cookie cutter

I received the latest Gourmet magazine last week. The cover had delicious looking cookies that caught Mony's eye. He asked if I could make him some - and since he usually does not make many requests, I decided to bake them for him this past weekend.

The recipe was super easy and not very complicated at all. The magazine suggested placing them in trio's for a larger cookie but I liked the smaller individual cookies better.

Gourmet's recipe filled them with strawberry, raspberry, and apricot preserves. But we used Bon Maman strawberry jam, and dulce de leche spread because that's what we had on hand.

The cookies were soft and yet had a crispy bite. I highly recommend making some as part of your Christmas cookie repertoire this season. I froze half the dough and hope to make these again soon.

Trios
Gourmet ~ December 2007

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
About 2 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam
About 2 tablespoons apricot preserves
About 2 tablespoons strawberry preserves

Equipment: a 1/2-inch-thick wooden spoon handle

Make dough:
Whisk together flour and salt. Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until very pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes, then beat in egg and vanilla. At low speed, mix in flour mixture in 3 batches just until a dough forms. Divide dough in half and form each piece into a 6-inch disk, then chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, about 1 hour.

Assemble and bake cookies:
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Roll 3 separate level teaspoons of dough each into a ball, then flatten each ball slightly (to 1 inch wide and less than 1/2 inch thick). Arrange them in a triangle on baking sheet with edges touching in center, then make a deep indentation in center of each round with wooden spoon handle. Make more cookies, arranging them 1 inch apart on baking sheets.

Fill indentations in each cookie with about 1/8th teaspoon jam (each cookie should have 3 different fillings), avoiding any large pieces of fruit.

Bake until cookies are baked through and golden-brown on edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

*Note: This recipe makes a huge amount of cookies. I froze half the dough and will make the 2nd batch later on.


Okay, so now a quick house update:

The snow doesn't seem to be holding them back.
Slowly but surely, we're getting there!