Ingredients
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips, optional
- 1/2 cup strawberry, raspberry or other fruit preserves
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Line 2 heavy large baking sheets with parchment paper. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl until fluffy. Beat in the egg. Add the flour and mix just until a dough forms.
Fit a pastry bag with a large star tip, and fill the pastry bag with the cookie dough. Pipe the dough onto the prepared baking sheets into stars, spacing 1-inch apart. If desired, press about 4 miniature chocolate chips into the center of each star at this point. Bake the cookies until they are pale golden around the edges and on the bottom, about 15 minutes. Cool the cookies for 5 minutes. Using a metal spatula, transfer the cookies to a rack and cool completely.
When the cookies have cooled, spoon approximately 1/4 teaspoon of preserves atop the flat side of 1 cookie. Press a second cookie onto the preserves. Repeat with the remaining cookies and preserves. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Store between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container at room temperature.)
Cook's Notes: Alternately, the cookies can be made into thumbprint cookies. To do so, refrigerate the dough until it is cold, about 2 hours. Roll 2 teaspoons of dough for each cookie into 1-inch-diameter ball. Place the cookies on the baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Make a deep indentation in the center of each cookie by pressing the back of a teaspoon into the cookies. Fill each indentation with 1/2 teaspoon of strawberry or raspberry preserves or chocolate chips, and bake as directed.
A chilled chocolate ganache may be used in place of the preserves to fill the indentations in these cookies. To do this, do not fill the indentations before baking the cookies. While the cookies bake, make the ganache by mixing equal parts of warm cream and chocolate until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth, then chill the ganache. Once the cookies have baked and cooled, and the chocolate ganache is cold and firm but still spreadable, spoon or pipe the chilled ganache into the empty indentations on the cookies.
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By babygap430
on December 12, 2011
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I have been making this recipe for a few years and I have never had a problem with 'spreading'. I do sometimes make the dough 1 day in advance as I read somewhere that it helps make them taste like Italian bakery cookies (perhaps it helps prevent the spreading?. If I have time I also wait 1 day before making them into sandwiches. This seems to improve the flavor as well. I don't pipe them either. I use a cookie press with a star disk. I spread raspberry preserves in the middle, dip half of the cookie in chocolate then dip in sprinkles. One cookie goes a long way.... I'm really trying to imitate the cookies I used to get in Italian bakeries growing up in NY! I think it's pretty close.
My kids LOOOOOOVE these. I wanted to make something different for their classroom Christmas party this year and they INSISTED I make these. It's a lot of work to make these for 60 kids but I guess they like them. Plus they are a bit more out of the ordinary than the usual classroom cupcakes.
By dperri_11115609
palos heights, IL
on December 13, 2010
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made these cookies yesterday, mine turned out too crisp and cuz I didn't see the program I wasn't sure what 50 cookie meant, 25 doubles? What size are they, I used the star tip, they were so small!!, had to reduce the baking time too, 1st batch were awful!The flavor was there but they were not tender, very hard, what did I do wrong?? Will try them again with a big log shape tip, thats the type I bought in the Italian store and they were wonderful, trying to match that cookie.
By gommina
Washington, DC
on May 28, 2010
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I love these cookies, I make both the sandwich and the thumbprint version. The ingredients are just perfect and they are even better the following day. I prefer them with jam, I think it works better than chocolate for such a delicate cookie.
For those who had runny cookies that spread: 1 make sure to have your butter and egg at room temperature; 2 really make sure to beat your butter and sugar very well, until it gets very fluffy; 3 it helps to freeze the cookies for 5-10 minutes before baking; 4 make sure you preheat the oven well, as my second batch comes out always better than the first one and I guess it's because the oven is hotter. Hope this helps!
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