Mother's Filled Butter Rings

These are American-style Linzer cookies, also known as spitzbuben in Austria. Two delicate butter shortbread rounds sandwich a generous swipe of apricot preserves, with a tiny thimble-cut window in the top cookie that lets the jewel-toned jam peek through. Powdered sugar finishes them with a snowy winter look.

The dough is barely-sweetened on purpose, leaving room for the jam to shine. A half cup of sugar in three cups of flour produces a buttery, almost biscuit-like cookie that crumbles tenderly. Sugar-bombed shortbreads compete with the filling; these support it.

Chill the dough only slightly. Too cold and it cracks when rolled; too soft and it sticks to the rolling pin. The recipe is right to roll between waxed paper, working in small batches. The remaining dough stays cold while you work.

The thimble for the window is genuinely old-school. Any small round cutter works (a quarter-inch or half-inch piping tip, even a chopstick). Cut while the dough is on the sheet for cleaner edges.

Bake until very lightly browned, no darker. These cookies are about delicacy; even hint-of-tan-brown is too much.

Assemble only after both cookies are completely cool. Hot cookies melt the jam into liquid that runs everywhere.

Pro Tips

• Use thick European-style apricot preserves, not jelly. Jelly runs out the sides.
• Pile the jam slightly higher in the center so it shows through the thimble window.
• Dust powdered sugar through a fine-mesh sieve for even, professional-looking coverage.
• Store in a tin between layers of waxed paper as the recipe instructs. Plastic containers can soften the cookies.

Variations

• Swap apricot jam for raspberry preserves for the most traditional Linzer color.
• Add a teaspoon of almond extract to the dough for a more European bakery profile.
• Use a star or heart cookie cutter for the top cutout instead of a round thimble shape.