7 oz. (200 g) seedless red currant, raspberry and/or apricot jam
Rum (if desired)
Steps
Make the dough: Toss the flour and salt together on your work surface. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips (or use a pastry cutter). When there are only little shreds of butter remaining, make an indentation in the center of the flour and put the powdered sugar, vanilla or vanilla sugar and egg yolks into the center. Using a fork, mix the egg yolks with the powdered sugar, making a thick paste in the center of the flour. Bring all the ingredients together with your hands and knead until smooth dough is formed.* Do not over-knead! Cut the dough in half, shape into disks, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days. 30 minutes to 1 hour is ideal. The dough should be cold when you roll it out.**
For Linzer Cookies: Preheat oven to 350°F (170°C). Roll out the dough to 1/16 inch (2-3 mm) thickness on a well-floured work surface. Using a Linzer cookie cutter*** (1 ½ inches or 4 cm), cut out cookie tops (with holes) and place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Cut out the same number of cookie bottoms (without holes). Knead the scraps together and repeat rolling out and cutting out the cookies.**** Bake for 8 minutes, or until cookies are just starting to brown. Remove from oven and carefully pull the parchment paper with the cookies off the tray and onto a countertop to cool. Gently warm the jam until it is a little runny and stir well. A little rum (1-2 teaspoons) can be stirred into the jam for flavor! Using a spoon, spread the bottoms of the cookies without holes generously with jam and top with the cookies with the cutouts. Dust with powdered sugar and store cookies tightly sealed for at least two days to allow them to become tender.
For Thumbprint Cookies: Preheat oven to 350°F (170°C). Roll the dough into 1-inch sized balls, each weighing about 15 g, place on a parchment lined baking tray and make an indentation in the middle of each cookie with the floured end of a wooden spoon handle. Gently warm jam until it gets runny (stir in 1-2 teaspoons rum for flavor), pipe or spoon jam into the indentations. Bake for about 8-10 minutes or just until the edges of the cookies start to brown. Remove from oven and carefully pull the parchment paper with the cookies off the tray and onto a countertop to cool. Dust with powdered sugar if desired and store cookies tightly sealed for at least two days to allow them to become tender.
