One of the best cookie recipes which I can think of is the Austrian Linzer Cookies recipe. I think they are very cute with those little windows which you can see the filling through and you can use any fruit jam to sandwich them – strawberry, raspberry, blackberry or cherry jam. I had never made them until recently so I checked a few recipes and found out that all of them are completely different! Some contain an egg, others just a yolk and third didn’t have anything like that. The traditional Linzer cookie dough recipes usually have ground almonds. I didn’t have any, and I really wanted to make them, so I created my own version of these Linzer cookies and I dare say that the result is more than good. I used strawberry jelly because it is relatively smooth and doesn’t contain big pieces of fruit.

If you use heart-shaped cookie cutters, this makes it the perfect recipe for St. Valentine’s Day!

Ingredients:

• 360 g flour
• 250 g butter, softened
• 245 strawberry jelly (or jam)
• 120 g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp. water
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• ¼ tsp. salt
• Powdered sugar for sprinkling

Preparation:

1. In a bowl, mix the softened butter, sugar and vanilla and stir until well mixed.
2. Add in the egg. 
3. Gradually add the flour and if the mixture is too dry, add 2 tablespoons water.
4. Divide the dough into two equal-sized balls, wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for at least half an hour. 
5. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
6. Take one of the dough balls and roll it to a thickness of 0.5 cm between two sheets of baking paper. Cut out the cookies using heart-shaped cookie cutters. Using smaller cookie cutters, cut out the middle of half of the cookies. Shape the remaining dough into a ball, roll and repeat the procedure until you run out of dough. 
7. Line baking parchment on a baking tray and place in the fridge for another 15 minutes. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
8. Bake for about 12 minutes. (The time depends on the thickness and the size of the cookies, and the consistency of the dough.) Remove from the oven and leave them aside until completely cool.
9. Warm up the strawberry jelly in a water bath. (This way it is easier to brush it evenly.) 
10. Spread the jelly on half the whole cookies (those that haven’t been cut out in the middle) and sandwich them with the rest of the cookies. If you like, you can sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Bon appetit!