Corn Flake Shortbread & Cranberry Jam Cookie Sandwiches
Homemade cranberry preserves spiked with orange and pumpkin pie spice is sandwiched between two buttery, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread cookies, but this is not your standard shortbread. This shortbread has been loaded with Corn Flake crumbs for added flavor and texture.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 45 minutesminutes
Cook Time 12 minutesminutes
Chill Time 2 hourshours
Total Time 42 minutesminutes
Servings 20Sandwich Cookies
Ingredients
Corn Flake shortbread
1Cbutterroom temperature
1egg yolk
½Cwhite sugar
1.5Call purpose flour + more for rolling out
¼Ccornmeal
1tspkosher salt
1heaping C Corn Flakes cereal
Cranberry jam filling*
12ozfresh or frozen cranberries*
½Cwhite sugar
½Cfreshly squeezed orange juice
½tsppumpkin pie spice
⅛tspkosher salt
Instructions
To make cookies
Place the butter in a stand mixer bowl or a large mixing bowl. Using a mixer, cream the butter on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Add the sugar and cream on high for 3-4 minutes or until pale and fluffy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Add the egg and mix on low speed until well combined. Scrape down the bowl one more time and mix briefly on low until all the ingredients are combined.
Turn off the mixer and add the flour and salt. Turn the mixer on low at first and then mix on medium speed just until combined. Don't overmix your cookie dough, or you will end up with tough cookies.
Add the Corn Flakes to a food processor (if you don't have one, you really need one- there's a link above to a great one that will last almost forever). Grind until the Corn Flakes have the consistency of Panko breadcrumbs. Add the crumbs to the mixing bowl and mix on medium for 10 seconds. Bring the dough together and make sure the Corn Flakes are thoroughly combined by-hand with a spatula.
Turn out the prepared dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap, and chill for at least 2 hours. It's best to let the dough chill overnight so the cereal and the dough become one, but you'll need to chill for at least 2 hours so the dough is easy to roll out. If you're short on time for chilling, split the dough into two equal halves before wrapping in plastic wrap.
Once chilled and ready to cook, remove from the fridge and allow to warm up just enough so that you can roll it out, usually about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Flour your work surface well.
Roll out the shortbread out into something resembling a rectangle (don't worry, we're going to trim the rough edges), rotating the dough 90 degrees every few rolls to ensure it's not sticking. Add flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking to your surface. Shortbread dough is super forgiving so if the dough splits or cracks while you're rolling it out, just smoosh or pinch it back together.
Once the dough is about a quarter-inch thick, trim the edges off the dough to form an even rectangle. I like to measure using a classic metal ruler that I keep in the kitchen, but you can also eyeball it. They will taste great even if they aren't exactly the same size, but do aim for at least similar cookie sizes so they cook evenly. Reroll any scraps until you've used almost all the dough.
You can use any cookie cutter you'd like or simply cut the dough into 2" x 2" squares using a pizza wheel or a bench scraper. If you don't have a bench scraper, GET ONE. They are a secret weapon when it comes to working with pastry. I've linked to one above for easy purchasing.
Using your bench scraper, gently lift the cookies from your work surface and place on the prepared baking sheets, about one-inch apart from each other.
Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the cook time. Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before moving to a wire rack to cool completely. Be sure the cookies are totally cool before filling.
To make cranberry jam
In a saucepan, combine all of the ingredients. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 15 minutes or until most of the liquids have cooked off. Place the hot mixture into a food processor or blender to smoothly puree the mixture.
Allow the jam to come to room temperature before making cookie sandwiches.
To make cookie sandwiches**
Once cookies and jam have totally cooled, turn half of the cookies over so the bottoms are facing up. Top each of the cookies with a heaping teaspoon of cranberry jam. Gently spread the jam out although you don't have to get it all the way to the edges. The pressure of the top cookie will help spread it.
Top each cookie with another and gently press down so that the jam comes just to the edges.
Once all the cookies are assembled, allow to chill in an airtight container for at least one more hour in the fridge to let the cookies fully set.
Notes
* Feel free to substitute with strawberries or raspberries if you're making this recipe in the warmer months when cranberries are less popular or if you just aren't a fan of the tart cranberry flavor.** This shortbread recipe would be delightful all by itself or you could also dip the cookies into a chocolate of your choice for another option. White chocolate, in particular, would be yummy with the subtle sweetness of the Corn Flakes.