The in-between season is merciless; a time when everything outdoors seems to have been dormant for ages. There are no spring blooms in the ground, and the temperatures are frigid and chilling. The days are however getting longer, and there seems to be hope for rebirth and fecundity on the horizon.
Warm up your ovens and pay tribute to what is to come next with these nutty winter sandwich cookies. A heart-warming winter berry filling layered between two fragrant mouth-watering nutty shortbread cookies. So light, so satisfying.
Prep Time: 30 min | Bake Time: 15-20 min | Makes: about 28 cookies (14 sandwiches) | Difficulty Level: ♦♦ – Beginner
All you need is…dough
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp flour
- ⅔ cup hazelnuts and walnuts mixed
- ⅔ cup sugar
- ½ cup butter, softened
- ½ tsp anise seed extract
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- A few tbsp of your favorite fruit preserves
On to the shortbread dough
In a large mixing bowl, whip the butter with the sugar to obtain a smooth and creamy mixture. Add the anise seed extract and the sifted flour while mixing with a wooden spoon or spatula.
In a food processor, blitz the hazelnuts and walnuts until a coarse meal is obtained. Transfer to the large mixing bowl with the rest of the ingredients and incorporate well.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 300° F.
On a floured surface, roll out the dough to a ¼” thickness. Cut out shapes as desired and bake on a cookie sheet for 15-16 minutes, or until pale golden.
Remove from the oven and let cool. Place 1 tbsp of fruit preserves or jelly in the center of the cookie, spread out gently and top with another cookie to form a sandwich.
Enjoy with a glass of your favorite milk or tea.
EXTRAS AND TIPS
Baked for too long or in a very hot oven, the shortbread will lose their distinctive quality, e.g., melt in the mouth buttery-ness. These aren’t meant to be cracker-like snappy cookies, but rather a soft jelly-filled shortbread that crumbles and dissipates on your tongue.
With regards to the fruit preserves, I used a small-batch spiced lingonberry blackberry preserves that I had purchased from our local farmer’s stand. It is a divine combination with the nutty, buttery dough of the shortbread. You can experiment with anything you want, though I would stay away from the more subtle and aromatic fruit preserves, for instance apricot or peach, and opt for more decisive pungent flavors, such as blackberry or prune. Then, you can always spice things up by simply adding your own seasoning to the preserves, for instance some cardamom, clove or peppercorn for warmth.
In need of advice regarding the preserves? Here’s an idea: Swedish Lingonberry preserves
