Almond Linzer Heart Cookies
- 2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup confectioners sugar, plus more for dusting
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup potato starch
- Pinch of sea salt
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup roasted almonds, very finely chopped
- One 12-ounce jar raspberry jam
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter and the 3/4 cup of confectioners sugar at low speed until well blended, then beat at medium-high speed until smooth and lightened, scraping down the side of the bowl, about 5 minutes.
- At low speed, add the flour, potato starch and salt and beat just until the dough comes together; it will be quite soft.
- Scrape the dough onto a sheet of parchment paper and pat 1 inch thick.
- Top with another sheet of parchment paper and roll out 1/4 inch thick.
- Transfer the dough to a baking sheet and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small saucepan, combine the granulated sugar with 1/2 cup of water and bring to a boil.
- Add the chopped almonds and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the syrup is reduced by half and thick, about 15 minutes.
- Drain the almonds in a sieve.
- Spread on the prepared sheet in a single layer and let cool completely.
- Preheat the oven to 350.
- Line 2 more baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Using a 2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, stamp out cookies and arrange them 1 inch apart on the prepared sheets.
- Using a smaller heart-shaped cookie cutter, stamp out the centers of half of the cookies.
- Transfer the whole cookies to 1 prepared baking sheet and the cutout cookies to another.
- Gather all of the scraps and reroll between 2 sheets of parchment to stamp out more cookies.
- Scatter the candied almonds on top of the cookies with the centers cut out and press gently to help them adhere.
- Bake the cookies for about 18 minutes, rotating and shifting the pans halfway through, until golden around the edges.
- Transfer to racks to cool completely.
- Spoon a scant tablespoon of raspberry jam onto the whole cookies.
- Dust the cutout cookies with confectioners sugar and assemble the sandwiches; press gently to adhere.
unsalted butter, confectioners sugar, flour, potato starch, salt, granulated sugar, raspberry jam
Taken from www.foodandwine.com/recipes/almond-linzer-heart-cookies (may not work)