Ingredients
Scale
For the Cookies:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup ground almonds or almond flour (blanched almonds work best)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest (from about 1 lemon)
For Assembly:
- 3/4 to 1 cup seedless raspberry jam (or raspberry preserves)
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar (for dusting)
Instructions
- Prepare the dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ground almonds, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar: In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar together on medium speed for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add wet ingredients: Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and lemon zest, and mix until fully incorporated.
- Combine wet and dry: Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix just until the dough comes together and no flour streaks remain. Don’t overmix.
- Chill the dough: Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a flat disk. Wrap each disk tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days. The dough needs to be firm enough to roll out without becoming too soft.
- Preheat and prepare: When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Roll out the dough: Working with one disk at a time (keep the other refrigerated), roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to about 1/8-inch thickness. If the dough becomes too soft, return it to the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.
- Cut out cookies: Using your larger cookie cutter, cut out as many cookies as possible. Place half of the cookies on your prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart (these will be your bottoms). For the remaining cookies, use your smaller cutter to cut out the centers (these will be your tops with the window).
- Re-roll scraps: Gather the dough scraps, press them together gently, and re-roll to cut more cookies. You can re-roll the dough once or twice, but avoid doing it too many times or the cookies will become tough.
- Bake: Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are just set and the edges are barely beginning to turn golden. The cookies should still look pale. Don’t overbake or they’ll be dry.
- Cool completely: Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. This is important – the cookies must be completely cool before assembling or the jam will make them soggy.
- Prepare the jam: If your raspberry jam is very thick or has large pieces of fruit, warm it gently in the microwave for 15-20 seconds and stir until smooth. This makes it easier to spread.
- Assemble the cookies: Place all the solid bottom cookies (the ones without cutouts) on your work surface. Spoon or pipe about 1 teaspoon of raspberry jam onto the center of each bottom cookie, spreading it gently with the back of a spoon or a small offset spatula. Leave a small border around the edges.
- Add the tops: Dust the cutout cookies (the tops) generously with powdered sugar using a fine mesh sieve. Carefully place each dusted top cookie onto a jam-covered bottom cookie, pressing down very gently to secure.
- Final dusting: Once all cookies are assembled, give them one more light dusting of powdered sugar if desired for an extra beautiful finish.
Notes
- The dough can be made up to 3 days in advance and kept refrigerated, or frozen for up to 3 months.
- If the dough becomes too soft while rolling and cutting, pop it back in the fridge for 10 minutes.
- For neater cookies, use a small offset spatula to loosen cut cookies from the counter before transferring to baking sheets.
- Don’t skip chilling the dough – it prevents spreading and makes the dough much easier to work with.
- If you don’t have ground almonds, pulse whole blanched almonds in a food processor until finely ground (but not a paste).
- These cookies taste even better the day after baking once the flavors have melded together.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes (plus 1 hour chilling time)
- Cook Time: 10-12 minutes per batch
- Category: Desert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Austrian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 sandwich cookie
- Calories: 165
- Sugar: 12g
- Sodium: 45mg
- Fat: 9g
- Saturated Fat: 4.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 19g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2.5g
- Cholesterol: 35mg