Preparation:
Butter must be room temperature. In a large bowl, mix butter, sugar, and whole egg until pale and fluffy. Add Vanilla. In another bowl and by hand, mix flour, almonds, cocoa, cinnamon and cloves. With mixer on low gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture. Mix until just blended. Scrape dough off beaters. Press together to form a dough ball. Put in air tight container and chill 1 hour or until dough is firm enough to handle. (or overnight) Wait until cookies are ready before preheating the oven to 350 degrees. Use baking parchment on cookie tins. On a floured surface with a floured rolling pin, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Use cookie cutters with 1 1/2 inch diameter. Place half of cookies on cookie sheets 1/2 inch apart . Use a cookie cutter with a 3/4 inch diameter to cut a hole in the middle of the remaining cookies (large end of a melon baller works). With a fork, mix egg white and water until foamy. Brush tops of cookies on the cookie tins with this mixture. Place a matching cookie with a hole on top of each. Brush tops and sides of completed cookie with egg mixture. Bake 12-15 minutes until cookies are firm and light brown around the edges. Remove to wire racks to cool. Store unfilled cookies airtight for 2 weeks or freeze until needed.
JUST BEFORE SERVING: Stir all-fruit spread to make it runny, then put it into a plastic bag. Snip off a very small tip of one corner. Carefully fill holes in the cookies. pb's note: when I'm feeling lazy, I just use an ice tea spoon to fill the holes with fruit spread.
Serving Ideas : Unfilled cookies freeze well. Good presentation for gue |