Shortbread Recipe With Sage & Apricot Jam

When I baked my first batch ever of Shortbread Cookies, I did not find myself looking out for new shortbread recipes, until I saw these Sage Shortbread cookies at BHG. [photo above courtesy of joyosity]. To imagine the apricot jam layered between 2 short-breads mildly flavored with sage, was a warm and inviting feeling, and I bet this would work with any of your favorite fruit jams.

Sage is a very versatile herb, albeit, not as famous as Basil. It is often used with Brown Butter to make Pasta sauces, as well as in other Italian rubs and recipes. But Sage has been used as a medicinal herb far longer than it has been as a culinary herb. It has a very strong flavor, mildly bitter taste with a strong aroma, so a small pinch goes a long way! In these cookies, it is paired with a sweet Apricot Jam, which helps enhance the flavor of the cookies. But you can use any fruit filling that you like, or eat them plain, with a cup of tea or coffee.

Sage & Apricot Jam Cookies
Prep Time: 20 mins
Bake Time: 20 mins
Servings: 20 sandwich cookies

Ingredients
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup butter
2 tbsp. snipped fresh sage or 2 tsp. dried sage
3 tbsp. milk
Spreadable Fruit Jam (Apricot or other flavor)

Method
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a bowl stir together flour, sugar, and cornmeal. Using pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in sage. Add milk. Stir with fork to combine, or use your hands and form into a ball. Knead until smooth, then divide the dough in half.

On a lightly floured surface, roll half the dough at a time to 14-inch thickness. Using 2-inch cookie cutter, cut out the dough into desired shapes. Repeat with the other half of the dough.

Place cutouts 1 inch apart on un-greased cookie sheet. Bake about 10-15 minutes until edges are firm and bottoms are very lightly browned. Transfer cookies to wire rack and allow them to cool.

Spread bottoms of half the cookies with your choice of spreadable fruit jam. Top with the remaining cookies to yield about 20 sandwich cookies.

These cookies have a good shelf life, so you can preserve them in an air-tight container for almost 2 weeks. For anything longer, refrigerate them, and slightly warm them in the microwave before serving – they’ll be as soft as freshly-baked!

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