These Austrian holiday cookies are traditionally made with almond flour and raspberry jam, but they are also delicious with finely ground hazelnut flour and any other jam of your choosing.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup almond flour
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup raspberry jam
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
About this recipe
Special tools: A 2-2-½-inch round cookie cutter with fluted edges, a small heart or star shaped cookie cutter, a small offset spatula and a small fine mesh sifter or powdered sugar shaker for finishing.
Note: This recipe can be doubled to make a larger batch for gifting. The baked cookies freeze well stored between layers of parchment or waxed paper in an airtight container. Simply thaw them when you are ready to decorate, and proceed with the filling, sugar dusting and sandwiching steps as above.
Instructions
Place the softened butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and the almond extract to the mixer and mix on medium-low speed to combine. Scrape down the bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, almond flour, cinnamon and salt. With the mixer running on low speed, add the dry ingredients in two turns, mixing just until combined. Divide the dough into 2 portions, flatten each into a disc, and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for at least 2 hours before rolling out the dough.
Preheat the oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one portion of the chilled dough with a rolling pin to ⅛-inch thickness. Cut circles out of the dough (you should get at least 24) and place them 1 inch apart on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. These will be the bottom cookies in the sandwich. Save the scraps to reroll at least once. For the top cookies, roll out the remaining portion of dough and cut 24 more circles. With the small heart or star shaped cutter, cut the centers out of these circles and remove them. Bake for 8-10 minutes, just until lightly browned around the edges.
Once cookies are fully cooled, turn the bottom cookies over and spoon 1-½-2 teaspoons of raspberry jam in the center. Use an offset spatula to spread the jam out slightly towards the edges of the cookie. This will help the top cookies adhere to the bottom cookies and ensure a little jam in every bite.
Place the powdered sugar in a sifter or shaker and liberally dust the top cookies with the cut-out centers. Carefully lift the sugar dusted top cookies from the baking sheet and place on top of the jam covered bottom cookies (the small offset spatula is handy for this step too). Store the finished cookies in an airtight container at
room temperature for up to 5 days.
