Linzer Tarts
- 1 cup butter
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon orange extract
- 2 cups sifted cake flour
- 1 (12 ounce) jar jam (raspberry or apricot or mixture of both)
- For the Dough: cream softened butter with powdered sugar until well blended.
- Add the orange extract to the butter mixture and stir well to incorporate.
- Stir in the sifted flour one cup at a time, mixing well.
- Chill dough 2 or more hours before rolling.
- Fill with raspberry or apricot preserves or a mixture of the two.
- Preheat oven to 350u0b0F.
- Roll out dough on lightly floured board with floured rolling pin until about 1/4 inch thick.
- Cut with 2 inch round cutter (scalloped cutter is nice) and place on ungreased baking sheet.
- Cut out small center circle with 1 inch or smaller cutter in 1/2 of the cookies.
- (Reroll scraps as you go).
- Bake at 350u0b0F for about 12 minutes, until pale golden and edges are starting to brown.
- Cool completely on a wire rack at least 1/2 hour.
- Place all the tops (with the inner circles cut out) close together on a sheet of waxed paper.
- Dust sifted powdered sugar thickly over the tops.
- Place the bottoms on another sheet of waxed paper.
- Spread 2 teaspoons preserves very carefully on each bottom cookie.
- Spread evenly leaving 1/4 inch rim without preserves around the edge.
- Spread the preserves without picking up the cookie; use a flat knife and work right on the waxed paper covered surface.
- Top each preserve covered bottom cookie with a sugared top cookie, lightly holding it at the edges.
- Carefully transfer to a serving plate.
- Do not try to stack or store these very long.
- The basic cookies could be packed and frozen, but the assembled cookies should be made the day they are to be served.
- PS the original recipe gave the above warning about stacking and storing, but I have made them at Christmas and stacked them between sheets of waxed paper in a tin with no problem.
butter, powdered sugar, orange extract, cake flour
Taken from www.food.com/recipe/linzer-tarts-15511 (may not work)