All month long, we're going to share festive holiday cookie recipes with you, some old favorites and some new twists. Because is there anything more holiday than baking cookies? Today's recipe is a favorite from the old world. This shortbread cookie is doused in powdered sugar, filled with your favorite raspberry (or any flavor) preserves for a festive, melt-in-your-mouth experience.
Linzer Cookies
adapted from Eli Zabar
3/4 pound butter, softened 1 cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon salt raspberry preserves powdered sugar
Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter and sugar. Add the vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and salt, and then add to the butter mixture. Mix on low speed just until a dough forms. Scrape dough onto a floured surface and shape into a flat disk. Cover all sides with plastic wrap, and chill for 30 minutes.
Sprinkle more flour over the cutting board or pastry cloth, and roll out the shortbread dough to a 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with a fluted round, then cut out the centers of half of them with the wide end of a pastry decorating tip. Place cookies on parchment-lined baking sheets, and chill for at least 15 minutes before baking.
After chilling, bake dough until the edges are a faint golden brown. Start checking for doneness after 10 minutes in the oven. Thicker cookies will take upwards of 15-18 minutes to bake through. Remove baking sheets from oven and place on racks to cool for several minutes. Once cool, spread a thin layer of raspberry preserves on the solid rounds, bottom sides up. Sift powdered sugar over the hollowed tops (bottom sides down again), then sandwich the layers together.