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Gingerbread Biscotti

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Gingerbread Biscotti

Happy holidays!  I hope everyone is having a relaxing holiday and getting some quality cooking and baking time in.  K and I had a strategic blog meeting earlier this month and we opted not to do our annual 12 Days of Christmas Cookies this year.  December is always such a busy month and we decided we would be able to enjoy our Christmas prep without all the self-imposed deadlines.  If you are still looking for some holiday baking inspiration, we have our archive of cookie recipes saved under the Christmas Cookies tag.

Gingerbread Latte

While we were together this year for Christmas at my parent’s home, K and I decided to make some Gingerbread Biscotti.  We knew it would be perfect holiday treat to go with our morning coffee.  We even used International Delight Gingerbread Latte creamer with our coffee to help meet our official holiday gingerbread quota! (Be sure to check out the the International Delight Member Delights’ program for coupons and giveaways.)

Our mom had found us this recipe for Gingerbread Biscotti and we had a lot of fun one afternoon baking together during T & N’s nap time one day.  We don’t often get an opportunity to make stuff together since we live on opposite sides of the country.  It’s also always a fun time writing up a blog post together- I do most of the writing and K focuses on the food styling and photography.

gingerbread biscotti 1

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Gingerbread Biscotti
Author: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 20-30 pieces
 
Ingredients
  • 2 cups, plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus extra for flouring hands
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
  • A few grates of nutmeg (or a pinch of ground nutmeg)
  • A pinch of black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt
  • ½ cup dark brown sugar
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg white
  • ⅓ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line one large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, spices, pepper and salt. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the dark brown sugar, the granulated sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla. Add the sugar and butter ingredients to the flour and spice mixture and stir to combine.
  2. Separate dough into two balls. Transfer first ball to the prepared baking sheet and form it into a slightly flattened log (approximately 11 inches by 2½ inches.) Repeat with second half of dough on the other side of the baking sheet. Meanwhile, whisk egg white in a small bowl until foamy. Brush the egg white over each log.
  3. Bake biscotti for 25 minutes or until it turns golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on the baking sheet. Once the biscotti has cooled down, move each log to a cutting board. Use a serrated knife to cut the log on the diagonal into approximately ½" slices.
  4. Arrange slices (keeping a cut side down) on baking sheet. Bake for another 10 to 12 minutes. Turn each biscotti over and bake for another 6 to 8 minutes, until lightly golden all over. Transfer biscotti to a cooling rack.

 Source: Slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Enjoy your last few days of 2014 and happy new year 2015!

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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of International Delight. The opinions and text are all mine.

1 Roly-Poly Santa Cookies

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Roly-Poly Santas

Here we are, our last cookie of the 2013 2 Sisters 2 Cities’ Cookie Countdown!   The last cookie is always the hardest to pick.  Since we photograph the number of cookies that correlate with the day of the countdown (if you haven’t noticed yet), having one cookie in a photo can be boring!   I knew that the last cookie had to be something special so when I saw these Roly-Poly Santa Cookies on Better Homes and Gardens’ website I was sold.  The funny thing is that  M and I both had these cookies on our 2013 cookie brainstorming list.

Roly-Poly Santa

Although these cookies are so cute, they are a little bit more labor-intensive than your average cookie.  I think this would be a great recipe to gift to kids.  I wanted to save one for my nephew T, but I knew they would never last in my luggage on the way home.

Roly-Poly Santas are made up with 11 red and white dough balls, then embellished with mini chocolate chips, red hots, and frosting.   I was worried that my red dye wouldn’t make a true red color.  I always get a bright pink when I try to make red frosting, but I’ve heard this happens to a lot of people.  From my research, I discovered that Americolor’s Super Red soft gel paste does the trick.  I was happy with the red color that my Santa cookies came out in and I did not taste any dye in them.

