Classic Linzer Hearts
- 1 23 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup pastry flour
- 12 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 14 teaspoon ground cloves
- 16 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened, not melted)
- 23 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup finely ground hazelnuts or 1 cup almonds or 1 cup pecans
- 1 cup seedless raspberry jam
- confectioners' sugar, for dusting
- You will also need: cookie sheet and parchment paper.
- Combine flour and spices together in a bowl.
- Beat together butter and sugar for 5 minutes.
- Electric mixer at medium speed, with a paddle attachment gives best results.
- Lower speed and add almonds and flour/spice mixture.
- Finish mixing dough with rubber spatula as needed.
- Roll dough into 2 balls, and then flatten with hands or rolling pin onto sheets of plastic wrap.
- Once dough is about 1/2 inch thick, completely wrap dough and chill until firm.
- Dough will be ready in about an hour, but can be left for days.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven.
- Take out 1 roll of chilled dough.
- Gently roll or pound with hands soften.
- Roll to 1/4 inch thick.
- Use 2 different sized heart shaped cookie cutters to cut the dough.
- Use the smaller one on half of the hearts to make a "window".
- Place dough on parchment paper on cookie sheets.
- Scrap remaining dough together and roll out.
- Switch this dough out for the chilled dough.
- Roll out more cookies as above.
- Bake cookies about 15 minutes or until pale golden.
- While cookies are baking reduce jam in small pot on the stove top.
- Let it boil, then lower heat to simmer for about 5 minutes or until thickened.
- Once cookies are cool, dust windowed hearts with confectioner's sugar.
- Place spoonful of jam on backside of whole hearts.
- Place windowed piece on top to make a sandwich with raspberry jam showing through window.
- Store cookies in sealed container between sheets of parchment paper.
flour, pastry flour, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, unsalted butter, sugar, almonds, seedless raspberry jam, confectioners
Taken from www.food.com/recipe/classic-linzer-hearts-186167 (may not work)