Beurre And Sel Jammers

In a couple of hours time here in Singapore, it will be the last day of 2015..... I guess this post will be my last for the year.... And let me end the year with a post on my attempt at baking these yummy beauties.. They are called jammers and used to be sold at a cookie boutique ran by the amazingly talented Dorie Greenspan and her son in New York City. Unfortunately, the stall, Beurre and Sel, has since been closed.. No worries since Greenspan has kindly shared the recipe, so we get to taste them. That's a good thing. 

Before I leave you with the pictures and recipe, I would like to thank you for dropping by here... For those who have attempted the recipes from this blog, thank you for the trust and feedback.. As far as baking, cooking and blogging are concern, it has been a good year for me... I hope I'll be able to maintain the stamina to carry on sharing more great recipes with you. Happy New Year and may 2016 brings more joy and happiness for all of us! Muahh!

Beurre And Sel Jammers

COOKIE DOUGH

Ingredients:

125g unsalted butter, room temperature
56g caster sugar
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 large egg yolk, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
138g all-purpose flour

Method:

1. Using an electric mixer at medium speed, beat butter in a large bowl until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add sugar and salt, beat until well blended, about 1 minute. Reduce speed to low, beat in egg yolk and vanilla. Add flour and mix just to combine. Dough will be soft and sticky. 
2. Place dough between sheets of parchment or waxed paper. Flatten dough into a disk. Roll out dough, occasionally lifting paper on both sides for easy rolling, until 1/4 inches thick. Freeze dough in paper until firm, at least 2 hours.
3. DO AHEAD: Dough can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and keep frozen. 

STREUSEL

Ingredients:

50g all-purpose flour
35g caster sugar
1/8 tsp fine sea salt
40g chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup thick jam, such as lingonberry, apricot, orange marmalade, and blackberry (I used homemade strawberry compote. Refer to recipe below.)

Method:

1. Mix flour, sugar, and salt in a small mixing bowl. Using your fingertips, rub butter and vanilla into dry ingredients until no large lumps remain and butter is well incorporated. Streusel will be sandy and hold its shape when pressed between your fingers. Cover and chill. 
2. DO AHEAD: Streusel can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.

ASSEMBLY

1. Arrange a rack in middle of oven. Preheat to 180°C. 
2. Using cookie cutter, cut out rounds of frozen dough from freezer. Place rounds in bottom of muffin cups and gently pat to flatten. (I had to dap my finger with flour as the dough was quite sticky.) Continue cutting frozen dough into rounds; gather scraps and repeat process of rolling out, cutting and patting. Cover muffin tins with foil and chill in freezer until dough is firm, about 30 minutes or up to 2 days. 
3. Spoon about 1 teaspoon jam into the center of each round of dough. Using your fingers or a small spoon, sprinkle 1-1 1/2 tablespoons streusel around edges of each cookie, trying not to get any in the jam. 
4. Bake cookies, in batches if needed, until sides and streusel are golden, 20-22 minutes. Let cool in tins for 15 minutes. Run a small knife around edges of muffin cups; gently remove cookies and let cool completely on a wire rack. 
5. DO AHEAD: Cookies can be baked 2 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature .

Adapted from recipe by Dorie Greenspan.
Source: Bon Appétit.

STRAWBERRY COMPOTE

Ingredients:
500g ripe strawberry, hulled
4 tbsp caster sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
few drops balsamic vinegar (optional) - I didn't add.

Method:

1. Cut the strawberries in half or in quarters if large, and put in a pan with the sugar and lemon juice. 
2. Heat gently until the sugar dissolves, then bring to a simmer. Cover the pan and cook the strawberries for 3 mins or until dark red and syrupy. 
3. Cool, then add the balsamic vinegar, if using. The compote can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Recipe by BBCgoodfood.

Notes & modifications:

1. The above jammers recipe is half the original recipe and I converted it into metric measurement. I used mini muffin pans and the recipe yielded about 18 pieces. The jammers turned out too big to my liking. In future, I would just fill up about half the cavity, so I should get more than 20 jammers.
2. The dough is quite challenging to handle in this humid weather as it becomes soft & sticky quite easily. So instead of rolling the dough, you may want to just scoop it using a spoon into the muffin pan. Then pat the dough with your floured finger.