Apricot sandwich cookies

I love a super simple cookie. One that isn't overly sweet or fussy. One that goes well with tea. One that you can almost convince yourself is a completely legitimate breakfast option, because it has jam in it.

{apricot sandwich cookies}

These work pretty well on all those levels. They are simple, delicate, lemon-y, and filled with jam.

Apricot sandwich cookies (from Martha Stewart's Cookies, makes 10 large or 1 1/2 dozen small)

1/2 cup almond flour (finely ground almonds)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp granulated sugar
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup apricot jam

Whisk together both flours, cornstarch and salt in a bowl.

Beat butter, sugars, lemon zest and 1 tbsp of the lemon juice in an electric mixer until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture gradually. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350F. Roll dough out, approximately 1/8" thick. (Martha recommends rolling between two pieces of parchment paper, but I just used a well floured board). Refrigerate or freeze for 10 minutes.

Cut cookies with desired shape (Martha calls for a 1 1/8" scalloped round, I just used the edge of a drinking glass). Refrigerate cut cookies for 10 minutes before popping them in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, until cookies are a pale golden color.

Strain jam through a fine sieve and whisk in the remaining lemon juice. When cookies are cool, make sandwiches by dribbling a bit of jam on a cookie and placing another cookie on top. The jam will set up in about 30 minutes.

This dough was soft, soft, soft. I chilled it before rolling it out and still had to add flour in order to avoid having it stick to everything in sight. It probably would help to follow the instructions and roll it out between two pieces of parchment paper, but I hate doing that for some reason.

The recipe says to dust the cookies with powdered sugar, but I prefer them plain. Less mess, less sweetness. The cookies are crisp and delicious directly out of the oven and then they soften up a bit and have a wonderful, slightly chewy texture once they sit. Heavenly.