Linzer Sablés

This looks like a Christmas cookie. Especially if you're Swiss or German. Thankfully I'm American and I can do what I want, however culinarily insensitive, so let's make Christmas cookies in March.

These are actually really easy to make provided you have a cookie cutter. Somehow I managed to make it to my mid-twenties only owning ONE gingerbread man-shaped cutter. So further disrespecting our position on the calendar, I attempted to make a few Linzer Sablemen. These were not a success. This cookie's delicate and crumbly texture does not want to have arms and legs. It wants to be circular. So I relented and used to an upturned egg-cup as a makeshift cutter and voila, Lenten Linzer Sables were born.

Linzer Sables

• 1 1/2 cups almond meal
  
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons water
• 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup raspberry jam plus 1 teaspoon water

Put the first 5 dry ingredients in a bowl, whisk together. In another small bowl, stir the egg and water together using a fork.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until smooth, about 5 minutes.. Add the egg mixture and beat for about another minute until well combined. Add the dry ingredients slowly, mixing only until they disappear into the dough. Don’t work the dough too much once the flour is incorporated.

Divide the dough in half. Working with one half at a time, put the dough between two large sheets of plastic wrap. Using your hands, flatten the dough into a disk, then use a rolling pin to roll out the dough, turning it over frequently until it is about 1/4-inch thick. Leave the dough in the plastic and repeat with the second piece of dough. Transfer the wrapped dough to a baking sheet or cutting board (to keep it flat) and refrigerate or freeze it until it is very firm, about 2 hours in the refrigerator or 45 minutes in the freezer.

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Peel off the top sheet of plastic from one piece of dough and, using a 2-inch round cookie cutter—or...whatever you have—cut out as many cookies as you can. If you want to have a peekaboo cutout, you can use the end of a piping tip to cut out a very small circle from the centers of half the cookies. Transfer to the baking sheets, leaving a little space between the cookies. Set the scraps aside—you can combine them with the scraps of the second disk and roll out and chill again before you cut more cookies.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 11 to 13 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden, dry, and just firm to the touch. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool to room temperature.

Place the jam in a small saucepan or in a microwaveable bowl and stir in the 1 teaspoon water. Bring to a boil over low heat or in the microwave. Let the jam cool slightly, then turn half of the cookies flat side up and place about 1/2 teaspoon jam in the center of each cookie; sandwich with the remaining cookies. Finish off with a dusting of powdered sugar.