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Roly-Poly Santas
Author: 
Recipe type: cookies
 
Ingredients
For Cookies
  • 1 cup of butter, softened
  • ½ cup of sugar
  • 1 tablespoon of milk
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla
  • 2¼ cups of all-purpose flour
  • Red paste food coloring
  • Miniature semisweet chocolate pieces
  • 1 recipe of Snow Frosting
  • Red cinnamon candies
White Frosting
  • ¼ cup of shortening
  • ¼ tsp. of vanilla
  • 1 cup plus 2 tbsp. of confectioners' sugar
  • 1½ tsp. of milk
Instructions
For Cookies:
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. In the bowl of your mixer, beat butter on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Add sugar to butter and continue to beat until combined.
  3. Beat in milk and vanilla, scraping down sides until all is combined.
  4. Next mix in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour by hand. Remove 1 cup of the dough and place in a separate bowl . With the remaining dough, tint red with food coloring gel in mixer.
  5. For each Santa (this should make 10-12 cookies), shape red dough into twelve- 1-inch ball and sixty -1/2-inch balls(one 1-inch red dough ball, and five ½-inch red dough balls per Santa cookie.)
  6. Shape plain dough into twelve- ¾-inch ball and forty-eight- ¼-inch balls (one ¾-inch plain dough ball, and four-1/4 inch plain dough balls)
  7. Line 2 baking sheets with baking mat or parchment paper.
  8. Place the red 1-inch ball on a baking sheet, flattening the dough ball until about ½ inch thick. Attach the plain ¾-inch ball for head, flattening until ½ inch thick.
  9. Next, attach four of the red ½-inch balls for arms and legs and then attach the plain ¼-inch balls for hands and feet. Pinch the remaining ½-inch red ball into a Santa hat and attach to head.
  10. Repeat steps to create the rest of the Santas. Add the mini-chocolate chips as eyes and buttons.
  11. Bake Santa cookies for 12 to 15 minutes until edges are lightly browned.
  12. Let the cookies cool on baking sheet. Be careful because the are extremely fragile. Once cooled, gently move to a wire cooling rack.
  13. To create beard, put frosting in a piping bag with a small star tip (recipe below). Attach the red hot for the nose. Let sit until frosting sets.
For Frosting-
  1. In the bowl of you mixer, beat together shortening and vanilla for around 30 seconds. Gradually mix in around ½ cups of the confectioners' sugar until smooth. Next beat in 1½ tsp. milk. Continue to mix in remaining confectioners' sugar until the consistency for piping.

Source- Slightly Adapted from BHG.com

sisterk (2)

One Salted Chocolate Chip Caramel Cookie Bars

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Then there was one!

We are down to our last cookie already and wow, has this month flown by!  I am starting to get excited for the upcoming holiday and spending some time with the family.  I haven’t really had any time off since my move so a few days to breathe and relax will be nice too.  M and I were discussing how much we have to do for the holidays and she told me how she has yet to wrap a gift.  I, on the other hand haven’t even seen a gift I have bought because I shipped it to everywhere I am going so I don’t have to bring them on the plane.

The last cookie is a cookie bar, and a delicious one at that.  I have to admit that I don’t like make chocolate chip cookies for Christmas cookies because they are an everyday cookie to me. My boyfriend begged for this recipe and actually was head chef on these.   I just helped melt the caramel and he did most of the baking.   Guess which cookie has been the most popular so far?  Yup, this one!

Chocolate Chip Salted Caramel Cookie Bars

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One Salted Chocolate Chip Caramel Cookie Bars
Author: 
 
