Shortbread Jammers

Over the summer, I brought these fabulous cookies to the beach when we went to enjoy the sunset. They transported very well and everyone loved them. 🙂 Any type of thick fruit jam or marmalade can be spread over the top of the cookie base. By using raspberry jam, I thought that they could be renamed “Easy Linzer Cookies.”

The recipe was adapted from The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion via The New York Times, contributed by Vanessa Vichit-Vadakan. I baked the cookies in a 9×13-inch pan, per the original recipe; The NYT recently modified the recipe to bake in an 8×8-inch pan. I thought that they were perfect as is, but may “have to” try the thicker version to compare. 😉

Rice flour is suggested to make the cookies more tender. I used all-purpose flour instead and was pleased with the results.

Yield: 24 cookies (9×13-inch pan) or 16 cookies (8×8-inch pan)

• 1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup rice flour (all-purpose flour may be substituted)
• 1 cup thick fruit jam, preserves or marmalade (I used raspberry preserves)

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees, preferably on convection.
2. Lightly butter a 9×13-inch or 8×8-inch baking dish. Line with parchment and butter the parchment. (I used a lined, metal 9×13-inch baking pan.)
3. In the bowl of a standing mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar at medium speed for about 3 minutes.
4. Add the salt and vanilla and continue to beat until well combined.
5. Add the flours and continue to beat until the dough comes together.
6. Press the dough evenly into the prepared pan, smoothing the surface. Prick it with a fork in about 20 places.
7. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through cooking, or until golden around the edges. Slide a dull knife along the edges. Cool for 5 minutes. (an 8×8-inch pan may require a longer baking time)
8. Using the parchment, lift the slab of shortbread out onto a clean surface.
9. With a knife, trim 1 inch from one of the sides. Crumble the trimmings into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
10. Cut the rest of the shortbread into 24 squares (9×13-inch pan) or 16 squares (8×8-inch pan) and allow to cool.
11. Spread a thick layer of jam on each square. (I kept the cut cookies together and spread the jam over the top of the entire surface.)
12. Sprinkle the reserved crumbs over the top.

Note: Layered between plastic wrap or wax paper in an airtight container, the cookies will keep for 3 to 4 days.

Linzer Hearts

We drag out holidays in my house. One day just isn’t enough of a celebration. 😉

We were so busy eating leftover Mardi Gras King Cake on Valentine’s Day, I had to make a belated Valentine’s Day dessert! The truth is that I was procrastinating a little bit. As much as I wanted to make this special dessert for my husband, I really didn’t want to peel the hazelnuts. I was quite happy to find a method to remove the skin by blanching the nuts. This method is a little bit time-consuming but it completely removes the bitter skin. Yay!

These cookies were very special- completely worth every minute of work. My husband wants me to add them to our Christmas cookie assortment! (in a different shape, of course) The blanching method used to peel the hazelnuts was adapted from Rose Levy Beranbaum, via Fine Cooking.com. The cookie recipe was adapted from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook. Wonderful!

Yield: 9 3-inch sandwich cookies and 14 2-inch heart cookies

• 4 1/2 oz (1 cup) raw hazelnuts
• 4 T baking soda, for blanching the hazelnuts
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp coarse salt
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
• 1/2 cup raspberry jam, for filling
• 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

To Blanch, Peel, and Roast the Hazelnuts:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, preferably on convection roast.
2. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Add 4 T baking soda and the hazelnuts.
3. Boil for 3 minutes- expect the water to turn black. Run a nut under cold water and see if the skin slips off easily. If not, boil the nuts a little longer until the skins slip off.
4. Strain and then cool the nuts under cold running water, slip off the skins, blot dry with paper towels.
5. Place peeled nuts on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Roast in the preheated oven for 7 to 10 minutes, until fragrant.
6. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature.
7. Pulse the nuts in a food processor until finely ground.

To Make the Cookies:

1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
2. Whisk the ground hazelnuts into the flour mixture; set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Add the egg yolks, vanilla, and lemon zest; beat to combine, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
5. With the mixer on low-speed, add hazelnut-flour mixture, and beat until just combined, about 10 to 15 seconds.
6. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface or onto plastic wrap. Divide in half and shape into flattened disks.
7. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight. (I refrigerated overnight.)
8. Remove one disk of dough from the refrigerator, and let stand until softened slightly. (This will help keep the dough from cracking when rolled.)
9. Between layers of plastic wrap or on a large piece of parchment paper lightly dusted with flour, roll dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Wrap in plastic wrap and transfer to a baking sheet. Place in freezer and freeze until firm, about 20 minutes.
10. Repeat with second disk of dough. (You can stack the parchment and dough in the freezer.)
11. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees, preferably on convection. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
12. Remove one sheet of dough from the freezer. Working quickly, cut into heart shapes with a 3-inch cookie cutter. Cut out the center from half of the shapes with a 2-inch cutter. (If the dough begins to soften too much, return to the freezer for a few minutes.)
13. Transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. (I kept the similar shaped cookies on separate sheets as they had the same baking time.) Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes.
14. Repeat with second sheet of dough.
15. Bake on the center rack, one cookie sheet at a time, rotating halfway through, until cookies are crisp and lightly golden all over, about 17 minutes for full 3-inch hearts and 15 minutes for the open hearts and full 2-inch hearts.
16. Let cool slightly on cookie sheet and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. (Cooled cookies can be stored overnight in an airtight container at room temperature before filling.)
17. Spread the flat sides of the whole hearts with jam.
18. Sift confectioners’ sugar over the open hearts.
19. Just before serving, top open hearts with jam. Cookies should be eaten the day they’re filled.

