This buttery sandwich cookie is a winner. Hazelnuts, jam and orange zest create a wintry symphony that is sure to delight at your next holiday gathering.
Ingredients
1 cup hazelnuts, toasted, skins removed
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
Seedless raspberry or other berry jam
Confectioner’s sugar for dusting
INSTRUCTIONS
In a food processor, pulse hazelnuts until finely ground. Set aside. Using a mixer, on medium speed beat butter until light and soft. Add sugars and cream until fluffy. Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add egg, extracts and zest and mix until blended. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon and salt. Add the ground hazelnuts to the dry mixture. On low speed, slowly incorporate the dry mix into the wet, mixing until just blended. The dough will be soft. Turn dough out onto a work surface and divide into 4 equal portions. Wrap each portion in cling wrap and flatten into a disc. Refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour (dough can also be frozen at this point for later use).
Preheat oven to 350℉. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove one disc of dough from the refrigerator at a time. Place dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll dough out to a ¼” thickness. Using a linzer cookie cutter, cut out equal numbers of tops (with a center hole) and bottoms. Reroll scraps of dough until you have 24 cut-outs —12 sandwich cookies. Using a thin spatula, transfer cookies to the parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake until cookies are firm to the touch, about 12 minutes. Repeat the process with remaining dough.
To assemble, place 1-1 ½ teaspoons of jam on bottom cookies, spreading jam to within ¼” of the edge. Top bottoms with a cutout cookie. Dust with confectioners’ sugar.