by: Kate McMillan
Cook Time
12 minutes
Prep Time
45 minutes
Yield
3 dozen
Total Time
12 minutes
Prep Time
45 minutes
Yield
3 dozen
summary
This classic holiday cookie looks especially adorable with holiday cookie cutouts in shapes like wreaths, Christmas trees and snowmen. A touch of almond extract in the dough and red currant jam make these extra-special. Sandwiching the cookies together with jam is a particularly fun job for a junior assistant in the kitchen.
ingredients
- 1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup almond flour
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- ¾ cup red currant jam
- Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting
directions
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, almond flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.
- In a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla and almond extracts and combine until mixed, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a flexible spatula, as needed. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until just incorporated. Divide the dough in half, form into two discs, wrap in parchment paper and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Working with one disc of dough at a time, roll out the dough on a floured work surface to about ⅛-inch thickness. Using a round cookie cutter without a decorative cutout shape, cut as many rounds as possible (gathering and re-rolling scraps) and place them on the prepared baking sheets (you should have about 36). The cookies will not spread during baking so you can place them about ½-inch apart on the baking sheets. Transfer baking sheets to refrigerator to cool for 15 minutes.
- Bake until just golden on edges, about 12 minutes. Let cookies cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheets and then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Roll out the second disc of dough to ⅛-inch thickness. Using cookie cutters with decorative cutouts, cut as many cookies (about ⅓ of each design) as possible (again, you should have about 36 cookies). Transfer to prepared baking sheets and bake for 12 minutes. Cool cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheets and then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Once all of the cookies have been baked and fully cooled, generously dust the cookies with the decorative cutouts with confectioner’s sugar. Top each of the solid cookies with about ½ teaspoon of red currant jam, and then top each with a decorative cookie cutout, sugared side up. Serve at once.
notes
These cookies have several steps that can be done in stages. You can make the dough up to 3 days in advance. You can bake the cookies a day ahead and fill with jam when ready to serve.
Cookies will keep, stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
You can use any jam you want in this recipe: raspberry, blackberry, apricot, etc.
You want to sprinkle the confectioner’s sugar on the top cookie before you place them on top of the jam so the jam doesn’t get covered with sugar.
It is very important in this recipe that you roll out the dough in an even layer for even baking time.
Bake on a silicone mat or parchment paper to avoid sticking to the baking sheet.
If at any time the dough becomes too warm to work with, simply refrigerate for 15–20 minutes.
