COOKIE STAR JAM RECIPES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Beat butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add egg and lemon zest; beat until smooth.
• Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; gradually add to butter mixture, beating just until blended. Shape dough into 2 balls, wrap in wax paper, and chill 1 hour.
• Roll dough out onto a lightly floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into shapes using a 3-inch star-shaped cutter. Cut centers out of half of cookies with smaller star-shaped cutters. Place on greased or parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake, in batches, 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned; cool on wire racks.
• Spread whole cookies evenly with a thin layer of jam. Sprinkle cut-out cookies with powdered sugar. Place 1 cut-out cookie on top of each whole cookie.
• Star Cookies: To make these patriotic cookies (which can be used to garnish our Celebration Cupcakes), start with the Jam Stars recipe. Roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness; cut with a 2-inch star-shaped cookie cutter. Place on baking sheet, and insert a short wooden skewer halfway into side of each cookie. Bake as directed.
• Meanwhile, combine 4 cups powdered sugar, 6 tablespoons half-and-half, and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract, stirring with a whisk until icing is smooth. Divide into batches, and tint with desired amount of red or blue food coloring. Spoon icing onto cooled cookies, and spread to edges.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg. Combine the flour and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Dough will be stiff. On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough out to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into star shapes using a cookie cutter. Set cookies 1 inch apart onto the prepared cookie sheets. Place a teaspoon of jam onto each cookie and spread out towards the points of the stars. Roll out remaining half of the dough and cut into stars the same size. cut holes in the center of each star, then place them onto the jam stars.
• Bake for 7 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden around the edges. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks. In a small bowl, mix together the confectioners' sugar and almond extract to form a glaze. Add water a teaspoon at a time if the mixture is too thick to drizzle. Drizzle glaze over cooled cookies.