Ingredients
  • 2⅛ cups AP flour
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • ½ tsp. baking soda
  • 12 tbsp. butter, at room temperature, plus a small amount for greasing baking pan
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 2 cups chocolate chips
  • 10 oz. caramel candy squares, unwrapped
  • 3 tbsp. heavy cream
  • Sea salt, for sprinkling over caramel and bars
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
  2. Grease a 2-quart baking pan (11x7 baking dish) by spreading a small amount of butter on a paper towel.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda.
  4. Next, in bowl of a stand mixer, mix softened butter and both sugars.
  5. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and mix until combined and smooth.
  6. Slowly stir in dry ingredients and mix until combined. Add in chocolate chips.
  7. In a large microwave safe bowl, combine the caramel and heavy cream
  8. Microwave caramel on high until caramel are melted, stirring every 30 seconds for about 2-3 minutes, until mixture is smooth.
  9. Divide the cookie dough into two. Place one half of the cookie dough into the pan, smoothing with a spatula.
  10. Pour hot caramel over the dough in the pan. Sprinkle with sea salt.
  11. Drop remaining cookie dough by the spoonful over the caramel layer. Spread cookie dough with a spatula until the caramel is covered. Sprinkle with additional sea salt.
  12. Bake for 30 minutes or until the top of the cookie bars are light golden brown and the edges start to pull away from the pan.
  13. Remove from oven and allow bars to cool on a wire rack. Cut into squares and serve.

Source- Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod
sisterk (2)

Two Mini Gingerbread Men with Cream Cheese Icing

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Mini Gingerbread Men with Cream Cheese Icing

I spent my afternoon making Mini Gingerbread Men with Cream Cheese Icing and raced against the clock to get a photo of them with the dwindling natural afternoon light.  I should have read the original recipe more thoroughly and realized that the dough needed to chill for three hours.  Not a great thing to read on the shortest day of the year!  Fortunately, I was able to shave a little time of chilling the dough by freezing it for a bit instead.  Before the sun set for the day, the crazy rain and wind subsided and the sun came out!

mini gingerbread men

While I was deciding on what my last cookie contribution for our 12 Days of Christmas Cookies, I pulled out my cookie cutters for some inspiration.  I found a mini gingerbread cut-out that was just too cute to pass up.  Since the cookies themselves are pretty tiny, I decided to add a layer cream cheese icing between two cookies.  You can also use the icing to pipe details onto each gingerbread or just leave them plain.

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Two Mini Gingerbread Men with Cream Cheese Icing
Author: 
Recipe type: Cookies
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 36
 
Ingredients
  • ½ cup shortening
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp ground cloves
  • ½ cup molasses
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon white vinegar
  • 2 and ½ cups flowers
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 4 oz. cream cheese
  • ½ tsp vanilla
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
  1. To make the gingerbread men, mix shortening with an electric mixer for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar, baking powder, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves. Mix until combined. Then, beat in molasses, egg, and the vinegar until mixed well. Add the flour in batches. Divide dough in half. Wrap each half in plastic wrap and allow to chill in the fridge for 3 hours or the freezer for 45 minutes.
  2. Preheat oven to 375 F. Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll out one cookie dough half on a lightly floured surface until about ⅛" thick. Use a small gingerbread cookie cutter to cut-out cookies. Place on baking sheet.
  3. Bake for 5 to 6 minutes or until set. Cool on cookie sheet for a minute and transfer to a wire rack to allow cookies to cool.
  4. To make the cream cheese icing, mix the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer. Add in the vanilla and combine. Add in the powdered sugar ½ cup at a time to desired consistency.
  5. Spread a layer of the cream cheese icing on the bottom of a gingerbread cookie and stick another cookie to it. Repeat until all cookies have been paired up. Put remaining icing in a piping bag and ice details on each gingerbread man cookie if desired.

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Three Heath Bar Butter Cookies

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Today is officially cookie day!  Cookie day is when I bring a sampling of all the cookies I have made into work to share with all my co-workers.  I have followed this tradition for the last five years I still use my original snowman platter that I bought for my first cookie day.  Although I have had several different offices through the years,  it’s always nice to share the Christmas spirit with everyone!  It also helps me to jump start my holiday vacation in a great mood!

