Holiday Cookies: Banbury Tarts
By Jacqueline Shubitowski

Jacqueline Shubitowski of Sherman Oaks provides us with these simple but delicious Banbury tarts she learned from her mother-in-law. They're among the 50 favorite holiday cookie recipes that have been collected in the "Holiday Cookies" e-book. Download it on the Amazon Kindle, the Nook, or via the iBookstore.

Photo credit: Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times

Banbury tarts

Total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Servings: About 5 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter
1 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups flour
Seedless jelly or jam (preferably currant or raspberry)

Procedures:
1. Heat the oven to 375† degrees.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks, then the vanilla. Slowly beat in the flour until combined and smooth to form the dough (the dough will be a bit stiff at the end, and you may need to add the last cup of flour by hand).

3. Form the dough into small balls and make a depression in the middle with your thumb. Spoon a teaspoon or so of jelly in the depression. Space the cookies about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet and bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes.

Each of 5 dozen cookies: 105 calories; 1 gram protein; 14 grams carbohydrates; 0 fiber; 5 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 19 mg cholesterol; 7 grams sugar; 3 mg sodium.