These raspberry jam tarts (jam cakes or cookie cups) are amazing. Crumbly and sweet, it's like a filled shortbread baked in muffin tins. They were one of the best cookie cups I have ever made. Perfect to add to your holiday baking they are a total crowd-pleaser. And I added a Nutella filling option.
I call them jam tarts, but they are called cakes in most Scandinavian baking books I own.
It's shortbread dough pressed into muffin cups to form little tarts (or cookie cups), so the name has multiple options. Choose your own adventure.
- Easy to make: the dough is simple as long as you have room-temperature butter. I make it with a spatula or wooden spoon.
- Filling possibilities: they can be filled with almost any type of jam, paste, or spread you like. There is a Nutella version further down. I'm just saying.
- Make-ahead: as with most cookie doughs, it can be made ahead and kept in the refrigerator for a few days or frozen for a month.
- The dough needs no refrigeration. You pat it in the muffin cups directly. Fill it and into the oven it goes!
They race head-to-head with my favorite non-traditional shortbread ever, the Hungarian Shortbread. And that is saying a lot.
Step-by-step VIDEO
Ingredient list
- Jam: I love a good raspberry jam, but others work too like apricot or plum, Nutella, or cookie butter.
- Unsalted butter.
- Cornstarch: it's an essential ingredient to achieve that smooth and crumbly texture.
- Powdered sugar: also called confectioners or icing sugar.
- All-purpose flour.
- Salt.
- Vanilla extract.
- Lemon zest.
- Sliced almonds: they cover the jam so that it doesn't dry out too much during baking and add a wonderful crunch.
Quantities are listed on the recipe card towards the end of this post. The Ingredients page has more details and lists the brands we use.
How to make shortbread tarts
Watch the video above for a step-by-step guide on how to make the dough.
Once the cookie dough is done, form small walnut-sized balls and press them into muffin tins.
Using a cookie scoop is a good idea to make them all the same size. I use the small cookie scoop of this set, which is 1.57 inches / 4cm in diameter, for regular-sized cookies.
Add a teaspoon of raspberry jam to each cookie cup.
Top with sliced almonds.
Topping
Sliced almonds are the best, in my opinion, as they provide the best crunch.
I have added chopped hazelnuts to the Nutella cakes, which worked well. So, use what you feel complements your filling better.
You can also skip the powdered sugar on top. The jam layer will solidify and be delicious, like wonderful jam thumbprint cookies.
Vintage Kitchen Tip
After the jam tarts are baked, let them cool for about 10 minutes in the pan and carefully run a smooth-bladed knife around the edges to loosen up any jam or dough that might be stuck. Do this while they're still warm.
Filling ideas
Since they are Scandinavian, using good raspberry jam (store-bought or homemade) is a no-brainer.
- Spreads: for the sake of research, we made a batch with Nutella; they were fabulous! Cookie butter spread would be another wonderful holiday filling.
- Jams: I recommend using slightly acidic ones like raspberries, blackberries, apricots, sour cherries, and plums. But really, you can use any spread you love.
Kitchen Notes
- Organization: read the recipe first and ensure you have ingredients at the correct temperature, equipment, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier.
- Baking time: keep in mind that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look the same or very similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as it can be, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer(like the OXO oven thermometer) to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend you keep track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust.
- Dough: it comes together easily if you have the butter at room temperature. It doesn't include an egg. If the mixture is too crumbly, add a teaspoon of water or milk to bind it together. I made it a few times and never needed it, but I know readers who had this issue.
- Make-ahead: make the dough ahead and have it ready in the fridge. If you freeze it remember to defrost it in the refrigerator rather than at room temperature. You can also freeze the dough in the pan, already patted.
- Flavorings: the lemon zest and vanilla are perfect, but you might want to change the flavor of the dough depending on the filling. Maybe orange zest and blackberry jam? Or some ground cardamom?
- Almonds: I think there is nothing like sliced almonds for that thin crunch that is hard to achieve with any other nut or if they are chopped. So, I highly suggest them.
