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My regular 3 ingredient butter cookie recipe just got glorified into stunning Strawberry Butter Cookies. They are light, crisp, and super easy to make.
Sandwiched together with jam and buttercream creating an impressively beautiful batch of cookies.
Butter cookies taste great as a basic cookie but are versatile enough to add or change flavorings, frostings, and shapes to your heart's content.
This recipe uses my favorite 3 ingredient butter cookie recipe to create a beautiful batch of sandwich cookies.
Using an additional 3 basic ingredients, making it a bake perfect for special occasions or any day treat.
Just a note on a few ingredients and substitutes if needed
Full recipe with ingredients and instructions below
For the cookies
- Butter: For the best texture and flavor, it is best that you use butter instead of margarine. Using butter creates a richer tasting bake. The butter should soft, but not melted. Take the butter out of the fridge at least an hour before baking.
- Sugar: White granulated sugar is used for these cookies.
- Flour:I use cake flour for this recipe. However, if you are unable to get cake flour in the country in which you live, then you can go ahead and use all-purpose flour.
For the Frosting
- Butter or White Shortening: According to your preference, you can use butter or white shortening to make the frosting.
For this recipe, I used white vegetable shortening. It keeps the buttercream firm and is better at withstanding heat, making it more stable in hot weather.
- Powdered Sugar / Icing sugar: I would suggest that you sift the powdered sugar, to prevent lumps in the frosting.
- Jam: Use strawberry or any other jam which you love or prefer.
- Cornflour / Cornstarch (optional) - Cornflour/cornstarch is only required if you are using it to thicken the jam. You can use the jam as is and skip the step where it is reduced and thickened on the stove with the cornflour.
How to make Strawberry Butter Cookies
While the video and the full printable recipe are written below, this is the process with step-by-step pictures to guide you.
Make the dough
- Beat the butter and sugar for about 3 to 5 minutes until pale, light, and fluffy.
- Sift the flour into the beaten butter mixture and mix gently to combine forming a soft dough.
Divide the dough and roll it out
- Divide dough in half, form each half into a disk and place each between 2 large sheets of parchment paper or wax paper.
- Use a rolling pin to roll each piece of dough to 3/16" inch (5mm) thickness.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes
- Place dough sheets on a baking sheet or cutting board and transfer them to the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut with a cookie cutter
- Peel away the top layer of parchment paper from your dough. Dust and rub lightly with flour.
- Use a 2" round cookie cutter to cut out cookies. (this is going to be the bottom part of the cookie)
- With a smaller round cookie cutter or piping, nozzle cut a window out of half the shapes. (this is going to serve as the top part of the cookie)
Bake
- Place the cutout shapes onto a baking sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes in a preheated oven of 320°F (160°C) until golden brown.
Cool and sandwich the cookies
- Fill a piping bag or ziplock packet with buttercream. Snip the tip of the bag to allow the frosting to flow freely. Be cautious with how large you create the hole based on how you’d like to pipe out your frosting.
- Pipe the buttercream along the outer edge of the bottom part of the cookies.
- Take the top part of the cookie(those with the cut-out center) and place it over the piped buttercream.
- Press lightly and gently to sandwich the cookies.
- Fill another piping bag or disposable plastic lunch bag with the jam. Snip the tip of the bag. Pipe the jam to fill in the center of the cookie.
- Sprinkle castor or powdered sugar over the assembled cookies.
You can use the jam as is and skip the step where it is reduced and thickened on the stove with the cornflour.
I prefer a thicker jam where it sets to a firm consistency. To achieve this consistency, the jam and cornflour need to be heated on the stove. Heated for a few minutes and cooled before piping onto the baked cookies.
Reducing the jam ( optional)
To reduce and thicken the jam:
- Heat the jam in a small pot on medium heat for 1 minute. As the jam warms, it becomes weaker and more liquid.
- Add the cornflour directly into the heated jam and whisk continuously for 4 minutes until thickened.
- Allow the heated and reduced jam to cool before piping it into the baked cookies. If it is not cooled before using, the warm jam will cause the piped buttercream to melt.
To make the buttercream
In a bowl beat the butter or shortening for 2 minutes until fluffy and softened.
Gradually add the powdered sugar and continue to beat this mixture until smooth, creamy, and well-combined.
- Be careful to not overmix your flour mixture in your electric mixer, the tenderness of the cookies is important.
- Cool cookies completely on a wire rack.
