French cookies are bite-size wonders, petits fours, which the French serve with coffee at the end of a meal. Most of them are super easy to make and take little time. Some in this chapter are ones adults remember having as children, like the Palets de Dames with Currants or Chocolate Chips or Apricot Jam “Eyeglasses” Cookies. Others are whimsical, like my Eiffel Tower Pie Crust Cookies. And some are so good you can’t stop eating them, like the Giant Break-and-Share Cookie.
The cookie recipes in this chapter are my favorites, the ones I go to when I want the house filled with cookie goodness. I often make more than one of the recipes and fill a plate with a variety of them. You can never have enough cookies.
Eiffel Tower Pie Crust Cookies
Biscuits Tour Eiffel Quicker | amount varies depending on cookie cutter
These have to be the quickest cookies ever. You simply punch them out of store-bought pie crust. Around the holidays I sprinkle them with gold colored sparkling sugar and edible gold leaf. To make them you will need to purchase an Eiffel Tower cookie cutter online.
Special Equipment Eiffel Tower or other shape cookie cutter; 1 baking sheet
Cooking spray
1 package store-bought pie crust
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Turbinado or granulated sugar
Colored sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray the baking sheet with cooking spray.
On a clean floured work surface, roll out the pie crust so that is a uniform thickness and smooth.
Mix the butter with the vanilla extract then brush the pie crust with melted butter and liberally sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
Cut out shapes and place them on the baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, until light brown. To decorate, shake colored sugar over the top.
Coconut Domes
Congolais Quicker | Makes 10 domes or 24 small balls
I got so addicted to the coconut congolais my local bakery made that were shaped into pyramids and dipped halfway into melted dark chocolate. When they moved away, I began to make them at home. I tried making pyramids but had better luck when I made domes.
My trick to shape these cookies into domes is to tightly pack the coconut mixture into an egg cup and invert onto a baking sheet. If you don’t have an egg cup, you can wet your hands and shape them into balls, baking them a minute or two less. They will be light and fluffy, soft on the inside, and crispy on the outside.
Make sure to serve them the same day they are made to preserve the crispy exterior. Use only unsweetened coconut, which you can find in most health food or gourmet stores. It makes a world of difference in how they taste.
Special Equipment food processor; 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper; 1 egg cup
Domes
3 cups dried unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg, room temperature
1 large egg white, room temperature
Drizzle
1 (4-ounce) bittersweet dark chocolate or white chocolate bar, finely chopped
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
Domes
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Toss the coconut into the food processor with the sugar and salt and process for 10 seconds. Melt butter in the microwave then stir in the vanilla extract.
Whisk the egg and egg white in a large bowl for at least 30 seconds, until they start to turn pale. Pour in the butter mixture and whisk to blend.
Scoop the coconut on top of the egg mixture and, with a whisk, mix really well until every bit of coconut is coated, finishing by using your hands to blend and mix.
To form the domes, rinse the inside of the egg cup with water then pack in the coconut mixture quite tightly. Using a small fork, gently invert the egg cup over the baking sheet and coax the dome out of the cup. Use your fingers to tidy into a nice dome shape. To make the next dome, rinse the inside of the egg cup and repeat. If you are forming small balls, rinse your hands and roll the coconut mixture in the palms of your hands.
Bake the domes for 11 minutes, or until they are golden brown. If you are making small balls, bake them a couple of minutes less, removing from the oven when they are golden. Place the domes or balls on a wire rack and allow to cool to room temperature.
Drizzle
If you would like to drizzle or coat the domes with chocolate, melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave then stir until very smooth.
Drizzle the chocolate over the top of the domes with a fork dipped in the chocolate, then refrigerate.
Tips
Don’t melt chocolate chips as they won’t work as well or taste as good as bar chocolate. Instead of drizzling, you can dip the tops into the melted chocolate, sprinkle with flakes of coconut or flakes of sea salt, and refrigerate for 30 minutes so the chocolate hardens. Serve the same day.
Pumpkin Seed Tuiles
Tuiles aux Graines de Courge Quicker | makes approximately 14 cookies
One of the easiest and fastest cookies to make, tuiles are traditionally served in France with ice cream or sorbet. They take just minutes to make once you let the batter rest for half an hour. They are crispest the day you make them but are also great right out of the freezer.