Today’s cookie is a version of a sugar cookies with a small touch of crushed Heath bar bits in them.  M and I received this recipe at the BlogHer conference at the Land O’ Lakes booth.  The original recipe called for toffee bits, which I thought I had bought until I opened the toffee bits to find chocolate covered toffee bits- actual crushed up Heath bars.  Whoops!  It was sort of a happy mistake because I loved the results.   The Heath bar doesn’t totally take over the cookie so you still have that buttery delicious taste of a sugar cookie. My mom loves Heath bars so I have a feeling this one will be one of her favorites.
Heath Bar Butter Cookies

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Heath Bar Butter Cookies
Author: 
 
Ingredients
  • 1 cup sugar
  • ¾ cup of butter, at room temperature
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 2 cups AP flour
  • 1½ tsp. baking powder
  • ¼ tsp. baking soda
  • ½ cup heath bar bits
  • sugar
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven 350 degrees.
  2. In the bowl of a mixer combine sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla until creamy. Scrape down the sides.
  3. In a separate medium sized bowl mix flour, baking powder, and baking soda together
  4. Stir flour into the butter mix. Beat until mixed.
  5. Add in heath bar bits.
  6. Roll dough into 1-inch balls.
  7. Roll dough ball in a bowl of sugar and place on cookie sheet
  8. With the back of a glass with a flat bottom, dip glass into sugar and flatten dough balls so they make about a 2 inch circle.
  9. Bake for 10-12 minutes until edges are lightly brown.
  10. Sprinkle with sugar and let cool.

Three Heath Bar Butter Cookies

sisterk (2)

 

Four Nutella and Sea Salt Stuffed Sugar Cookies

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Nutella and Sea Salt Stuffed Sugar Cookies

Four Nutella and Sea Salt Stuffed Sugar Cookies vs Four Calling Birds?  I’ve got to go with Nutella cookies on this one!

While this is not the first Nutella cookie recipe that we have posted about this year, I knew I had to try this Nutella and Sea Salt Stuffed Sugar Cookies when I came across them on Pinterest.  As I have mentioned before, my husband is obsessed with Nutella so I knew he would be all over these.  I am trying to keep some hidden in the freezer so there will be left for Christmas, but I’m afraid they have been discovered and our supply is running quite low.

Nutella and Sea Salt Stuffed Sugar Cookies

This recipe only yields 24 cookies, but these cookies do come out on the fairly large size.  If you want to have a higher yield of smaller cookies, I recommend just freezing Nutella with a 1/2 tsp measure and using smaller pieces of cookie dough for each cookie.  Either way, I imagine these cookies will be gobbled up in your house quickly as well!

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Four Nutella and Sea Salt Stuffed Sugar Cookies
Author: 
Recipe type: cookies
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 12
 
Ingredients
  • ½ cup Nutella (chocolate-hazelnut spread)
  • 2 and ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 and ½ cups plus ¼ cup granulated sugar, divided
  • 1 and ¾ sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp sea salt
Instructions
  1. Using a 1 teaspoon measure, scoop out Nutella and place in small heaps on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes. (I found using two small trays of plates work best because you can rotate them between the freezer and the kitchen counter as you are preparing each batch of cookies.)
  2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, beat butter and 1½ cups granulated sugar with an electric mixer set on medium speed until the mixture is creamy and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and the vanilla extract.
  4. Set the mixer to low speed and gradually add in the flour mixture until it is just combined.
  5. Place ¼ cup granulated sugar in a small bowl. Use 1 heaping tablespoon cookie dough for each cookie. Split the piece of dough in half and slightly flatten the each half with the palm of your hand. Sprinkle a pinch sea salt on one half of the flattened dough.
  6. Remove the frozen Nutella from the freezer and use a small metal spatula to lift the frozen Nutella from the parchment paper. Lay it on the bottom half of cookie dough, on top of the sea salt. If the Nutella starts to soften, place back in the freezer for a few minutes (or alternate with the other tray if you do two trays in the first step.)
  7. Cover the bottom half and frozen Nutella with the other piece of cookie dough. Gently seal the edges with your fingers. Roll the cookie in the sugar to lightly coat it and place it on the prepared baking sheet.
  8. Repeat with the remaining dough and frozen Nutella, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart from each other on the baking sheets. I found it easiest to prep about 6 cookies at a time in an assembly line fashion.
  9. Bake the cookies, one sheet a time. They are done when the edges are set and beginning to brown, 10 to 13 minutes. The centers of the cookies should still be soft and puffy.
  10. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to cool on a rack. Enjoy warm or at room temperature!