Christmas 2020 Update: I made 2 1/4-inch rounds with Christmas tree cutouts. I put 12 cookies on each baking sheet. The whole cookies baked for 14 minutes, the cutouts for 12 minutes, and the reserved trees for 10 minutes. Wonderful!

Two Years Ago:

• Haselnussmakronen: Raspberry-Hazelnut Macaroons
• Momofuku Milk Bar’s Crack Pie

Three Years Ago:

• Perfect Spritz Butter Cookies

Four Years Ago:

• Valentine’s Day Whoopie Pies
• Vanilla Bean Milk Tart with Brown Sugar Crust

Five Years Ago:

• Mini Cheesecakes with Raspberry Hearts
• Tutu’s Super-Crispy Sugar Cookies

Haselnussmakronen: Raspberry-Hazelnut Macaroons

Oh my goodness… I hope it’s not too late to wish all of you a Happy New Year! 🙂

I am so behind on my posts- so please forgive me. I have to do a little catch-up with a couple of holiday cookie posts before I can move on! 😉

These Raspberry-Hazelnut Macaroons were a new addition to my Christmas cookie plates this year. I thought that they were special and tasty- but my biggest critics (read: my husband & my son) were skeptical. Well, let me tell you that TWO of my neighbors told me that they were their absolute favorite!! I was absolutely thrilled. 🙂

This recipe was adapted from Food and Wine, contributed by Luisa Weiss. I doubled the original recipe and reduced the baking time for a convection oven. These cookies are described as “extremely no-fuss”; they require minimal ingredients and no chilling time. Truly the hardest part of their preparation was roasting and peeling the hazelnuts!! I used a hand mixer (as instructed) but would use a stand mixer (with whisk attachment) next time to whip the whites to a little bit past soft peaks. My thought is that the cookies would be less flat as a result. I’ll keep you posted! 😉 They would also be wonderful for Valentine’s Day! ❤ ❤

Yield: approximately 30 cookies

• 1 1/2 cups whole hazelnuts
• 2 large egg whites
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup raspberry jam (I used Trader Joe’s)

1. Preheat the oven to 400° on convection. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Spread the hazelnuts in a pie plate and toast until the skins split and the nuts are fragrant, about 10 minutes. (Alternatively, peel and roast the hazelnuts using the method described here.)
3. Transfer to a clean kitchen towel and 
rub together to release the skins. Let 
the hazelnuts cool completely.
4. In a food processor, pulse the hazelnuts until finely chopped.
5. In a medium bowl, using a hand mixer (or stand mixer), beat the egg whites with the salt at medium speed until foamy, 2 minutes. Gradually add the sugar and continue beating until soft peaks form when the beaters are lifted, 
5 to 7 minutes.
6. Fold in the hazelnuts.
7. Using a 1-ounce ice cream scoop 
or a soup spoon, scoop 1 1/2-inch rounds 
of the batter onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart.
8. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes on convection, or up to 11 to 13 minutes in a standard oven, or until fragrant and lightly browned; rotate the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking.
9. Remove the cookies from the oven and, while they’re still hot, carefully make an indentation in the center of each with 
the back of a teaspoon.
10. In a small saucepan, boil the raspberry jam for 30 seconds, until slightly thickened. Carefully spoon about 1 teaspoon of the hot jam into the center 
of each cookie. Let the jam set and the cookies cool completely before serving.

Note: The cookies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container between wax paper for up to 4 days.

One Year Ago:

• Spritz Butter Cookies

Two Years Ago:

• Flourless Chocolate Cookies

Three Years Ago:

• Shortbread Snowflakes
• My Dad’s Breakfast Crepes

Cheesecakes with Raspberry Hearts

This is a cute and super tasty Valentine’s Day dessert. My daughter wrote about them in her kindergarten cookbook. ❤

The recipe was adapted from Martha Stewart Living. I modified the proportions and the method. My husband could have easily eaten two!

Yield: 16 mini-cheesecakes

• 3/4 cup finely ground graham crackers (from 6 crackers)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
• 1 pound (two 8-ounce packages) cream cheese, at room temperature
• pinch coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• raspberry jam, warmed in the microwave

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees, preferably on convection.
2. Line two standard muffin tins with 8 paper liners each. (I used the wells on the outside of the pan.)
3. Grind the graham crackers in a food processor.
4. Add the melted butter and 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar; pulse until combined.
5. Place 1 tablespoon of the graham cracker crust mixture into bottom of each paper liner. Using the bottom of a glass, press mixture flat in the base of each well to form the crust.
6. Bake until set and beginning to color at edges, about 7 minutes on convection or up to 10 minutes in a standard oven. Transfer tins to a rack to cool.
7. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese on medium-high until fluffy.
8. Reduce speed to low and add remaining 3/4 cups sugar in a slow stream.
9. Add salt and vanilla and mix until well combined.
10. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just combined after each (do not over mix). Scrape down the sides of the bowl and briefly mix to combine.
11. Spoon 3 tablespoons filling over crust in each cup. (I used a cookie scoop.)
12. Drop two dots of raspberry jam on the surface of each cupcake. Drag the tip of a toothpick or wooden skewer down through centers of dots to create a heart. Alternatively, make one heart in each and drag to form the tip at the base of the heart shape.
13. To bake, set tins in oven in two separate roasting pans. Place on the oven racks in the preheated oven. Fill each roasting pan halfway with hot water.
14. Bake until set, about 30 minutes on convection or up to 34 minutes in a standard oven, carefully rotating halfway through.
15. Transfer tins to racks to cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, uncovered, prior to serving. If made in advance, cheesecakes can be refrigerated in an air-tight container for up to 5 days.