Hi there! I’m Cassandre, and today on Caramel Loafing, I’m sharing an elegant yet incredibly easy French cookie recipe: Sablés à la Confiture — also known as classic French jam-filled butter cookies.
The first time I tasted one of these delicate cookies, I was immediately hooked. The buttery crumb and fruity jam center strike a perfect balance of richness and brightness. They bring an air of elegance to any tea table, yet they’re surprisingly simple to make — perfect for a cozy weekend baking session.
These cookies are made from a classic French sablé dough — a fundamental skill in French pastry making. It’s the same dough used in tarts and butter cookies, similar to shortbread but with a finer texture and a lighter, melt-in-your-mouth feel. Soft, crumbly, and gently fragrant, sablés are a must-learn dough for any home baker.
If you love sablé-style cookies, you might also enjoy these recipes: Sablé Diamond Cookies, Breton Butter Cookies, Checkerboard Sablés, and Sablés Nantais.
This recipe is inspired by one from Le Cordon Bleu, but we’ve made some small adjustments to the ingredient ratios. The original uses apricot jam, but we’re using organic lingonberry jam today — though strawberry jam works beautifully too. Use whatever jam you have on hand — these cookies are incredibly versatile!
Classic French Sablé Jam Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
Cookie cutter sizes: one fluted round cutter (6cm) and one small round cutter (2cm)
Yields: 10 sandwich cookies
- All-purpose flour – 100g / 3.5 oz
- Unsalted butter – 60g / 2.1 oz (slightly softened and roughly cubed)
- Powdered sugar – 30g / 1.1 oz
- Almond flour – 13g / 0.46 oz
- A pinch of salt
- Egg – 20g / 0.7 oz (half of a small egg, beaten and measured)
- Lingonberry jam – 80g / 2.8 oz (or any jam you prefer)
- ** Powdered sugar for dusting
Want to see the nutrition info? Use our Nutrition Calculator.
Instructions
- Prepare the dough: Beat one small egg and measure out 20g (0.7 oz) to use.
- Sift together the flour, powdered sugar, almond flour, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk or stir to combine evenly.
- Add the softened butter cubes, coat them with dry ingredients, then use your fingertips to rub them together. Continue until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Pour in the egg and mix until fully incorporated. Gently knead and fold the dough until it becomes smooth and slightly glossy.
- Place the dough between two sheets of parchment and roll out to a 3mm (0.3cm) thickness. Chill in the freezer for 1 hour.
- Cut out rounds using the large cookie cutter. Then use the smaller cutter to cut a window in half of the cookies. Feel free to use any shape you like!
- Bake at 160°C (320°F) for 12–14 minutes or until lightly golden. Baking time may vary based on your oven and cookie thickness. Cool completely on a wire rack.
- Prepare the jam: Warm the jam gently in a small saucepan over low heat until it becomes fluid, then remove from heat.
- Strain the jam to remove seeds and pulp for a smoother texture. Let it cool slightly.
- Dust the cut-out cookies with powdered sugar.
- Spread a thin layer of jam on the bottom cookies to help them stick, then add a small dollop in the center and sandwich with the top cookie. Enjoy right away, or refrigerate overnight to allow the jam to set — they’re even better the next day.
Watch the full tutorial here: Classic French Sablé Jam Cookies