Source: Slightly adapted from Cookin’ Canuck

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Six Chocolate Velvet Butter Balls

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Chocolate Velvet Butter Balls

Looking for an easy, chocolate-y cookie recipe to bring to an upcoming Christmas cookie exchange?  This recipe for Chocolate Velvet Butter Balls fits the bill.  This chocolate cookie recipe whips up a high volume of cookies in no time flat and they are the perfect hit of chocolate.  The Chocolate Velvet Butter Balls also freeze very well in case you are stocking up on your Christmas cookie supply this weekend.

Chocolate Velvet Butter Balls

Can we talk about how Christmas is only a week and a half away!?!  I find that fact very shocking.  This is going to be a very busy weekend of sending Christmas cards, shopping for presents, wrapping gifts, and baking more cookies.  The only problem with starting to bake so early for our 12 Days of Christmas Cookie series is that we have a lot of cookie thieves in our home (myself included!)

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Six Chocolate Velvet Butter Balls
Author: 
Recipe type: cookie
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 35
 
Ingredients
  • 2 and ½ cups flour
  • 6 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1 cup butter, at room temperature
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • dash of salt
  • 1 egg
  • confectionery sugar (for garnish)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Sift together flour and cocoa powder; set aside. Use a mixer to blend together the butter and granulated sugar. Add vanilla, salt, and egg to mixing bowl and beat until blended. Pour the flour/cocoa mixture directly into the mixing bowl. Mix until dough is well combined.
  3. In the palm of your hand, roll into ball one inch in diameter. Bake 10 minutes on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Cool on racks and then sift confectionery sugar on top.

What are you plans for the weekend?  Do you have a planned itinerary of baking, sending cards, and wrapping gifts as well?

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Seven Italian Butter Spritz Cookies

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I have to admit that I was never a fan of Italian cookies before I started dating my boyfriend.  I didn’t hate them,  I just never really had too many growing up.   My boyfriend loves them because he grew up in Queens and was always surrounded by really good and authentic Italian bakeries.   After we moved in together, he was always bringing home cookies from different bakeries for me to try.  The cookie that is my favorite is the Italian Butter Spritz Cookie with the rainbow sprinkles.

I have searched for the recipe to make these cookies now that we don’t have the NYC bakeries right around us anymore.   The only problem with finding these recipes are is that they heavily guarded by Italian families, understandably because they are so tasty.   After reading a few forums of people trying to find the same recipe I was trying to find, I came across a women, Gretchen Price, that owns a bakery in New Jersey. She has several You Tube videos on how to make the Italian butter cookies she makes in her bakery.  Score!

The results?  Amazing!  Let’s just say the boyfriend was very impressed.

Seven Italian Butter Spritz Cookies

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Seven Italian Butter Spritz Cookies
Author: 
 
Ingredients
  • 7 oz. butter at room temp (about 1¾ stick)
  • 7 oz. shortening (Crisco)
  • 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
  • 3 oz. almond paste (before starting soften first by mixing in the bowl of your mixer until it gets almost butter like in consistency)
  • 4 egg whites
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp. almond extract
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 3¼ cups flour
  • Sprinkles
Instructions
  1. In the bowl of a mixer, combine the butter and shortening.
  2. Mix in confectioners' sugar and then scrape down the side of the bowl
  3. Add in salt, vanilla extract, and almond extract and mix until combined
  4. Add in almond paste, mix until completely combined- may take few minutes especially if you are using almond paste from the grocery store. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
  5. Add in egg whites and mix until combined.
  6. Mix in all of the flour,gradually working the mixer up from slow until medium speed until dough forms.
  7. In a pastry bag fitted with a large coupler and a large star tip (like what you would frost cupcakes with) fill bag with cookie dough.
  8. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  9. Just like frosting a cupcake, apply pressure to the bag, starting on the outside start to move in a small circle ending in the middle.
  10. Add sprinkles to the top
  11. Bake for 10-12 minutes until it they just start to turn golden on the outside.
  12. Move to a wire rack and let cool. Store in an airtight container for 2-3 or freeze for later use.

