Fruity, sweet and slightly tart, raspberry ribbons are one of our favorite holiday cookies!
Fruity, sweet and slightly tart. I wish I were describing myself, but sadly, it’s only today’s recipe.
In an effort to assemble a variety of flavors in my holiday baking, I wanted to include something with fruit. I’ve found, however, that most recipes turn out a cookie that has a hard, almost leaden dough and only a tiny bit of fruit filling. I wanted a tender cookie, a good dollop of preserves and a little citrus to offset all that sweetness.
Here you go.
These adorable little cookies are miraculously sturdy yet buttery-tender, with a nice hit of raspberry jam. The “tart” comes from the lemon juice in the icing, which is the perfect finish.
They meet all of my “holiday criteria” (although I have not yet tried them with sangria………) and are deceptively simple to make. The dough is a breeze to work with and rolls out easily. You can form the indent with the handle of a wooden spoon, but I use the side of my little finger instead (just as effective and one less utensil to wash).
Don’t aim for perfection here – part of the charm of the cookies is the “Jackson Pollock” effect of the spattered jam and drizzly icing.
Each recipe yields five dozen cookies so there will be plenty to go around – assuming your family doesn’t gobble them all up first (which has been known to happen around here).
Enjoy!
adapted from Martha Stewart Living
2 sticks (1 cup, or 16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (6 ounces) confectioner’s sugar, divided
1 large egg yolk, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups (12 ounces) flour
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon milk
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
Cream the butter and 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar for three minutes. Beat in the yolk and vanilla. Add the flour, a little at a time, and mix until smooth.
Divide the dough into three equal pieces. Using the palms of your hands, roll each piece into a strand the length of your baking sheet. With the side of your little finger, press a groove down the center of the length of each strand. Bake 10 minutes.
While the cookies are baking, make the icing: in a small bowl whisk the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, lemon juice and milk until smooth. Set aside.
Remove the cookies from oven and spoon 1/3 of the jam into the groves of each strand. Return to the oven and bake until lightly golden, 5-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately drizzle the icing down the length of the cookies. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Using a small knife, cut the strands at a 45 degree angle at 1″ intervals.
Let cool completely.
This delicious recipe brought to you by Sheri Silver
https://sherisilver.com/2011/12/05/holiday-baking-raspberry-ribbons/
More (so many more!) cookies can be found on my Pinterest board!
8 Comments
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Hi! I'm Sheri!
Welcome to my little corner of the web where you’ll find easy, delicious recipes, the best kitchen hacks and simple tips for turning your home into a clean haven that is free of toxins. So glad you’re here!
These are my absolute favorite of everything you make! They are unbelievably delicious!!
I was thinking of you as I wrote this! xo
Sheri – Thanks so much for posting! I made these last night and considered locking them up as I couldn’t stop eating them 🙂 Thank you! Thank you!
Thank YOU! So glad you liked them – they are a big favorite amongst our clan too! 🙂
I found this recipe a few days ago and thought it would be perfect for a Christmas party I’m hosting in a couple weeks. I tried a sample batch and LOVED the taste! However, I could NOT get them to stay in one piece for the life of me! I would barely touch them and they would crumble all over the place. What did I do wrong? I’m also wondering, if I just made them as individual cookies, instead of the bars, would they hold together better? Thanks for your help! I’m really hoping I can make these work.
Hmm – sorry about that! I made the “indents” rather shallow so that the base was thick enough to hold the jam and not fall apart. You can also try freezing the dough strips on the baking sheets for about 10 minutes before putting them in the oven, so that they are firmer. Let me know if that helps! I’ve been making these forever and have not had the crumbling issue so hopefully these suggestions will do the trick!
I had the crumbling too. Made my wells were too deep. Delicious though!!!
It’s tempting to make those wells deep but it creates a more fragile cookie – just a shallow indentation will do!