Pecan Shortbread Linzer Cookies

Cuisinart original

The red raspberry jam peeking through these sandwich cookies brings a pop of color to your cookie platter. You can use a star or even a small Christmas tree as a cutout for the center.

Yields

Ingredients

½ cup toasted pecan halves
¼ cup granulated sugar
3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus extra for dusting
½ teaspoon kosher salt
20 tablespoon (2½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 1" pieces
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¾ cup raspberry jam, warm

Nutritional information

No nutrition information available

Instructions

Put the pecans and sugar into the large work bowl of a Cuisinart® Food Processor, fitted with the large chopping blade. Pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal, remove and reserve. Put the flour, confectioners’ sugar and salt into the work bowl. Pulse to mix dry ingredients together, about 2 to 3 times. Add the pecan/sugar mixture to dry ingredients.
Distribute the butter evenly over dry ingredients in work bowl. Pulse to cut in the butter, 10 to 12 pulses. Add the vanilla extract. Continue to pulse until the mixture forms a dense dough. Remove dough and divide into two equal disks, wrap in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for at least one hour.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
Remove 1 dough disk from refrigerator. On a floured surface, roll the dough into an even ¹∕8-inch thickness. Using a 2-inch fluted round cookie cutter, cut rounds and place on parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes, turning baking sheet halfway through bake time, until the edges are golden. Remove from oven and transfer cookies to a cooling rack.
Repeat rolling and baking with remaining dough, this time using a ¾-inch round (or star or other festive shape) to cut out centers of the 2-inch fluted rounds.
Once cookies are cooled, spread ½ tablespoon of the warm jam over the entire surface of the uncut rounds. Top with the cutout rounds and press gently together to adhere. Dust the tops of the cookies with confectioners’ sugar.