- Do not assemble until the cookies are at room temperature and make sure you reduce your raspberry preserves.
For the perfect cookies
- Cream the butter and sugar well.It should be beaten with an electric mixer for about 5 minutes. The mixture should have a pale, fluffy appearance after beating. Creaming the mixture helps to aerate the dough. This creates a lighter and crisp baked cookie. If the mixture is not well creamed, the cookies will be heavy and dense.
- The dough will be soft after it has been combined.It needs to be refrigerated for about 30 minutes before cutting into shapes. Refrigerating the dough firms it up and makes it easier to cut and shape. Dust the cutters with flour to create neat shapes.
- Bake the cookies until just golden brown and lightly browned around the edges. Once the cookies are done baking, remove them from the oven, but allow them to cool on the baking sheet.
- Watch your cookies very carefully while they are baking. You want to take them out at exactly the right moment when they are golden but not hard. The cookies might still be a bit soft when removed from the oven. However, it continues baking for a short time on the hot baking sheet and will crisp as it cools.
Tips and frequently asked questions
My cookies lost their shape in the oven. Why did this happen?
- There are two reasons this might be an issue. One is your dough thicker than 3/16" inch (5mm) If so, try rolling it out a bit more the next time.
- Two, your dough might be too soft. If so, try popping your unbaked cut out cookies (on the baking sheet) back into the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes to allow the butter to firm up again.
Why do you have to roll the dough out before you refrigerate it?
- The dough develops a hard outer crust when refrigerated. Rolling it out after refrigeration often leads to the cracking of the dough (not good)
- Rolling out the dough between wax paper before refrigerating eliminates this problem. With this method, you will be able to cut out and shape the cookies immediately after it has been removed from the fridge.
Can I use a different type of jam?
- Definitely! Choose whatever jam you like best. Blueberry, apricot, peach, and raspberry jam are a few suggestions if you would like to give it a try.
Enjoy♥
If you like this recipe, be sure to check out my other amazingcookie and slice recipes
recipe
Strawberry Butter Cookies
PREP TIME 20 minutes mins
COOK TIME 15 minutes mins
servingsServings: 15 - 20 sandwich cookies
My regular 3 ingredient butter cookie recipe just got glorified into stunning Strawberry Butter Cookies. They are light, crisp, and super easy to make. Sandwiched together with jam and buttercream creating an impressively beautiful batch of cookies.
Pin
Ingredients
US Customary - Metric
For the cookie dough
- 1 cup butter softened see note 1
- ½ cup of sugar
- 2 cups cake/all-purpose flour see note 2
For the jam filling
- ¾ cup jam use as is or thicken with ½ Tablespoon cornflour if preferred. see note 3
For the buttercream
- ¾ cup butter
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
Instructions
Make the dough
Beat the butter and sugar for about 3 to 5 minutes until pale, light, and fluffy see note 4
Sift the flour into the beaten butter mixture and mix gently to combine forming a soft dough.
Divide the dough and roll it out
Divide dough in half, form each half into a disk and place each between 2 large sheets of parchment paper or wax paper.
Use a rolling pin to roll each piece of dough to 3/16" inch (5mm) thickness. see note 5
Refrigerate for 30 minutes
Place dough sheets on a baking sheet or cutting board and transfer them to the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut with a cookie cutter
Peel away the top layer of parchment paper from your dough. Dust and rub lightly with flour.
Use a 2" round cookie cutter to cut out cookies. ( this is going to be the bottom part of the cookie)
With a smaller round cookie cutter or piping, nozzle cut a window out of half the shapes. (this is going to serve as the top part of the cookie
Bake
Place the cutout shapes onto a baking sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes in a preheated oven of 320°F ( 160°C) until golden brown. See note 6
Cool and sandwich the cookies
Fill a piping bag or disposable plastic lunch bag with buttercream. Snip the tip of the bag to allow the frosting to flow freely. Be cautious with how large you create the hole based on how you’d like to pipe out your frosting.
Pipe the buttercream along the outer edge of the bottom part of the cookies.
Take the top part of the cookie(those with the cut-out center) and place it over the piped buttercream. Press lightly and gently to sandwich the cookies.
Fill another piping bag or disposable plastic lunch bag with the jam. Snip the tip of the bag. Pipe the jam to fill in the center of the cookie.
Sprinkle castor or powdered sugar over the assembled cookies.
Reducing the jam (optional)
You can use the jam as is and skip the step where it is reduced and thickened on the stove with the cornflour.
