Linzer Christmas Trees Cookies

Cooking With Rania - "Christmas Cookies"
KDKA Pittsburgh Today Live 12/01/2010

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Linzer Christmas Trees Cookies

INGREDIENTS

3 cups all purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup toasted hazelnuts
2/3 cup sugar
1-1/4 cups unsalted butter - room temperature

1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Powdered sugar
1-1/2 cups raspberry jam

DIRECTIONS

Combine flour, salt, baking powder in a medium bowl.
Finely grind nuts with 2/3 cup sugar in a food processor.
Using an electric mixer beat butter in medium bowl until light. Add the ground nut mixture; beat to blend. Beat in egg, yolk and extract. Stir dry ingredients into butter mixture.
Divide dough into 4 portions. Flatten each into disks. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Roll out 1 dough disk on heavily floured work surface to thickness of 1/8-inch. Cut out cookies, using a floured 3 -1/4 x 2 inch tree shaped cutter. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet about Â½-inch apart. Cut out rounds or ornaments (using a 3/8-inch round pastry bag tip) from half of the cookies. Gather scraps; reshape into disk and refrigerate. Bake cookies until golden (about 10 minutes). Repeat process with remaining dough. Sift powdered sugar over cookies with ornament cutouts. Spread jam over solid trees and top with ornament cutouts. Press gently to adhere.
Yield: 4 dozen