Since I published Call You Mine, enough people have asked me about the cookies I reference within the story that I had to take a moment to really think about what these cookies even were. Because, to be honest…
I’ve never eaten a raspberry shortbread in my life.
All I knew was while I was writing, Kieran and Sylvia sure had, and Sylvia loved them more than the average person probably should.
So this season as it turns cool and the holidays start to come upon us, I decided to try my hand at making a few different recipes that could possibly be the cookies I imagined in my head as the ones Kieran’s mom and then Kieran and Sylvia basically perfected to a science.
Even if mine would not be Rose Bakery quality.
I’d also not be using homemade raspberry jam. Yes, Kieran would be cringing right now and Sylvia would be shaking her head in disappointment.
Raspberries are out of season, readers! Instead, I opted for a natural, “homemade” jam from the grocery store and hoped for the best. Cookies, after all, were my favorite and I think best thing I bake especially this time of year.
The recipe I used for this first go around was from Little Sweet Baker that had gotten some pretty good reviews for their Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies.
Overall, this recipe was super easy to follow and I had some really high hopes and perfectionist tendencies going in, which probably was not for the best. Nothing, after all, would likely ever measure up to the imaginary cookie in my head that basically was described as if little angels came down and baked them instead of Kieran for Sylvia.
The shortbread started out amazing. I made the batter and rolled them out on the pan. The real issue started when I needed to estimate just how hard to make the thumb prints. Did I make them with my actual thumb like I described in the book? Did I use a measuring spoon so that they were perfect circles? How deep did they go– and then, how much jam was the right amount of jam? (After baking them, in my opinion, the more raspberry jam the merrier).
Once I finally got them ready to go into my older oven, I could only hope for the best. I counted down the minutes before adding a few more minutes and then a few MORE minutes until I decided that the cookie was at least golden enough on the bottom to be done. It turned out that these were pretty light colored shortbread no matter what.
At this point, I have to say, I was pretty sure that I was about to disappoint all the cookie loving characters in Call You Mine and myself.
Because, well… my cookies did not look as pretty as I hoped or imagined at all. Some were more round than others and the jam on top did not flatten out like Little Sweet Baker’s did in their photos. My cookies looked a little clumpy.
However, after tasting them (the real test, right?) these cookies were actually pretty good!
The shortbread was just sweet enough and soft. For the shortbread, it’s also probably good to note that I used 1 tsp of vanilla extract while substituting the other for a 1/2 tsp of almond extract.
When you got some of the cookie with the jam, it was all pretty great.
Still, though this recipe is definitely one I’d recommend if you are making raspberry thumbprints, I’m not quite sure if this was the cookie I imagined in Call You Mine.
But, at least I tried. And I found that these raspberry shortbreads were even better as they sat the next day and the day after which is super rare. I like them even more than right when they come out of the oven.
Will you be trying this recipe as I continue my search for the Call You Mine cookies?
Or do you still need to read Call You Mine to develop a craving for them like all the other small town holiday romance readers who have already?
