linzer love

i do love a great linzer cookie.

let me warn you, these aren't the easiest cookie to make.

the dough is sticky and crumbly and hard to work with,

and the perfectionist in me has a hard time loving my 'homemade' look.

BUT, they were a challenge,

and this blog promises to share ALL adventures in the kitchen,

even poor showings & failed attempts!

i think my first mistake was using a recipe from all recipes.

(no offense to them, they normally have some great recipes!)

instead of sharing a recipe you shouldn't try,

i think this one from joy of baking will be a better bet!

ingredients

1 cup blanched almonds

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup sugar, divided

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 large egg yolks

zest of 1 lemon

confectioners sugar for dusting

1/2 cup raspberry jam

directions

1. preheat the oven to 350 degrees

2. place almonds on a baking sheet and bake for about 8-10 minutes

(or until lightly browned and fragrant). once the nuts have cooled,

place in a food processor and process with

1/4 cup of the sugar from the recipe until finely ground.

3. in a separate bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, cinnamon, and salt.

4. in seperate bowl, beat the butter and remaining sugar until light and fluffy

(approximately 3 minutes). beat in the vanilla extract, egg yolks,

and lemon zest. beat in the ground nuts.

5. add the flour mixture beating just until incorporated.

divide the dough in half and shape into two rectangles about 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) thick.

wrap the two rectangles of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm

(at least one hour and up to several days).

6, on a lightly floured surface roll out the dough until it is about 1/4 inch (1 cm) thick.

use large and small cookie cutters of the same shape.

place cookies 1 inch apart and bake for 12 minutes.

7. cool on a wire rack and immediately sprinkle the window shapes with powdered sugar.

8. meanwhile, lightly heat jam in a saucepan until slightly thickened. let cool.

9. spread jam over bottom cookie, place window cookie on top

and drop a small amount through the window as well.

it's almost valentine's day! :)