Linzer Cookies I

Directions

• In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, almond meal and salt. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, work in the butter into the mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Work in the egg yolks until the dough comes together. If the dough doesn’t come together after 1 minute, add 1 tablespoon of milk. This can also be done in a food processor but be very careful not to over-process the dough. Shape dough into a disk, then wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 1/2 hour, or refrigerate overnight and remove dough from refrigerator 1/2 hour before rolling. You want the dough to be cool, but not too cold. Preheat oven to 350F. On a floured surface or between two sheets of waxed paper, roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness or a little less. Cut out cookies with 3-inch cookie cutters. On half of the cookies, cut out a hole in the center with a 1-inch cookie cutter. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and bake cookies for 8-11 minutes or until edges turn golden. Remove to a cookie rack to cool, separating the whole cookies away from those that have a hole in the middle of them. Spread jam on the whole cookies, , and sprinkle powdered sugar over the cookies that have a hole. Place the powdered-sugar cookies on top of the jam cookies to form a sandwich with a window where jam peeks out. Allow them to sit out for a few hours to let the jam dry out. Store in an airtight container. They are best eaten a couple of days after baking to allow them to soften.