Sweet Caroline Jam Kiss Cookies (Allergy Friendly And Gluten Free)

These jam kiss cookies are a slow Saturday morning bake… sweet, nostalgic, gluten free and dairy free, with a little kitchen witch love.

It’s a rainy Saturday morning here in the Blue Mountains… 17th January, soft light outside, kettle on, and that cosy feeling that makes you want to put the fire on.

But it’s not quite cold enough for that… so baking is the next best thing.

I baked these jam kiss cookies as an allergy-friendly addition for little ones coming over today. Normally I’d bake with full cream dairy milk and hearty wholemeal flour, but I wanted something safe and special just for them.

Every now and then (and truly, really often) when I’m in the kitchen, I find myself thinking about the women who’ve shaped the way I cook… the ones who taught me that food is love, and the simplest things can become ritual.

When I was a young girl and first learning to cook properly, I wasn’t living with my mother. I was living with my grandmother… so my two greatest influences in the kitchen have been my grandmother, and later my mother-in-law.

And today’s bake is dedicated to the Sweet Caroline in my life, my beautiful mother-in-law Caroline.

Caroline is also a family name. It was my great grandmother’s middle name… and I love that it’s travelled through the lineage like that, stitched into the women of the family.

And Caroline truly is sweet.

She is the one who remembers to call everybody on their birthday. She always sends a little message. In the old days it would have been a card… the kind that says thank you for dinner, thank you for having me, thinking of you. She carries those traditions that once mattered so deeply… and she reminds us that beauty and care belong in everyday life, not just special occasions.

We live in such a casual world now. But Caroline keeps a kind of old elegance alive. She’s vibrant, energetic and colourful, and she has played such a big role in all of our lives.

I first met her when I was only 11 years old, so at 51 I’ve known her all of my life really… and she is just so special.

And the name fits her perfectly too.

Caroline comes from an old root meaning “free woman” or “strong woman”. And honestly… that’s exactly her energy.

So these little jam kiss cookies are a tribute. A dedication.

Soft, safe, simple… and made with love.

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Sweet Caroline Jam Kiss Cookies 🍓✨

Makes 22 cookies

These are simple little thumbprint cookies filled with fruit spread… crisp at the edges, tender in the middle, and perfect with a cup of tea.

They’re also an allergy-friendly option when you want the little ones to feel included at the table without fuss.

Ingredients (with magical properties)

• 120 g Nuttelex (dairy free spread)

  Comfort, softness, emotional ease

• 70 g caster sugar (or white sugar)

  Joy, sweetness, lightness of heart

• 1 medium egg

  Binding, protection, holding it all together

• 1 to 1½ tsp vanilla bean paste

  Warmth, love, sensual calm, home energy

• 300 g gluten free plain flour

  Grounding, steadiness, nourishment

• 1½ tsp gluten free baking powder

  Uplift, renewal, rising energy

• ¼ tsp salt

  Cleansing, protection, warding

• Fruit spread or jam (Four Fruits is beautiful)

  Love, family memory, devotion

Jam amount

• ½ teaspoon jam per cookie

• approx 11 teaspoons total (3 tbsp + 2 tsp)

Optional (only if dough is too dry):

• 1–2 tsp Bonsoy or dairy free milk

  Ease, flow, gentleness

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Method (mixing bowl style)

1. Preheat & prepare

   Preheat oven to 170°C fan (or 180°C standard).

   Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.

2. Cream the spread and sugar

   In a bowl, beat the Nuttelex and sugar until pale and fluffy.

3. Add egg and vanilla

   Beat in the egg and vanilla bean paste until smooth.

4. Mix in dry ingredients

   Add gluten free flour, baking powder and salt.

   Stir until a dough forms.

   If the mixture feels crumbly, add 1 tsp Bonsoy at a time until it holds together.

5. Roll into cookies

   Roll the dough into 22 small balls and place on trays with a little space between.

6. The thumbprint (the intention point) ✨

   Press a small well into each ball with your thumb.

   This is where you put in your healing energy… or your intention.

   
   

   Food holds energy.

   
   

   And this is the moment you press yours into the dough.

7. Add the jam (the sweet offering) 🍓

   
   

   Spoon ½ teaspoon jam into each well.

8. Bake

   
   

   Bake for 12–15 minutes, until lightly golden at the edges.

9. Cool

   
   

   Leave on tray for 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool fully.

   
   

   They firm up as they cool and become perfectly biscuit-y.

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A little Kitchen Spell (to make these kisses extra special) ✨

As you press each thumbprint, pause for a second.

Breathe.

Soften your shoulders.

Let your hands become calm.

Then whisper something like:

“For the Carolines before me, and the Carolines beside me.

May sweetness and care travel forward through this family.

May every little one who eats this feel safe, included, and loved.”

And then add the jam like a tiny offering.

A kiss.

A heart-centre.

Because that’s what these are.

Not just cookies… little love spells on a tray.

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Nutrition Information

Servings per batch: 22 cookies

Serving size: 1 cookie

Average quantity per serving (1 cookie) Energy: ~280 kJ (≈ 67 calories) Protein: ~0.4 g Fat, total: ~2.3 g Saturated: ~0.7 g Carbohydrate: ~11.0 g Sugars: ~1.7 g Dietary fibre: ~1.0 g Sodium: ~40 mg	Average quantity per 100 g Energy: ~1275 kJ (≈ 305 calories) Protein: ~1.6 g Fat, total: ~10.5 g Saturated: ~3.0 g Carbohydrate: ~50.0 g Sugars: ~7.5 g Dietary fibre: ~4.5 g Sodium: ~180 mg

Nutrition values are estimates only and will vary depending on ingredient brands and biscuit size.

If you make these jam kiss cookies, I hope they bring softness into your day… and that warm feeling of being looked after. The feeling Caroline has always carried so naturally. The feeling of tradition, tenderness, and love made visible in small things.

And if you’re making them for little ones with allergies… I hope they feel included. I hope they feel safe. I hope they feel held.

Because that’s the magic, really.

Blessed Be

Angela xx