- Storing: they keep very well at room temperature for a day. You can freeze them already baked, and well-wrapped. Defrost at room temperature uncovered and warm for a few minutes in a medium oven.
- Muffin pans: you can bake them directly in regular muffin pans like I do, or use paper liners. The latter is a good idea if you're hesitant about them being too crumbly to remove from the muffin tins.
They make me think of adjectives like dainty, pretty, sophisticated, and all those pink words I love when it comes to cookies, filled or otherwise.
Scandinavian baking is something I'm fascinated with.
I love their use of spices like cardamom and cinnamon, their yeasted sweet breads (like this wonderful Finnish pulla), and all those stories about the meaning of fika and hygge.
Related recipes you might like:
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Shortbread Jam Tarts
Ingredients
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup to ¾ cup cornstarch, see Note below
- ½ cup more or less raspberry jam or Nutella
- ½ cup or so sliced almonds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
- Have ready paper muffin cups (many readers have a hard time taking these jam tarts out of the muffin pans, so use paper cups for easier handling). Or butter/spray the muffin pans. I have used both with good results.
- In a large bowl mix soft butter, zest and vanilla.
- Add sifted powdered sugar and mix well.
- Add sifted flour, baking powder, and salt in 2 parts and mix well. Use a spatula or wooden spoon so you don't overwork the dough.
- Add sifted cornstarch and mix well until you have a soft dough (see comment above).
- It is soft and not sticky. You can watch the video in the post for details on how the dough should be.
- Make walnut-sized balls or use a measuring spoon to fill muffin cups, and pat them onto the paper cups halfway up the sides.
- Carefully, with a spoon, fill each cup with raspberry jam or Nutella.
- Top with some sliced almonds and bake for 15-20 minutes until slightly golden and dry.
- Let them cool for 10-15 minutes on a wire rack and run a smooth-bladed knife to ensure they didn't stick to the sides. Let them cool and remove them from the pan. They are very soft, so help yourself with the knife and your hands.
- Serve with a bit of powdered sugar sifted on top.
Notes
Adapted from ScandiKitchen
Hope K. says
Okay lady! I made these and they were PERFECT! Although I was a wee bit messy when I put them together , they came out wonderful!! Just the right amount of crumble. I followed the recipe with one exception. I did use my mixer up until the cornstarch, then I used my hands. I had exactly 3/4 cup of cornstarch and used it. This recipe goes into my keeper file! Thank you!
Paula Montenegro says
Thanks for the detailed answer Hope! Have a great Christmas.
Tone says
My grandson really likes them so do I making more tomorrow looking really forward to it great recipe thanx.
Denise Brown says
The Jam Tarts are delicious. I always wanted to bake some after reading a Swedish novel where they were described and made my mouth water ! I had no problems with the dough and did use 3/4 cup of Cornstarch. I used cupcake papers and carefully removed them from the pan after a few minutes and put them on wire racks to cool. When they were almost cool I peeled down the sides and used a brownie spatula to slide them off the paper and let them completely cool that way. But I found even when completely cooled they fall apart while eating so I don`t see how you could freeze them or bake them as a gift. Did I do something wrong ? Is there any way to make them so they hold together better ? I`d love to try again.
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Denise, I'm glad you liked them! Yes, they're crumbly. You could add an egg and make a sturdier dough, more like a shortbread crust.
Deborah Feinberg says
I have to share that these cookies tasted amazing.....but, and this is a big but...they are very crumbley, to the point that you can not really serve them. After they are baked they are very pretty-it is removing them from the pan that was impossible. I did make sure to spray it first. I didn't want to use the paper cups. I also read the recipe and I didn't add the extra cornstarch, as you suggested to reduce it. Still impossible to serve as I was planning on giving these as a gift for someone. BTW- I am an experienced baker. I had to make a new batch using my recipe that works just fine.
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Deborah, I have made it so many times, and did a video also to show that is crumbly but manageable. Still, some readers are not getting the same results. So I'm going to retest and review this recipe. Thanks for commenting, it helps a lot. Have a great week.