Linzer Cutouts

By hanley89

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup blanched and roasted hazelnuts
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 12 tbs unsalted butter, softenend
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
• Confectioner's sugar for dusting
• 1/2 About 1/2 cup raspberry or apricot preserves

Preparation

Step 1

1. Pulse hazelnuts and 1/3 cup sugar in food processor til finely ground. Transfer to bowl and whisk in flour, baking powder, cinnamon,salt and cloves.
2.Beat butter and remaining 1/3 cup of sugar in electric mixer until fluffy.Beat in egg, vanilla nad lemon zest. Gradually add flour mixture and mix until just combined. Divide dough in half, flatten each into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap. refrigerate till firm, at least one hour and up to one day.
3.Roll out each disk between floured dusted parchment paper to 1/8" thick. Refrigerate til firm
4.Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Cut out using a 2" star cookie cutter and place them one inch apart on sheets. Cut out centers of half the cookies with small star cutter. Refrigerate for 10 minutes. Reroll the scraps and repeat. Refrigerate dough if it gets too soft
5. Preheat oven to 350. Bake until cookies are golden brown around the edges 12-15 minutes. Let cool for 2 minutes on cookies sheets, then transfer to wire rack.
6. Dust the cutout cookies generously with confectioner's sugar. Spread 1 of jam on the underside of the whole cookie, then sandwich with the cut out cookie
7. Store in a airtight conatiner with w3axed paper between layers