I prefer a thicker jam where it sets to a firm consistency when cooled. To achieve this consistency, the jam and cornflour need to be heated on the stove for a few minutes and cooled before piping onto the baked cookies.
If you prefer to reduce and thicken the jam:
Heat the jam in a small pot on medium heat for 1 minute. As the jam warms, it becomes weaker and more liquid.
Add the cornflour/cornstarch directly into the heated jam and whisk continuously for 4 minutes until thickened.
Allow the heated and reduced jam to cool before piping it into the baked cookies. If it is not cooled before using, the warm jam will cause the piped buttercream to melt.
To make the buttercream
In a bowl beat the butter or shortening for 2 minutes until fluffy and softened.
Gradually add the powdered sugar and continue to beat this mixture until smooth, creamy, and well-combined.
Video
Recipe Notes
- For the best texture and flavour, it is best that you use butter instead of margarine. Using butter creates a richer tasting bake. The butter should soft, but not melted. Take the butter out of the fridge at least an hour before baking.
- I use cake flour for this recipe. However, if you are unable to get cake flour in the country in which you live, then you can go ahead and use all-purpose flour.
- Cornflour is only required if you are using it to thicken the jam. You can use the jam as is and skip the step where it is reduced and thickened on the stove with the cornflour.
- Cream the butter and sugar well. It should be beaten with an electric mixer for about 5 to 8 minutes. The mixture should have a pale, fluffy appearance after beating. Creaming the mixture helps to aerate the dough. This creates a lighter and crisp baked cookie. If the mixture is not well creamed, the cookies will be heavy and dense.
- The dough develops a hard outer crust when refrigerated. Rolling it out after refrigeration often leads to the cracking of the dough (not good). Rolling out the dough between wax paper before refrigerating eliminates this problem. With this method, you will be able to cut out and shape the cookies immediately after it has been removed from the fridge.
- Watch your cookies very carefully while they are baking. You want to take them out at exactly the right moment when they are golden but not hard. The cookies might still be a bit soft when removed from the oven. However, it continues baking for a short time on the hot baking sheet and will crisp as it cools.
* The post above provides great tips and step by step pictures which is helpful if you require extra guidance regarding this recipe.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 370kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 57mg | Sodium: 195mg | Potassium: 36mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 27g | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 1mg
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Renee says
Hi beautiful cookies I'm going to make them with my 3 yr old Granddaughter she loves making beautiful cookies and having tea parties. Thank you so much for the recipe. But I desperately need the cookie cutter in my stash please tell me how I can get one . Your help is greatly appreciated . Thank you for your understanding.
Reply
The Gardening Foodie says
Hi Renee, Thank you. It will be a beautiful treat baking these with your Granddaughter. I am sure that she will love it too.
Regarding the cookie cutter: The cookie-cutter was a gift from a friend and is one of my favourites too. You can find it in baking stores that specialise in baking equipment.
I hope this helps answer your question 🙂Reply
Sherry says
Williams Sonoma has a set they call Thumbprint cookie stamps. It is almost identical to the one above. It’s what I use. Hope this helps because I couldn’t post a picture or a link.Reply
The Gardening Foodie says
Hi Sherry, thank you so much for sharing, Our readers and I really appreciate your help 🙂
Reply
Happy Baker says
Just found this on Pinterest, I was so thrilled to find them. Will these cookies freeze well. I am hoping so as they would look so gorgeous next to my other types on a cookie platter.Looking forward to your response
Reply
The Gardening Foodie says
Hi, I am so happy that you love these cookies 🙂
To answer your question: Sure, these cookies will freeze well, but without the jam and buttercream.To freeze: Freeze your baked cooled cookies on baking sheets lined with wax or parchment paper first, until firm, and then transfer them to a freezer bag or another airtight container.
If you just toss all the baked cookies in a container and stick them in the freezer, you’ll get a block of stuck-together cookies when you go to grab just a handful. They need to be frozen solid on the baking sheet individually first to avoid this.To thaw and decorate: Only frost and add the jam after the cookies are thawed completely from the freezer.
I hope this helps 🙂
Happy baking 🙂
Reply
Cindy says
So good! I made mine a little bigger as that’s the cutter I had, so light, buttery and tasty. I might put a little almond extract in the icing next time but so delicious! Thank you!Reply
The Gardening Foodie says
Hi Cindy, thank you it's so great to hear that these cookies turned out well for you 🙂
Almond extract sounds like a delicious addition to the frosting 🙂
Reply
Jodi says
How much would you add?
