Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a cookie sheet and line with baking paper/silicone.
Beat butter, sugar and vanilla extract in a small bowl for 3-4 minutes untill light and fluffy. Add egg, beating until just combined.
Stir in the flour and almond meal. Mix well. [If the weather is warm or particularly hot, place the cookie batter in the refrigerator to chill for at least half an hour].
Roll approximately a tablespoon and half of the cookie dough into a ball in the palm of your hands. Place the cookie balls on prepared sheet, at least 5 cm apart.
Using your thumb, press down on the top of each cookie to create a soft indent. Fill each indent with a quarter teaspoon of strawberry jam.
Bake for approximately 18 minutes. Remove from oven and cool jam drops on a wire rack. Store in an air-tight container for a week in a cool corner of your kitchen.
Notes
Butter - Use salted or unsalted butter for this recipe. Make sure it is softened and at room temperature.
Egg - Use a standard-sized egg weighing approximately 60g. Make it egg-free by replacing with a flax egg (1 flax egg is 1 tablespoon flax seed meal and 3 tablespoons water mixed and allowed to set for 5 minutes)
Flour - Plain white flour is perfect for this butter cookie. You can replace that with spelt flour for added texture and nutrients. To make your jam drops gluten-free, try substituting regular plain flour with sorghum or chestnut flour.
Sugar - I use raw caster sugar. It is slightly golden and has a richer taste. If you can't find raw caster sugar, blend regular raw sugar in a small processor to make raw caster sugar. Alternatively, use white caster sugar (please note that your jam drops may be paler in colour).
Jam - If your jam is too stodgy, place a few tablespoons in a microwaveable bowl and add a teaspoon of water. Mix well and microwave for 6-8 seconds to loosen the jam before proceeding with filling the indents. Bake as per the recipe instructions. Any red/berry jam works well in this recipe.