Jason Young of Sweet William's Bakery in Falls Village, whose cookies are sold at his tiny shop and stores like Guido's and the Co-op, would never part with the recipe for his signature ginger cookies. But anyone who knows Jason knows he is generous, so he agreed to share his new recipe for linzer cookies. He's lightened the traditional version by using orange marmalade instead of raspberry jam and adding lemon zest to the dough. "I think it is really nice cookie for spring," he says.
Equipment note: You will need a three-inch and a one-inch round cookie cutter to make these. 1 ¼ cups butter, softened ¾ cup sugar 4 large egg yolks 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla 2 ¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour 2 ¼ cups finely ground almonds 1 teaspoon cinnamon ¼ teaspoon cloves ½ teaspoon salt zest of 1 lemon 1 jar orange marmalade (use the thick, not runny, variety) Cream together butter and sugar. Add egg yolks and vanilla. Stir together flour, almonds, cinnamon, cloves, salt and lemon zest. Stir into butter mixture. Divide dough and flatten into two disks, wrap and chill until firm. Roll one disk to 1/8” thickness, cut 3” circles using biscuit or large cookie cutter. Place circles on parchment lined baking pan. Spoon 1 teaspoon orange marmalade in center of dough circle, use back of spoon to spread a small amount toward edge. Roll second disk of dough to 1/4” thickness, cut 3” circles using same cookie cutter, then cut 1” circles in center. Position circle with center hole over marmalade, pushing lightly to seal. Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Dust with confectioner’s sugar after cooling. Sweet William's Bakery100 Main Street, Falls Village CT; 860-824-8180
