Ingredients:
- 170 g cold butter
- 100 g sugar
- 300 g wheat flour + extra for sprinkling
- 40 g almond flour
- 1 medium egg
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- Peel of 1 lemon
- A pinch of salt
For spreading:
- Apple jam
Step-by-step:
1. In a bowl, mix the flour, almond flour, and salt.
2. Mix the butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon zest together. This is best done in a food processor or food chopper, but if you don’t have one, you can use a spoon and a hand whisk.
3. Add the egg.
4. Add the flour mixture, crush to crumbs, and form a dough. Do not knead for a long time, just until the dough is smooth.
5. Divide the dough into 2-3 parts, form dough balls, and press to make them flatter – it will be easier to roll them out later. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
6. Roll out the dough between two sheets of baking paper with a regular smooth rolling pin to a thickness of 3-5 mm. Remove the sheet of baking paper. Sprinkle the surface of the dough and the surface of the Algis Crafts embossing rolling pin generously with flour to prevent sticking. Slowly, with gentle pressure, roll the dough over the pastry with the embossing rolling pin.
7. Press out the biscuits using a cookie cutter. For half of the biscuits, squeeze out the centre (you can use special mould, a tiny mould or even a cork). This is not necessary, but it looks nicer.
8. Transfer to a baking tray lined with baking paper and refrigerate for about 15 minutes to make the ornaments brighter.
9. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C for about 6-10 minutes, or until the edges start to crisp up slightly. Start checking earlier and make sure they do not burn. Let them cool.
10. Brush the full cookies with the apple sauce and place the cookies with the holes on top. The cookies will taste better and be softer if you wait at least a few hours. You can keep them in the fridge for a few days.