice flour (all-purpose flour may be substituted)
  • 1cup thick fruit jam, preserves or marmalade
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (16 servings)

210 calories; 12 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 25 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 10 grams sugars; 2 grams protein; 101 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by
Cooking Newsletter illustration

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly butter a 8-by-8-inch baking dish. In the bowl of a standing mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar at medium speed for about 3 minutes. Add the salt and vanilla and continue to beat until well combined. Add the flours and continue to beat until the dough comes together.

  2. Step 2

    Press the dough evenly into the prepared pan, smoothing the surface. Prick it with a fork in about 20 places. Bake for 35 minutes, or until golden around the edges. Slide a dull knife along the edges. Cool for 5 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Carefully turn the slab of shortbread out onto a clean surface. With a knife, trim 1 inch from one of the sides. Crumble the trimmings into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Cut the rest of the shortbread into 16 squares and allow to cool.

  4. Step 4

    Spread a thick layer of jam on each square, and then sprinkle with the crumbs. Layered between plastic wrap or wax paper in an airtight container, the cookies will keep for 3 to 4 days.

Ratings

5 out of 5
1,533 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Comments

Ellie

I found 8 x 8 too small. My shortbread was not cooked through even after 15 extra minutes. I trashed most of the first batch (used the edges for crumbs) and made a second batch in a quarter sheet pan. This worked for me.

Rather than spreading each piece of shortbread with jam, I spread jam on the whole slab after cutting but before separating.

I also made a version where I cut the shortbread into triangles and dipped the long edge in melted chocolate and then the crumbs. Pretty and delicious!

KJH

I made this recipe last week and it called for a 13x9-inch pan. (Hence, the note about the "long side.") I opened the recipe to make the shortbread jammers again today (they were delicious) and noticed that they changed the pan dimensions to 8x8. It seems they neglected to edit the preparation instructions.

Pamela

Can't imagine why the food editors would think this recipe works better in an 8 x 8 pan than in a 9 x 13. Like other commenters, I first tried an 8 x 8 with disastrous results. It was not done even after baking for 50 minutes. In a 9 x 13, it baked perfectly in 35.

Angela C Dobs

Read evey comment because 8 x 8 pan didn't sound correct to me. Which is correct...8x8, 9x9, 9x13....Do I use the recipe as shown in NYT or as shown in the King Arthur original recipe, or do I use 1.5 times or 1.8 times the ingredients. Was the metric shared for the recipe as shown in NYT? Do I listen to advice from 7 years ago, 5 years ago, 3 years ago. I'm just going to pass on this one altogether and use the original King Arthur recipe for shortbread.

Kaitlin R.

This recipe is absolutely phenomenal! I love that you can switch it up with different jams too. I used an 8x8 baking dish and baked the shortbread for exactly 35 minutes at 325 degrees. What makes the recipe is using the Wild Blueberry preserves from Bonne Maman’s and adding a touch of lemon zest on each square with the crumbles. This will be a go-to sweet treat recipe!

Philip D.

These are surprisingly good for such a simple recipe. I followed directions and the end result was perfect. My only edit/comment is that you really only need about 1/2 inch of the shortbread for the crumbles you sprinkle over the finished squares. I tried strawberry and blueberry preserves from Bonne Maman. Both were awesome!

Private comments are only visible to you.

Credits

Adapted from Vanessa Vichit-Vadakan after a recipe in “The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion”

Recipe Tags

Advertisement

or to save this recipe.