Italian Cookies: Delicious Bull’s-Eye Jam Cookies (OCCHI DI BUE)
Nothing compares to the irresistible taste of fresh, homemade treats and Italian cookies are among the very best you’ll ever bake. Fresh homemade Italian cookies aren’t just desserts. Instead, they’re a delicious tradition filled with warmth, family, and unforgettable flavor.
From buttery classics to colorful holiday favorites, these timeless cookies bring authentic Italian flavor and cherished family traditions to every occasion.
You can find the recipe for these incredibly delicious Bull’s-Eye Jam Cookies below and many more in the Italian Cookies: Authentic Recipes and Sweet Stories from Every Region
We participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, Skimlinks, and other Affiliate Programs. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Affiliate advertising programs like these allow us to earn fees by linking to affiliated sites at no cost to you. As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases. Please check our Disclosure Privacy Policy page. Thank you for supporting our website.
Italian Cookies: An American Tradition
Growing up in an Italian household, cookies were an essential part of my heritage and rooted deeply in our traditions. Baking Italian Cookies quickly became a way of bonding and discovering how baking at home was a unifying experience.
One of my favorite Italian Cookies to make were jam-filled delights exactly like these delicious Bull’s-Eye Jam Cookies. Moreover, every year at Christmas time, I still add them to my collection of Christmas cookies for all to enjoy.
Another cookie I love baking all year round is these Currant And Orange Shortbread Cookies. They are also perfect for any holiday event and are one of my favorites.
These classic jam-filled cookies are by no means exclusive to Italy. But they are ubiquitous in Italian pastry shops especially in Alto where Alpine butter is essential to baking.
Ideally, be sure to use good quality homemade jam if you have it. For example, two of my favorites are vanilla apricot jam or sour cherry preserves or Raspberry and strawberry jam are also delicious in these rich cookies. Even better, you can try filling them with Nutella or pistachio cream. YUM
Recently, I made these Brown Butter Caramel Cookies, and they are super easy to make and taste amazing. Baking cookies is relaxing and the rewards are plentiful. So, whether you love to bake alone or with your family and friends, you need to experience these incredibly delicious Italian Cookies called Bull’s-Eye Jam Cookies.
Bull’s-Eye Jam Cookies: OCCHI DI BUE (Trentino-Alto Adige)
From the cookbook, Italian Cookies: Authentic Recipes and Sweet Stories from Every Region
These classic Bull’s-Eye Jam Cookies jam-filled butter cookies are by no means exclusive to Italy. But they are ubiquitous in Italian pastry shops, especially in Alto Adige, where alpine butter is essential to baking.
There, they are also known as Spitzbuben, a nod to the region’s bilingual status and its proximity to Austria. The dough is one of many variations of pasta frolla—basic short crust pastry—that you’ll find throughout the book.
This version contains a pinch of baking powder, which gives the dough a little lift, but feel free to substitute the basic Pasta Frolla recipe on page 206, the Canestrelletti dough on page 50, or even the dough for Ciambelline Sarde (page 188), the Sardinian version, which is made with lard.
More Free Italian Cookie Recipes
Below, you can see some additional free recipes from the Italian Cookies: Authentic Recipes and Sweet Stories from Every Region
The Recipe Bull’s-Eye Jam Cookies
Bull’s-Eye Jam Cookies: OCCHI DI BUE
These classic jam-filled butter cookies are by no means exclusive to Italy. But they are ubiquitous in Italian pastry shops, especially in Alto Adige, where alpine butter is essential to baking.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (240 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 to 2/3 cup (65 to 85 g) confectioners’ sugar, depending on the sweetness you prefer; plus more for dusting
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- Zest of 1 small lemon
- 4 1/2 ounces (9 tablespoon; 125 g) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 1 large egg plus 1 yolk
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- About 1 1/4 cups (375 g) jam or preserves, homemade or store-bought
Instructions
1. Measure the flour, confectioners’ sugar, baking powder,
salt, and lemon zest in the work bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine.
Distribute the butter inside the bowl and pulse to incorporate it, taking care
not to overprocess. In a separate small bowl, whisk the egg and yolk with the
vanilla and pour it into the food processor through the feed tube. Pulse until
the mixture begins to clump together.
2. Turn the dough out onto a clean surface, gather the
clumps together, and pat them into a disk. Cover tightly with reusable wrap or
plastic wrap and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 2 hours and
preferably overnight.
3. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Preheat the oven
to 350° F (180° C). Line two rimmed cookie sheets with parchment.
4. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to a
little less than 1/4 inch thick (4 to 5 mm). Using a fluted round 1 1/2- to
2-inch (4-to 5-cm) cookie cutter, cut out as many circles as possible. With a
3/4-inch (2-cm) cutter, cut a hole in the center of half the rounds. If you
don’t have a tiny cutter, use a round object from your kitchen, such as a
zucchini corer. Arrange the circles onto the cookie sheets. Gather up the
scraps of dough, including the leftover punched-out circles, knead briefly to bring
them together, then roll out and cut out more. You should end up with forty
2-inch (5 cm) cookie halves or sixty 1 1/2-inch (4-cm) cookie halves.
5. Chill the unbaked cookies for 30 minutes in the
refrigerator or 10 minutes in the freezer. If you don’t have space for both
sheets, chill one first, then chill the second while the first batch is baking.
6. Bake, one sheet at a time, in the middle of the oven for
18 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned (begin checking at 16 minutes).
Transfer the sheets to wire racks and let the cookies cool on the baking sheets
for 10 minutes; then transfer them to the wire racks to cool completely.
7. To finish, dollop each cookie bottom (the one with no
hole) with about 1/2 teaspoon of jam (or other spread), spreading it slightly
but not all the way to the edge.
8. On a separate parchment-lined baking sheet, shower all
the top cookies—the ones with a “bull’s-eye”—with confectioners’ sugar.
Sandwich them on top of the filled cookies. Store the cookies in a tightly
lidded container, separating the layers with parchment or waxed paper, for up
to 1 week.
Notes
MAKES 20 (2-INCH/5-CM) SANDWICHES OR 30 (1 1/21/2-INCH / 4-CM) SANDWICHES
Delicious Cookies You Need To Make
I hope you enjoy this recipe for these delicious Bull’s-Eye Jam Cookies (OCCHI DI BUE). I know they will quickly become a household favorite for all to enjoy. Remember, you can find so many more incredible delicious Italian cookies to make in the Italian Cookies: Authentic Recipes and Sweet Stories from Every Region. This cookbook make a wonderful gift to anyone in your family and friends.
Recipe excerpted from Italian Cookies: Authentic Recipes and Sweet Stories from Every Region by Domenica Marchetti. Photos by Lauren Volo. Reprinted by permission of www.gibbs-smith.com.
Don’t Forget To Pin Your Inspiration!
We participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, Skimlinks, and other Affiliate Programs. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Affiliate advertising programs like these allow us to earn fees by linking to affiliated sites at no cost to you. As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases. Please check our Disclosure Privacy Policy page. Thank you for supporting our website.
