Linzer Tarts
Ingredients
1 cup butter (softened)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp almond extract
1 egg
2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (sifted)
1/2 cup almond flour (sifted)
A pinch of salt
Raspberry jam (or other flavors)
Powdered sugar (for decorating)
Directions
1) Cream the sugar and butter together in a bowl for 1 minute (a standing mixer works great for this). Then add the almond extract and egg, and mix for another 15 seconds. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, making sure everything is well mixed together.
2) Sift the flour and almond flour together in a separate bowl. Add half of the dry combination into the main mixture, and mix on the medium speed (to avoid flour clouds). Afterwards, combine the remainder of the dry ingredients and mix until the dough forms into a large, thick ball. Add more flour if the dough is still wet/not hardened enough to mold with.
3) Shape the dough in a large rounded brick, wrap it up tight with plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
4) Preheat the oven to 350oF and line cookie trays with parchment paper (one tray for the cookie tops, and one for the bottoms).
5) Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it out for cookie cutting. The height of the rolled out dough should be roughly 1/4 of an inch. Using the lid of a standard drinking glass, press against the dough to get that perfect circular shape (the cup lid I use has a 3 inch diameter). You will need to create tops and bottoms, with the tops having their center cut out.
6) Place the cookies on the sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until they are slightly darker along the edges. Do not overbake. Cool each batch for 10 minutes before transferring to a rack.
7) Once cooled, using a spoon lightly apply the jam to the bottoms, then gently place the tops over the jam. Dust finished cookies with powdered sugar.