Almond Butter Cookies Sandwiches

Almond Butter Cookie Sandwiches are linzer cookies in disguise, the European tea-cookie that holds two thin shortbread rounds together with jam at their middle. Three cups of ground almonds give the cookies their tender, sandy texture and rich nutty flavor that takes them past basic shortbread.

The dough is more shortbread than cookie. Half a pound of butter, two cups of flour, only one tablespoon of water. The result rolls out cleanly without spreading in the oven, which is what allows for the cut shapes that make these cookies special on a holiday platter.

Chill the dough for at least thirty minutes before rolling. Cold butter is what keeps the cookies from spreading. Skip the chill and you end up with shapeless rounds.

Roll to a quarter-inch thickness. Thinner and the cookies bake too crisp; thicker and they read more like shortbread bricks than sandwich cookies.

Use parchment for both rolling and baking. The dough is rich and fragile and parchment makes transfer foolproof.

Sandwich with raspberry jam (the recipe’s recommendation, rightly) or chocolate ganache. Strain the jam first to remove seeds for a cleaner look.

Chef Tips

• Grind the almonds yourself in a food processor for the freshest flavor. Pre-ground almond flour works but loses some of its oil character on the shelf.
• Cut a small window in half the cookies (use a smaller cutter to remove a circle or star from the center) before baking to create traditional linzer-style sandwich tops that show off the jam.
• Dust the assembled cookies with powdered sugar for a finished bakery look.
• Store unfilled cookies separately and assemble within a few hours of serving. Filled cookies soften over time as the jam wicks into the shortbread.

Variations

• Use apricot or strawberry jam instead of raspberry for color variety on a holiday platter.
• Sandwich with Nutella for a chocolate-hazelnut twist that suits coffee.
• Add half a teaspoon of cinnamon and a pinch of cloves to the dough for a traditional Austrian linzer flavor profile.