Ha! well, I did it folks...Linzer Torte Cookies (Rustic Style) geez it wasn't easy! Its a wonder how your favorite things to eat are always the most frustratingly hard to make, or bake for this matter. Measuring cups and heavy equipment are just such a pain. Anyhow, you must be thinking to yourself that if I was going to go through all this trouble that at least I would be making chocolate chip double chunk cookies or something...well, the inspiration behind Linzer's was my brother-in-law's sister's homemade jams. ya follow? These jams are so amazing I keep asking her to sell them but, instead she just doesn't want the hassle and prefers to keep it as a hobby not a full blown biz. Why don't I have one of those talents? Anyhow, Mari (the bother-in-laws sister) gifted me a couple of jars and since then I beg for re-stock of jams in all her amazing new flavor combos ie; pear vanilla, strawberry passion fruit, meyer lemon, etc. There you have it I thought cookies and jam couldn't be such a bad combo! I have not given up yet on having her special order for friends or family or FF's fans...so stay tuned!
Ingredients
2 cups (260 grams) all purpose flour 1 cup (227 grams) (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature 2/3 cup (135 grams) granulated white sugar, divided Confectioners' (Icing or Powdered) Sugar for dusting 1/2 cup seedless Raspberry or Black Currant Preserves or Jam (can use other flavored preserves or jam)
*Incase our curious which ones I chose I used Pear Balsamic for some and Strawberry Passion Fruit for the others!
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Toast the almonds (or pecans) on a baking sheet for about 8-10 minutes (or until lightly browned and fragrant). If using hazelnuts, toast them for 15 minutes or until fragrant and the skins begin to flake. Remove from oven and place the hot nuts in a dish towel. Roll up the towel and let the nuts sit (steam) for five minutes then rub the nuts in the towel briskly to remove the skins. Once the nuts have cooled, place in a food processor and process with 1/4 cup (50 grams) of the sugar from the recipeuntil finely ground. Set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and remaining sugar until light and fluffy (approximately 3 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract, egg yolks, and lemon zest. Beat in the ground nuts. Add the flour mixture beating just until incorporated. Divide the dough in half and shape into two rectangles about 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) thick. Wrap the two rectangles of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm (at least one hour and up to several days). Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Remove one rectangle of dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough until it is about 1/4 inch (1 cm) thick. Using a 2 to 3 inch (5 to 7.5 cm) cookie cutter (round, square, heart, etc.) cut out the dough. Place the cookies about 1 inch (2.54 cm) apart on the prepared baking sheet. Use a smaller cookie cutter (3/4 - 1 inch (2.54 cm)) to cut out the centers of half of the cookies on the baking sheet. (You will be sandwiching two cookies together and there will be a small 'window or cut out' in the top cookie so you can see the jam underneath.) Reroll any scraps and cut out the cookies. Remove the other half of the dough from the refrigerator and roll and cut out the rest of the cookies. Bakethe cookies for 12-14 minutes or until they are very lightly browned. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. While the cookies are cooling place the raspberry jam in a small saucepan and heat gently until it has thickened slightly. Strain if there are any lumps in the jam. Let cool. To Assemble Cookies: Place the cookies with the cut-outs on a wire rack and lightly dust the tops with the confectioners' (powdered or icing) sugar. On the bottom surface of the full cookie (top of cookie will face out) spread with about a 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of jam. Place the cut-out cookie on top and gently sandwich them together, making sure not to smug the confectioners' sugar. Using a small spoon, fill the cut-out with a little more jam. Note: You can store the unassembled cookies in the refrigerator for several days in an airtight container. It is best, though, to assemble the cookies the same day as serving in order to keep the cookies crisp.. Makes about 20 - 2 inch (5 cm) sandwiched cookies.. |
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