Italian Jam Cookies (Pizzicati)
You'll love these Italian pinch cookies! They feature slightly crispy shortbread on the outside, and sweet, strawberry jam inside. Orange zest provides a bright, citrus accent!
Servings: 15 Makes 30 cookies
Calories: 153kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (Measure by scooping it, then leveling the measuring cup with a knife.)
- ½ cup + 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar (plus more for dusting)
- ¼ cup corn starch
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons orange zest (from 1 large orange)
- 8 Tablespoons salted butter (softened)
- 1 extra-large egg (at room temperature)
- 1 ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup strawberry jam
Instructions
- One hour ahead of time, set out 8 tablespoons of butter and one egg to let them come to room temperature.
- Sift the flour, powdered sugar, corn starch, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl. (I place a large, fine-mesh strainer over the bowl, add the dry ingredients to the strainer and gently shake it to sift the contents.) Add the orange zest and stir with a fork to combine.
- Add the softened butter, room-temperature egg and vanilla to the bowl. Combine with a fork until crumbly. Then use clean hands to gather the mixture onto a clean, lightly floured surface. Gently knead the pizzicati dough briefly, just until it's soft, smooth and holds together. It will be slightly sticky. If it's too sticky to work with, you can add a little extra flour.
- Gather the dough into a ball and wrap it with plastic wrap. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Cut the chilled dough in half. Roll out one of the dough halves on a lightly floured surface until it's ⅛-inch thick. Cut out 2 ½-inch circles using a cookie cutter or the mouth of a glass. Place the circles in a single layer on one of the lined pans.
- Add a scant teaspoon of jam to the center of each circle. Grasp the left and right sides of each circle, bring them together over the jam and pinch them closed. Dip your fingers in a little cool water, then pinch the dough closed again with damp fingers to seal each cookie so it won't open during baking.
- Position the pinched, unbaked cookies about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking pan. Bake the pizzicati on the center rack of the oven for 11-13 minutes, just until the bottoms are golden brown. The tops will still look pale. Don't overbake, or the cookies will become dry. Let them cool on a wire rack, then dust with powdered sugar.
- While the first pan is baking, you can roll, cut, fill and pinch the remaining dough. Bake the second pan of Italian jam cookies as before.
- Serve the cookies cooled and dusted with powdered sugar. Store extras in a sealed container at room temperature for 3-4 days. Separate the layers inside with wax paper to prevent sticking. You also could freeze the pinched cookies (without dusting them first) between layers of wax paper or parchment paper in a sealed container for up to three months.
Notes
Don't be tempted to add more than a scant teaspoon of jam to each circle of dough, or the jam will seep out during baking.
The cookies won't spread during baking, so you can place them close together on the pan (without touching each other).
Nutrition
Calories: 153kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 94mg | Potassium: 40mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 204IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 1mg