Reply
The Gardening Foodie says
Hi Jodi, a 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract should be sufficient 🙂
Reply
Breezie says
Do you use salted or unsalted butter for the cookies and the buttercream?
Reply
The Gardening Foodie says
Hi Breezie, I use salted butter for the cookies and buttercream.
Reply
Patricia Taylor says
A delightful cookie! The dough is nice to work with as well as the buttercream filling. I made batches of strawberry jam this summer - one with Sure-Jel and the other with liquid Certo. The liquid pectin did not set up as well making for a thinner jam. Following your tip about adding cornstarch to jam to thicken it, my thin jam had more body and worked well for the center of your cookie. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. The cookies sure are pretty on the plate & a nice addition to traditional Christmas cookies.Reply
Kathleen says
I made these cookies for Christmas and again for a baby shower. Both times, they were all gone before I could try one. Someone told me, They melt in your mouth!” So maybe I will make them again and save one to try as they seem to go fast! Thanks for the recipe!
Reply
The Gardening Foodie says
Hi Kathleen, I'm so glad that you enjoyed my recipe, and I'm thrilled that everyone else is too!
Oh, definitely a great idea to save a few for yourself the next time you make them before they're gone again 🙂
Reply
Tiffany says
How far in advance can these be made for a wedding?
Reply
The Gardening Foodie says
Hello Tiffany,
You can keep the fully assembled cookies, which are baked and filled with cream and jam, in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature. It's not recommended to refrigerate them because that would make the cookies go stale.
However, you can prepare the dough and buttercream ahead of time, around 3 to 4 days in advance, and refrigerate them. Just make sure to store them separately in airtight containers before placing them in the refrigerator. When you're ready to cut and shape the cookies, take the dough out of the refrigerator about 20 minutes beforehand to make it easier to work with.
I hope this information is helpful to you.
Happy baking 😊
Reply
Donna says
Hello
I have had these cookie cutters for some time but had not made cookies yet. I came across your recipe so thought I'd wound make your recipe after watching the video.
I can not seem to find the amount of cookies the recipe makes though, it's most likely in the post and I'm just not seeing it.
Would you mind letting me know the count for the recipe.Thankyou for your time !!
Reply
The Gardening Foodie says
Hello Donna, This recipe yields around 12-15 cookies once assembled and sandwiched.
And I do apologise, I'll be sure to update the recipe to include this information.
Happy Baking 😊Reply
Margarita says
Cual es esa harina para pasteles
Reply
The Gardening Foodie says
Hola Margarita,La harina para pasteles, a menudo llamada harina de repostería o harina de pastelería, es un tipo de harina comúnmente utilizada en la preparación de postres y pasteles. Puedes usar harina de todo uso o harina común en lugar de harina para pasteles si lo prefieres.
¡Felices horneados 😊
Reply
Donna lee says
Are these good to freeze and if so for how long
Reply
The Gardening Foodie says
Hello Donna Lee,
I presume you're asking about freezing baked cookies rather than just the cookie dough. If that's the case, it's recommended to freeze the cookies without any filling or frosting:
I suggest baking the tops and bottoms of the cookies, then allowing them to cool completely. Afterwards, freeze them in an airtight container for up to 1 month. When you're ready to serve, bring the cookies to room temperature before adding the jam and buttercream filling.
I hope this helps
Happy baking 😊
Reply
Connie says
I’ve made these cookies a few times now. They taste wonderful but after mixing the dough it is not soft. It’s crumbly while mixing and I have to use my hands to form it. It holds together but should it be soft ?
Also the buttercream is so thick. What am I doing wrong. And I bake all the time.Reply
The Gardening Foodie says
Hi Connie, I appreciate you trying out my recipe, and happy to know that you're enjoying the taste.
As for the crumbly texture you mentioned, yes, the dough does have a slight crumbly consistency, and it's not very soft. This texture is to prevent excessive spreading in the oven. You can also check out the video on the blog for a clearer view of the texture. However, if the dough happens to be extremely crumbly, make sure that your butter isn't too cold; it should be at room temperature, though not overly soft.
When dealing with the buttercream, you can modify its thickness by gradually incorporating a small amount of liquid, such as milk or cream, until you achieve the desired consistency.
I hope this helps
Happy baking 😊
Reply
