Lemon Raspberry Holiday Delights

By Carolanne

There was about a half a minute of discussion to decide the winner of this year's USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin Holiday Cookie Recipe Contest was the Lemon Raspberry Holiday Delights recipe submitted by Jacqueline Jade Ganser, Appleton. A panel of expert judges tasted and scored a dozen cookies prepared by Fox Valley Technical College culinary students.

Overall, judges liked the combination of tart and fruit flavors bursting through from the scratch made jam and curd.

Recipe from Jacqueline Jade Ganser, Appleton)

Ingredients

• Raspberry Chia Seed Jam
• 1 cup frozen raspberries (defrosted)
• 1 tablespoon warm water
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 3 tablespoons chia seeds
• Lemon Curd
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest
• 4 tablespoons butter, softened
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Butter Cookies
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• Lemon Drizzle Icing
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

Details

Adapted from postcrescent.com

Preparation

Step 1

Raspberry chia jam: Add defrosted raspberries, warm water and honey to a food processor and pulse until well blended with no chunks. Transfer mixture to a container and stir in chia seeds, mixing well. Cover and allow to set for about 1 hour.

Lemon curd: Cream butter and beat in sugar and lemon zest. Add eggs, lemon juice and salt. Mix until combined. Pour mixture into a 2-quart saucepan and cook over low heat until thickened, about 8 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and cool then refrigerate.

Cookies: Beat butter, sugar and vanilla on high speed until creamy. Add flour and beat on low speed until well mixed and soft dough is formed. Cover cookie dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 350 F.

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Shape the cookie dough into 1 inch balls. Make a deep indentation in the center of each cookie with your thumb. If edges crack you can smooth out with your fingers.

Bake cookies for 18-20 minutes, until lightly golden on bottom.

Remove cookies from oven and immediately fill indentations with ½ teaspoon lemon curd. Return to oven and bake 2 minutes to set curd. Remove cookies from oven and spoon ¼ teaspoon raspberry jam over lemon curd. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to wire rack. Allow to completely cool.

For drizzle Icing, whisk powdered sugar, milk and lemon extract in bowl. Lightly drizzle over cooled cookies.