No trip to Baguio City is complete without a visit to the Good Shepherd Convent on Gibraltar Road. In the convent store overlooking the pine trees and rolling hills of Baguio, the nuns sell bottles of strawberry jams and preserves, ube jam, adobo peanuts and cashew brittle, as well as guava jelly, pickles, assorted pastries and, appropriately enough, a delicacy called angel cookies.
While strawberry jams are also available elsewhere in the city, the jams and preserves made by the nuns and their helpers have a unique appeal. I like to think their virtues and values are poured into every product they make. As the label on their much-coveted ube jam says, “Made with care and diligence, cooked with a prayer and wrapped with the mission, these blessings in bottles/jars feed not only the body, but also nourish the soul.”
Among the missions of the nuns is helping send students of the Cordilleras to school. Every product sold helps put kids through college, a noble cause indeed.
On a recent trip to Baguio, I, of course, bought bottles of strawberry preserves. Aside from spreading the preserves on toast and crackers, I’ve also used them as topping for some light, airy cookies.
Try baking these cookies for the Christmas season, using the strawberry preserves made by the Good Shepherd nuns. Not only are the cookies delicious, you’ll also be helping fund the college education of some worthy students.
Strawberry Jam Cookies
2 c all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
1 c butter, at room temperature
¾ c powdered sugar, plus additional for sprinkling
2 tsp vanilla extract
½ c strawberry preserves or strawberry jam
Sift the flour and salt together. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter. Gradually add the powdered sugar and beat until the mixture is fluffy. Blend in the flour mixture and vanilla and continue beating until smooth. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to one hour.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 325º F (165º C). Grease two cookie sheets lightly or line them with nonstick baking paper. Drop the chilled dough by tablespoonfuls, about 1 ½ inches apart, on the prepared cookie sheets. With the back of a teaspoon, flatten the dough slightly and make indentations on each dough. Fill the indentations with strawberry jam or strawberry preserve.
Bake in the preheated oven, one cookie sheet at a time, for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer the baked cookies immediately to a cooling rack. Let cool then sprinkle with powdered sugar. Makes about 32 cookies.
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Cook’s tips:
Don’t overfill the cookies with jam or preserve so it doesn’t spill over during the baking process.
You can also use apricot and mango jams or preserves.
Use a sieve to sprinkle the powdered sugar on the cookies.