Yield: 16 cookies
Ingredients
Jam
- 1 cup blackberries
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 one-inch pieces of ginger root, peeled
Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
- 1/2 teaspoon finely ground sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
Preparation
Put a small plate in the freezer.
Place the blackberries, sugar and water in a large saucepan. Mash together with a potato masher, and turn on the heat to medium. Add the ginger pieces, and bring to a rolling boil, stirring occasionally.
Boil for eight to 10 minutes, until thick.
Test the jam by spooning some onto the plate from the freezer. After a minute, the jam on the plate should be thick and spreadable. If it’s runny, continue to boil.
Transfer the jam to a heat-safe bowl. Place in the refrigerator to cool completely.
For the cookies, add butter and powdered sugar to the bowl of a mixer; cream on medium-high for about two minutes until smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. Mix in the ginger, salt and vanilla. Add flour a little at a time while mixing on low. Gradually increase speed to medium-high and mix until crumbles transform into cookie dough, about 30 seconds.
Transfer the dough to plastic wrap, and shape into a disk. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to one hour.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Remove the cookie dough from the fridge, and sprinkle flour. Roll to 1/4-inch thickness. Use a 2-inch round cookie cutter to cut 32 cookies.
Place the cookies on two large ungreased, nonstick baking sheets, and bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until firm and the edges just begin to brown.
Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Once the jam and cookies are cool, flip 16 cookies so that the bottom side is facing up. Spread each with an equal amount of jam, about 3/4 of a teaspoon. Place the remaining 16 cookies bottom-down on top of the jam to make sandwiches, and serve.
This article originally appeared in the September/October 2016 issue of Hobby Farms.