Special Equipment 2 baking sheets; food processor; rolling pin
7 heaping tablespoons salted pumpkin seeds, divided
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
3 tablespoons salted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large egg whites, room temperature
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place the oven rack in the middle of the oven. Lightly butter and flour the baking sheets.
Place 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds in the food processor with the sugar and orange zest and process until the pumpkin seeds are finely ground.
Add the butter and process for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the processor bowl. Add the vanilla and egg whites and process for about 1 minute. Sprinkle in the flour and cornstarch and pulse just until combined, no longer. Scoop into a bowl and let the batter rest for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, clean and dry the food processor bowl then process the remaining pumpkin seeds until they form small chunks. Set aside.
To bake the cookies, drop level tablespoons of the batter onto 1 baking sheet, spacing them at least 3 inches apart. With the back of the spoon or a wet finger, gently spread out into thin circles.
Lightly sprinkle the circles with the reserved pumpkin seeds, place in the oven, and bake for 6–10 minutes, until the edges turn light brown. Take out of the oven but keep the oven on.
Work quickly as the cookies will rapidly harden. Use a spatula or palette knife to transfer the cookies from the baking sheet and drape them over the rolling pin before they become too hard. You want them to take on a U shape. I often just use my hands to hold them for a few seconds until they harden into shape, or roll them into cigar shapes.
When they are thoroughly cool and hardened, remove from the rolling pin.
Repeat the process with the second baking sheet as it is not hot from the oven. Keep rotating baking sheets and baking cookies until the dough is finished.
Tip
Form them into cups to hold ice cream or fresh fruit and whipped cream by fitting them into muffin tins while still warm. Also, you can shape them into fortune cookies with individualized fortunes inside.
Irresistible Espresso Almond Cookies
Biscuits Irrésistibles à l’Expresso et aux Amandes Quicker | makes about 50 (2- to 3-inch) cookies
In several regions in France, especially in Nancy, there is a recipe people make for almond cookies that is simply a combination of three ingredients: ground almonds, sugar, and egg whites. I found that if I add a dose of instant espresso powder, they are irresistible dunked into espresso after a meal.
Special Equipment food processor; 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper
1 cup whole almonds
3 cups almond flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
4 large egg whites, room temperature
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Add the whole almonds, almond flour, espresso powder, granulated sugar, salt, brown sugar, egg whites, and almond and vanilla extracts to the bowl of a food processor and process until you have a paste.
Using a tablespoon, drop spoonfuls of the paste onto a baking sheet to make the cookies, spacing them 1 inch apart. Wet your fingers and gently tap the top of the cookies to smooth and flatten them out to even circles of about 2–3 inches across.
Bake for 15 minutes, until the edges turn light brown. Repeat the process to use up the batter on the second cool baking sheet. If needed, keep rotating baking sheets until all the cookies are made. Cool on a wire rack.
Giant Break-and-Share Cookie
Le Broyé du Poitou Quicker | makes 1 cookie
In 2004 a group called the La Confrérie de l’Ordre des Chevaliers de la Grand Goule formed to protect and promote the tradition of making of this giant cookie, a specialty of the Poitou-Charentes region of France. It’s a cookie worth protecting and promoting.
Recognizable by its criss-cross pattern made with a fork across the top, and by its great size, it is a communal cookie, brought out for people to share after mass, baptisms, weddings, community dinners, and even inaugurations. Once I heard about it, I had to try to find a recipe. This one is adapted from the official recipe on the Confrérie’s web site.
I can’t stop eating it, and I have to admit it may be my favorite cookie of all time. It tastes a lot like shortbread, and is great dipped into tea or with a glass of milk.
Special Equipment food processor; 1 baking sheet
3-3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons salted chilled butter, cut into small cubes
1 large egg
3 tablespoons dark rum
1 large egg yolk
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse 6 times.
Add the butter and process until the mixture is granular in texture. Whisk the egg and rum in a small bowl, add to the food processor, and process just until a ball forms. If it is still too dry to form a ball, add 1 tablespoon of ice water at a time until it comes together into a ball.
