1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/3 teaspoon salt
grated peel of 1/2 lemon
1 1/4 cups finely grated hazelnuts
2 egg whites slightly beaten
2 1/2 cups raspberry jam (or other thick jam)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs. Stir in flour, salt, lemon peel, and hazelnuts. Roll mixture into a smooth ball, cover with plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
3. Lightly grease several baking sheets. (or Silpat)
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Use a 2 inch round cookie cutter to cut out as many rounds as possible. On half of the rounds, cut out 1/2 inch circles. These will be the "windows" on the top half of the cookie. We used a very small leaf-shaped cookie cutter. It works great for this season.
5. With a spatula, arrange the rounds on the greased cookie sheets. Using a pastry brush, apply the egg whites to the "tops" only.
6. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Remove the cookies from the baking sheet and cool on a rack for 15 minutes.
7. Spread the jam on the "bottoms" and place a windowed top on each one. Once the cookies have cooled completely, sprinkle lightly with the powdered sugar.
Makes about 4 dozen.