 

Italian Butter Spritz Cookies

Source– Adapted slightly from Crumb Boss
sisterk (2)

Eight Kolacky

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Kolacky

K and I are once again on the same wavelength this week…my cookie for today as part of our 12 Days of Christmas Cookies is also a jam-filled one.  If you are looking for a jam cookie in addition to K’s raspberry linzer cookies, try this recipe for kolacky.  This has been a traditional Christmas cookie that we have had at our home growing up.  I believe it has Polish origins.

kolacky

These cookies can be customized to your taste by using any type of jam or fruit preserves that you want.  I usually prefer to make it with apricot jam, but you could do another type or even a variety of jam flavors.  I love how this cookie puffs up while baking to create light flaky layers- it’s perfect with a cup of tea.

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Eight Kolacky
Author: 
Recipe type: cookie
Cuisine: Polish
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 30
 
Ingredients
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 and ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • Thick jam, such as apricot
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Mix butter and cream cheese together in a medium bowl until fluffy. Beat in vanilla extract.
  3. In a separate bowl, combine flour and salt. Add to butter and cream cheese mixture in fourths, blending well after each addition. Chill dough until easy to handle.
  4. Once dough is chilled, roll dough to ⅜th inch thickness on floured surface. Cut out 2-inch circles (or other shapes). Place on ungreased baking sheets. Make a "thumbprint" about ¼ inch deep in each cookie (I just use my thumb, but the back of a spoon would also work.) Fill each cookie thumbprint with jam.
  5. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until delicately browned on edges.

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Nine Raspberry Linzer Cookies

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On the ninth day of Christmas cookies my true love gave to me….
Nine Raspberry Linzer Cookies

This was my first attempt at Linzer cookies.  My boyfriend is a big fan of all cookies with jam and he asked me so kindly to attempt them. So of course I gladly accepted because I enjoy a good baking challenge.  I don’t technically own Linzer cookie cutters but I did have several different sizes of fluted squares and one that could be small enough to fit in the center.  I will admit the cookies are a little large for a Linzer, but still oh so delicious.  Since the middle piece cut out was about an inch square, they made perfect mini cookies.  I am saving the mini cookies for my Mom because she is a big fan of delicate mini cookies, right Mom?

Also as a side note- the cookies at first may seem a little crunchy.  As they sit with the jam/preserves for a few hours they will soften up so don’t be alarmed!  I used Target’s Archer Farms Red Raspberry Preserves and was a big fan,  but feel free to use the preserves/jams of your choice.

Nine Raspberry Linzer Cookies

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Nine Raspberry Linzer Cookies
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert
 
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups of Butter (3 sticks), at room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3½ cups AP flour
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup raspberry preserves
  • Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Instructions
  1. In the bowl of a mixer, add in butter and sugar and mix until combined (using the paddle attachment)
  2. Mix in vanilla extract
  3. In a separate bowl mix together flour and salt
  4. With Mixer on low, add the dry ingredients into the butter and let mix until dough starts to form.
  5. Take dough out on to a floured surface and form into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
  6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
  7. Once dough is chilled, roll out on a floured surface to a ¼ inch thickness.
  8. Cut out cookies with your larger cookie cutter and cut the center out of 1 out of every 2 cookies and place on an ungreased baking sheet.
  9. Place baking sheet in refrigerator for 15 minutes to chill.
  10. Bake the cookies for 20-25 minutes until the edges begin to brown slightly.
  11. Take cookies out and place onto wire rack, let cool for 20-30 minutes.
  12. Spread raspberry preserves on the back side of the solid cookie. Dust the top of the cut-out cookie with confectioners’ sugar and then place the flat sides of the top and bottom cookies together.

Raspberry Linzer Cookies

Source– Adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

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