Linzer Cookies

Total Time: 50 mins Preparation Time: 40 mins Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup trans fat-free margarine or 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup grated lemon peel (optional)
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds (optional)
• 1/3 cup raspberry jam
• confectioners' sugar

Recipe

• 1 beat margarine, oil, granulated sugar and lemon peel, if using, until light.
• 2 beat in egg and vanilla extract until smooth.
• 3 in separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.
• 4 add to sugar mixture, and stir by hand just until dough is soft.
• 5 divide dough in half, shape each half into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate one hour, or until well chilled.
• 6 when ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°f.
• 7 between two pieces of wax paper, roll out one disk to ¼" thickness.
• 8 cut out cookies using a 1½"- to 2"-round cookie cutter or glass rim.
• 9 using a ½"-round or shaped cutter, cut centers out of half the cookies.
• 10 place cookies 2" to 3" apart on baking sheet coated with cooking spray.
• 11 sprinkle cookies with centers cut out with almonds; if using, pressing gently to help them adhere.
• 12 bake 10 to 12 minutes, until lightly golden around edges.
• 13 transfer to rack to cool.
• 14 repeat with remaining disk, rerolling scraps once to get as many cookies as possible.
• 15 spread solid cookies with jam, and sprinkle cut-out cookies lightly with confectioners' sugar.
• 16 top each solid cookie with a cut-out cookie.
• 17 notes: freeze em; freezing is a good idea for these cookies, since they're so low in fat that they don't keep as long as traditional high-fat cookies.
• 18 store in airtight containers, or freeze them if they aren't going to be eaten within a day or two.
• 19 soft and crisp cookies shouldn't be stored together; the crisp ones will go soggy, and the soft ones will lose moisture.