SHORTBREAD COOKIES WITH RASPBERRY FILLING

I have been making these shortbread cookies for years.  I used to make them at Christmas time and distribute them to friends, but I have not done that for a few years.  They are really rich cookies, with a sharp bite from the raspberry filling. I used to make them at Christmas time and distribute them to friends, but I have not done that for a few years. They are really rich cookies, with a sharp bite from the raspberry filling. They are beautiful cookies.

I have been making these shortbread cookies for years.  I used to make them at Christmas time and distribute them to friends, but have not done that for a few years.  They are really rich cookies, with a sharp bite from the raspberry filling. Beautiful cookies too.

DOUGH INGREDIENTS

2 Cups All-Purpose Flour

¼ teaspoon Salt

1 Cup Powdered Sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1 Cup Butter

RASPBERRY FILLING INGREDIENTS

¼ to ½ Cup Seedless Raspberry Jam

2 Oz. White Chocolate grated or shaved

DIRECTIONS

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter until smooth. Add sugar and beat until smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract. Gently stir in the flour and salt until just incorporated. Flatten the dough into a disk shape, wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill it for at least an hour.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F or 177 C. Prepare cookie sheets with parchment paper.

   Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is about ¼ inch thick. Using a two or 3-inch cookie cutter, cut out the dough. Place on prepared cookie sheets. Use a tiny cookie cutter to cut out a window in the middle of half of the cookies on the baking sheets. (You will be sandwiching the cookies, so the window will allow some of the jam to show.) Place the cookie sheets into the refrigerator for about 15 minutes before baking. This will firm up the dough so the cookies will maintain their shape when baked. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned around the edges. Cool on wire racks.

   ASSEMBLY DIRECTIONS

3. Place cookies with the cutouts on a wire rack and dust the tops with confectioners sugar. 

4. On the full cookie, or bottom (top of cookie will face out) spread with about a ¼ to ½ teaspoon raspberry jam. Sprinkle some of the grated white chocolate onto the jam. Place the cut out cookie on top of this and gently sandwich them together. Using a small spoon, fill the cut-out with a little more jam. This makes about 12 cookies if they are small cookies.  You can also use any shape you want to cut these out the windows, I use hearts, Christmas trees, rounds, any small cookie cutter you have will work.