APRICOT LINZER COOKIES RECIPES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat at medium speed butter, sugar and salt until light and fluffy.
• Add egg yolks, cream and vanilla. Beat 2 min until fluffy.
• Gradually add flour with wooden spoon until well combined and dough is smooth.
• Divide dough into 2 parts. Shape into 2 balls.
• Refrigerate covered for 2 hours. Preheat oven 325 degrees.
• It's important to roll VERY thin so the sandwich, in the end, is still delicate and thin.
• Cut with cookie cutter and remove extra dough. Cut out a solid top and bottom for each cookie. Then cut a smaller shape into one of the cookie cutouts.
• Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until the edges start to turn a light golden brown. Do not over bake.
• Once cooled, spread jelly or preserve on one cookie, top with another. Powdered sugar on both sides. Makes about 3 dozen. She always doubles recipe.

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk to combine the almond flour, all-purpose flour, and ground cinnamon. Place the softened butter and sugar in a medium bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer). With a hand mixer (or stand mixer with a paddle attachment), beat until creamy and light, 2-3 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla extract and lemon zest and mix well to combine. Add the flour mixture in 3-4 batches, mixing on low to combine completely in between each addition. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed.  Divide the dough into 2 portions and pat into 2 discs, about 1” thick.  Wrap each tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour until firm (or up to 2 days). Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes. The dough should still feel cold and slightly firm but soft enough to leave the imprint of your fingers. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Flour a surface very well and place one disc of dough on top (leave the other disc wrapped in plastic wrap). Roll into a large, thin sheet (between 1/16 - 1/8-inch thick.) Using a circle or shaped cutter (about 2 ½” wide), cut shapes from the dough. Place the cookies on large baking sheets lined with parchment paper, about 1-inch apart. Gather up any remaining scraps, wrap with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Repeat with the remaining sheet of dough and any remaining, chilled dough scraps. Cut small shapes from the centers of one-half of the cookies. (You can add this dough to the re-roll pile, or bake off little mini cookies). Bake for 9-11 minutes, just until the edges of the cookies are lightly golden. Let cool for 5 minutes on the sheet pans before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. Top the whole cookies with 1-2 teaspoons of jam and spread all over the center of the cookies. Place the cookies with cut-outs on a sheet tray and sift powdered sugar over top. Carefully place the sugared cookies over top of the cookies with jam. Serve immediately or store in a single layer in an air-tight container, between sheets of parchment paper, in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days.