Welcome to Day 5 of the 12 Days of Cookies!! So far we have been enjoying the cookies we have been making. Some recipes were gifted or shared with us and those are always the best because you know those recipes will be delicious!
We enjoyed making these Newfoundland Jam Jams!! They are perfect for Christmas, but are really good any time of the year.
When I was a kid, I always enjoyed a Purity jam jam cookie at my gramma’s house. Gramma always had a package of Jam Jams! They were one of my favorites! It’s a soft, chewy molasses cake-like cookie sandwich with a jam filling — so delicious!! They’re such a great snack with a cold glass of milk!
Sometimes these cookies have a hole in the centre, showcasing the jam and sometimes not. The ones I grew up with made by the Purity factory had no hole in the centre. Recipes for these scrumptious cookies appeared in community cookbooks in the 1930’s and often filled with partridgeberry jam or raspberry jam. Typically jam jams are filled with apple.
The Purity factory is located in St. John’s, Newfoundland and this cookie was made popular by Purity in the 1950’s. It’s a well-loved cookie on the East coast and Maritimes, but they also are a favorite in the prairies — probably why I grew up eating them all the time here in Alberta!
Of course homemade is always best and we enjoy these yummy cookies with a raspberry filling! We made some with holes and some without. We took the holes we cut and we baked them up to make mini jam jams. Plus the cookie is so delicious, we just munch on the mini cookies plain! It’s so hard to not eat them all!!
We have to make the dough, roll it out, cut it and bake it and then fill it with jam. There’s a few steps, so let’s get started!
My daughter started creaming the butter and sugar together until creamy with a wooden spoon. That’s her favorite part! Of course I was eager to get baking that I missed taking photos of that step, but I think it is safe to say most of us know how to cream butter and sugar together! We rarely use electric mixers unless its absolutely needed, like for fluffy buttercreams, merigues or marshmallows, otherwise, we always mix by hand.
Once the butter and sugar is creamed until light and fluffy, add molasses. I really like that there is no egg in this recipe!
I have been using Crosby’s molasses for over 20 years, and it was always the molasses my mom and my gramma used ever since I was a kid. Crosby’s actually began importing fancy molasses from the Caribbean in 1879 and was located in Nova Scotia. Crosby’s, a family business, moved to New Brunswick in 1897 and then to a larger plant in 1911 where they are still located today which I find absolutely fascinating! It’s the only molasses I use!
Once the molasses is mixed into the butter and sugar, it is time to add the vanilla.
Next, I add salt and cinnamon. Watkins cinnamon is one of our favorites. I like the taste and quality of cinnamon and have been using Watkins for many years!
J.R. Watkins first started out as making and selling medicinal products with Dr. Wards’ liniment being the first in 1868 which he paid $100 for the rights to the recipe, and he obtained the patent for it in 1869. In 1895 J.R. Watkins introduced vanilla extract, black pepper and cinnamon. Watkins vanilla and spices won the gold medal for highest quality in Paris in 1928. I found it interesting that the Watkins company remained in the family for 110 years until it was sold in 1978 but still operates as Watkins today, 155 years later. I like that Watkins still takes pride in quality and I have many favorites.
Add some flour, and stir well.
Mix baking soda in warm water and add to dough. Stir well.
Add another cup of flour and stir. I usually add flour in increments to this type of dough so I do not add too much. Too much flour will make the dough crumbly.
Add flour until dough is stiff and not sticky. You should be able to touch the dough without it sticking to your hands. If dough seems a bit too sticky, add a sprinkle of flour.
Flour counter and dough and roll out. I did not roll it too thin so it would not overbake in the oven and remain soft. Place on cookie sheets. Re-roll the dough and continue until all of the dough is gone.
If you would like to cut out a centre, use a smaller cookie cutter to do so. Be sure you have an equal amount of tops and bottoms!
Bake at 350F for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly golden.
Remove to cooling racks and let cool slightly. The cookies should still be warm when jam is added but not hot or the jam will melt. I placed about 1 teaspoon of jam on the bottom cookie, spread to edges and then placed the top cookie on. Continue until all cookies are done.
Here are the centres we cut out. We used up the last bit of dough and got a cookie sheet full of mini cookies. They are just so cute! We put small holes in by using a chopstick. Bake about 5 minutes. Let cool slightly before putting jam in.
Store cookies in an airtight container overnight. The cookies will become soft like a jam jam is supposed to be.
Since I left my dough a bit thicker, the jam jams were quite soft with the edges being slightly crunchy. We could not help but to try a few once we were done making them. They are oh so delicious… just like I remember them to be!
Are these mini cookies just not the cutest!?! They would be perfect for a tea party or even an elf snack! Next time, I just might make a bunch more!
Like I said earlier, I ate these delicious cookies since I was a kid and had no idea that these old fashioned cookies were from the Maritimes! I learned that a lot of Newfoundland Nan’s had an assortment of recipes for these delicious jam jams!
Do you have a jam jam recipe to share? I’d love to have it! Share a story with me about your jam jam recipe and I will feature it on my blog! I love recipe shares!
12 Days of Cookies… Day 5 — Newfoundland Jam Jams
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp baking soda dissolved in 4 tbsp hot water
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3-1/2 to 3-3/4 cups flour
Seedless raspberry jam
Cream butter, sugar, molasses and vanilla together. Add baking soda water and mix well. Add flour, cinnamon and salt. Add enough flour to make a stiff dough. It should roll easily. Roll on floured counter.
Cut into desired shape. I used a 2″ round cookie cutter. Cut another hole in the centre of half the cookies to see the jam, but you don’t have to do this part. Place on cookie sheet.
Bake at 350F for 5 to 8 minutes. Don’t overcook or burn.
While still warm, place jam on one cookie and sandwich the cookies together.
Let cookies cool completely. Store in an airtight container. Leave overnight. The cookies will soften and become a jam-jam cookie.
Would you like to share a jam jam recipe? I’d love to have it! Share a story with me about your jam jam recipe along with the recipe and a few photos, and I will feature it on my blog! I love recipe shares!
enjoy from Our City Homestead to yours