Linzer Cookies

It's almost the new year which means so many of us are going to have food-related resolutions stifle our diets for at least the next few days so I'm ending the year with something buttery and sugary: linzer cookies. I love linzer cookies. I don't know what it is about them, but I've always loved them. Maybe it's because they're so pretty? I used to get them at university all the time as a little pick-me-up between classes. I haven't had one since I left Ithaca, which is sad, right? So, to fix that problem, I made a batch.

Ingredients [makes about a dozen cookies]:
1 cup flour
½ cup blanched almonds
¼ cup granulated sugar
½ cup butter (1 stick)
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
raspberry jam (or jam of your choice)
powdered sugar

The first step is to gently roast the almonds. Place them on a sheet pan and stick them in a 350F oven for just a few minutes until they start to turn golden brown. When you start to smell them, they're probably ready to come out of the oven.

Once the almond are cool, toss them into a food processor with the flour and grind them up.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the egg yolk, vanilla extract, and salt and mix until combined.

Add the almond and flour mixture to the batter and beat until combined.

Wrap up the dough in plastic wrap and chill for 4 hours or overnight.

Once the dough is chilled, roll out the dough and cut out the cookies. I chose a fluted circle and hearts to cut out of the centers.

Place the cookies on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake in a 350F oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Let the cookies cool on a wire rack.

Grab some of the jam and give it a stir just to break up any chunks and to get it ready to spread.

Grab the cookies without the holes and smear on some jam.

Dust the hole-cookies with a bit of powdered sugar and top the jam cookies.

Once the cookies and sandwiched together, you can eat them. They're so cute, right?

Indulge! One last hoorah for 2013.

Here's the recipe page: