My most favorite cookies of all time are the shortbread cookies with apricot or raspberry jam. Shortbread cookies probably have been my earliest memory as my step-grandma, Babushka Alja, made those little delicious things every time we would visit her. That and the homemade herbal teas… and the game of bingo.Last night I made a batch of apricot jam and Nutella filled shortbread cookies. My husband and I had to consciously stop eating them… they are so YUMMY!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all purpose flour (plus more for dusting)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp of salt
• 1 stick of butter (8 tablespoons) soften at room temperature
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Apricot or Raspberry jam, Nutella…
• Powdered sugar

Directions:

First, sift all of the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt) in a separate mixing bowl.  Then in the stand mixer like KitchenAid, using the paddle (flat) beater, beat butter and sugar together, then adding the egg and the egg yolk, until smooth. Add vanilla now. Then slowly add the “dry mixture” and mix until it forms chucks of dough. Take it out and make a ball (it will have a consistency of a play dough) and wrap it in the plastic wrap. Put it in the fridge for up to an hour.

Once the dough is cooled off. Dust the table with flour and roll the dough to 1/8 inch (2-3 mm) thickness. Take your small round (1 1/2 inch diameter) cookie cutter and cut the cookies. Then place them on the nonstick cookie sheet (or use parchment paper), no spray needed, as the cookies have plenty of butter and won’t stick. When all the cookies are placed out on the cookie sheet, take half and make smaller holes in the center of them.  I used the filling nozzle (for cupcakes/donuts) to do this.

Bake at 350F degrees for about 10 minutes. You do not want to have color on them.  Slightly golden brown at the bottoms is perfect.

Once out of the oven, let the cookies cool off and place the “cut out top” ones on the paper towel and sift powdered sugar on them. Take the “bottom” ones and put the filling you chose and place the powdered ones on the top like shown in the photo!

Mmmmm… you just made the best cookies ever! Don’t forget to share with your loved one.

O