Strawberry Jam Christmas Cookies

Strawberry Jam:

• 1kg ripe strawberries (after trimming & cleaning)
• 500g CSR Jam Setting Sugar
• ½ vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
• 1 cinnamon quill
• Juice of ½ lemon

Vanilla Cookies:

• 180g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 200g CSR Caster Sugar
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 400g White Wings plain flour, sifted
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 200g CSR Pure Icing Sugar

1. To make the jam: Cut strawberries into small pieces. Place ingredients in a bowl, cover and stand overnight at room temperature. Transfer to a pan. Slowly bring the mixture to a slight boil for 15 minutes, then cook over a very low heat for 40 minutes, stirring regularly or until thick and sticky. Remove vanilla pod and cinnamon quill, cool slightly and seal in sterilised jars.
2. To make the cookies: Using an electric mixer cream the butter and caster sugar together until light in colour and creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat until well combined.
3. Add the flour, salt and baking powder and mix until well combined. Place the dough onto a lightly floured bench, bringing it together to form a ball. Cut the dough in half, flatten each piece slightly and wrap each half with cling wrap. Refrigerate for at least 45 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 160°C (fan forced). Line two large baking trays with baking paper. Place one half of the dough onto a floured bench and sprinkle with flour. Lightly dust your rolling pin with flour. Roll out the dough to a 5mm thickness. Using a 6cm diameter round cookie cutter, cut out 20 circles.
5. Using smaller Christmas themed cookie cutters, cut out the shape into the centre of each circle. Transfer cookies to one of the lined baking trays, leaving some room between each cookie (as they will expand slightly). Roll out the other half of the dough and repeat the above process to create 20 round circles, this time without a cut out in the centre.
6. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes or until slightly golden around the edges. Remove from the oven and allow them to sit on the baking trays for at least 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack. Allow to cool completely.
7. To assemble, place the cookies with the centre cut outs onto a wire rack. Place pure icing sugar into a sieve and dust the cookies liberally. Place a teaspoon of strawberry jam in the centre of each round, uncut cookie. Position the dusted cookies over the round cookies and press down until the biscuits have sandwiched together securely. Allow the cookies to sit flat for at least an hour before packaging in Christmas jars and boxes to give out as Christmas gifts to all your family and friends.