Table Talk
Linzer Cookies
It's raspberry time again. This year, my garden is bursting with berries, and after last year's pathetic crop, I'm ready. Besides the fun of picking berries and popping them into my mouth, my very favorite use for fresh berries is Raspberry Jam. After rinsing my berries, I place them in a pan, add some sugar and a splash of orange liqueur and let it all simmer together for about 5 minutes. Voila! There is nothing better to spread on toast or pancakes in the morning. It's like having fresh raspberries every single morning. But frankly, I end up with a lot of jam. I like to freeze it so that I can eat it year round, but last weekend, Kate and I made some cookies using the first batch of raspberry jam of the season. As Kate said, Heaven in my mouth.
Linzer Cookies
Copyright 1999, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, All rights reserved
This is a variation of Eli Zabar's delicious shortbread cookies.
Serves:
36 cookies
Ingredients
* 3/4 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
* 1 cup granulated sugar
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 3 1/2 cups flour
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 3/4 cup good raspberry preserves
* Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the butter and sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
Roll the dough 1/4-inch thick and cut 2 3/4-inch rounds with a plain or fluted cutter. With 1/2 of the rounds, cut a hole from the middle of each round with a heart or spade shaped cutter. Place all the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and chill for 15 minutes.
Bake the cookies for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature. Spread raspberry preserves on the flat side of each solid cookie. Dust the top of the cut-out cookies with confectioners' sugar and press the flat sides together, with the raspberry preserves in the middle and the confectioners' sugar on the top.
