Lemon & Cardamom Linzer Cookies

Powdered cookies filled with glossy red jam are hard to resist. Add lemon and cardamom and it’s game over.

• 1 cup softened butter
• 1 1/2 cups icing sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
• 3/4 cup of your favourite jam
  (we used raspberry)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 375˚F, and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter and icing sugar until fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat again.
3. In a second bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt, cardamom, cinnamon and lemon zest. Add the dry mixture to the wet in three additions.
4. Next, divide the dough in half, flatten each into a disc and wrap them individually in plastic wrap. Place in the fridge to chill for 2 hours.
5. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the chilled dough to a scant 1/4 inch thickness.
6. Next, cut out as many cookies as possible with a medium-sized cookie cutter, and space them 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.
7. Using a smaller cutter, remove the centres from half the cookies. Bake in the preheated oven for 8 minutes, and remove to a cooling rack.
8. To assemble the cookies, spoon jam onto the flat side of every solid cookie. Sprinkle icing sugar on the tops of every cookie with a cutout.
9. Place the sugared tops on the jam bottoms, and store in an airtight container.