Heart-Shaped Almond Butter Cookies

Ingredients

• 3 oz (6 Tbsp or ¾ stick) unsalted butter, softened
• ½ C sugar
• 1 C almonds, finely ground
• ¼ tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
• 1 large egg and 1 large egg yolk at room temperature
• ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 C all purpose flour
• ⅛ tsp fine-grained kosher or sea salt
• ⅔ C raspberry preserves
• ¼ C confectioners sugar

Directions

1. Use an electric mixer to beat the butter until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and cream together. Stop and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
2. Add the ground almonds and nutmeg and blend thoroughly.
3. Beat together the egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Add to the mixture and blend completely.
4. Combine the salt and flour and add to the mixture in 3 stages, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Mix until smooth. Wrap the dough in a double layer of plastic wrap and chill until firm, about 3 hours.
5. Adjust the oven racks to the upper and lower thirds and preheat to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or non-stick liners. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured flat surface to a thickness of 1/4”. Cut out cookies using a 2” heart-shaped cutter. Using a 3/4” round cutter, cut out the center of half of the cookies. Place the cookies on the baking sheets leaving 1” between them.
6. Bake 8 minutes. Switch the pans and bake another 6–8 minutes, until light golden. Cool pans completely on racks.
7. Place about a teaspoon of the raspberry preserves on the center of each solid heart.
8. Dust the top cookies with confectioners’ sugar and place on top of the preserves to form sandwiches. Store in a single layer on a baking sheet tightly covered with foil up to 2 days.

Makes 2 dozen 2” sandwich cookies.