Dark Chocolate Mini Jam Tarts

We have all of these delicious jams given to us as a gift. The holidays are the perfect time to make a cookie that highlights their flavors.

I have a shortbread recipe I have made before with jam, but I wanted something different this year. Since one of the flavors of jam we had on hand was a sweet cherry, chocolate seemed like it should pair well.

The part I wasn't prepared for was how much jam I would need. I used up a considerable amount of my stash making these. The tarts are very intensely chocolate, with a nice bite of jam in the middle. Experiment with different combinations ! I chose the cherry, strawberry and blueberry for this batch. All were tasty, but the cherry was definitely the star.

Dark Chocolate Mini Jam Tarts

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup dark chocolate powder
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups cherry jam (or any flavor you prefer)
Preheat oven to 350. Spray mini muffin tins with non-stick spray and set aside. In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugars and vanilla. Sift together dry ingredients,  then slowly mix into creamed ingredients. Form into one inch balls and press into mini muffin tins. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon jam into each of the cups. Bake 10-12 minutes until cookies are firm. Let cool 5 minutes before removing from pan. Top with additional jam, if desired.