This is a variation of Eli Zabar's delicious shortbread cookies.
Ingredients
- 3/4 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cups flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup good raspberry preserves
- Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the butter and sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
Roll the dough 1/4-inch thick and cut 2 3/4-inch rounds with a plain or fluted cutter. With 1/2 of the rounds, cut a hole from the middle of each round with a heart or spade shaped cutter. Place all the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and chill for 15 minutes.
Bake the cookies for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature. Spread raspberry preserves on the flat side of each solid cookie. Dust the top of the cut-out cookies with confectioners' sugar and press the flat sides together, with the raspberry preserves in the middle and the confectioners' sugar on the top.
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By aseagrav_9323973
Athens, GA
on December 23, 2011
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2nd time I tried this recipe--followed recipe exactly. I didn't have a problem rolling the dough but as they were cooking they spread out & ruined the pretty cutout for the tops (I used a Linzer cookie cutter. I baked the "bottom" cookie first using 1/2 the dough & kept the other chilled until I was ready to cut the "tops". I think the recipe has too much sugar & possibly that was why they spread out--they even taste too sweet. Even though the shape was ruined I still assembled. ( I used an oven thermometer to be sure my oven temp was correct & my oven was 10 degrees too hot so I adjusted the temp to 340--also they were browning around the edges after 15 min..
I'll try a different recipe next time.
By MontrealCook
Montreal, Quebec
on December 15, 2011
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Great recipe, but regarding the stick together factor, I think this is subjective and dependent upon where you live. I personally am in Montreal which where near Christmas like today (15/12/11 it's pretty cold, hence so is my 'room temperature' ... NOW if I could make these in one of our pat pending inferno summers there would be NO problem at all :- SOOO, I simply took my mixer bowl (metal popped the whole thing into the oven for approx 3 minutes and presto....no problem with sticking together. As someone suggested, I didn't refrigerate and cheated by putting on the jam (used red currant on BEFORE baking these little gems. They are perfect! I made 52 small linzers with this recipe, my cookie cutter is 49mm (round or just under 2"... does take some futzing with but the results are superb for the cookie xchange I'm going to ..... from 'not barefoot in Montreal'
By Floridagirl58
Naples, FL
on October 06, 2011
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I love these cookies! I have made them for the past 2 Christmas's and have never had a problem. Thanks Ina!!
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