Place the dough on a large piece of plastic wrap. Press it down into a circle with the palms of your hands. Transfer to the baking sheet, removing and discarding the plastic wrap, and continue shaping and pressing the disk until it is 1/2 inch thick and approximately 10–11 inches across. Pinch all the way around the edges to create a decorative wave pattern.
Beat the egg yolk and brush it across the top and down the sides. Drag the tines of a fork from one end to the other several times to create a large criss-cross pattern.
Bake for 25–35 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes on the baking sheet then carefully slip it off onto a large round plate.
To serve, present the whole cookie and let people break off pieces like they do in Poitiers.
Tip
Some families scatter slivered almonds over the top before baking. You can also form this dough into mini or individual 1/2-inch-thick cookies if you wish.
Chocolate Sables
Sablés au Chocolat Quicker | Makes 25 (3-inch) cookies
Sablés, buttery cookies from the Normandy region of France, are great just plain vanilla. I make mine with a punch of dark cocoa for a twist on the traditional cookie. These are crunchy and crumbly, with an intense chocolate flavor.
Special Equipment electric stand mixer; rolling pin; 1 baking sheet lined with parchment paper; round cookie cutter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 egg white beaten with 1 teaspoon water
Crystallized or turbinado sugar
Sift the flour and cocoa together into a mixing bowl. Add the salt and whisk together.
Beat the butter, confectioner’s sugar, and granulated sugar with the mixer for 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl a couple of times. Add the vanilla and beat to combine. Pour in the flour mixture and mix just until combined, without overmixing.
Scoop the dough out onto a large sheet of plastic wrap, form into a ball and place another sheet of plastic wrap on top. Use the palms of your hands to flatten, and with the rolling pin, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thick. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Use a cookie cutter or a glass to cut out round cookies. Lay cookies on the baking sheet, brush them with the egg wash, sprinkle generously with crystallized sugar for a nice crunchy top, and bake for 13–15 minutes, until crisp. Remove from the oven, cool on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.
Laughing Cow Sugar Cookies
Biscuits à la Vache qui Rit Quicker | Makes about 36 to 40 (2-inch) cookies
These delicate crisp little cookies have a secret ingredient—Laughing Cow Swiss cheese. I learned to use Laughing Cow cheese as a substitute for cream cheese in American recipes when I lived in France. It works beautifully. The cookies have a luxurious taste and feel, reminiscent of the cream cheese cookies my grandmother used to make.
Special Equipment electric hand mixer; 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
4 wedges Laughing Cow Swiss cheese, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg white, lightly beaten
Turbinado sugar
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a mixing bowl, add the butter, cheese wedges, and vanilla and beat with the mixer until combined. Pour in the sugar and beat until combined.
Pour in the flour and beat well to combine until the dough is smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl once or twice.
Drop by generously rounded teaspoons onto the baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between each cookie. Flatten each by tapping and rounding with your finger into 1- to 2- inch circles. Moisten your finger in the egg white and rub gently in circles over the top of each cookie to smooth the tops and edges. Dab with more egg white then generously sprinkle turbinado sugar over the top of each cookie.
Bake for 7–10 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. Remove from the oven, cool for 2 minutes, then remove to a plate or cooling rack and repeat with the remaining dough.
Tip
If you are baking these cookies for the holidays, instead of topping with turbinado sugar, sprinkle on some festive colored sugar or sprinkles.
Palets de Dames with Currants or Chocolate Chips
Palets de Dames aux Raisins Secs ou aux Pépites de ChocolatQuicker | Makes 6 currant cookies and 6 chocolate chip cookies
A specialty of northern France, some palets de dames cookies are frosted, some are not, and some are thinner than others, but for the most part, they all contain rum-soaked currants. This recipe is divided in half, which will result in half of the cookies having rum-soaked currants and the other half of the cookies having mini chocolate chips.
Special Equipment electric stand mixer; 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper
Cookies
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons rum
5 tablespoons currants
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons mini chocolate chips
Glaze
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon rum
Cookies
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Heat the rum in a saucepan until it just begins to bubble around the edges. Toss in the currants and cook for 1 minute. Turn off the heat and let them soak for 10 minutes then drain off the liquid and discard.
Using the mixer, beat the butter and sugar together for about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and beat to combine. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Sift in the flour and baking soda and stir to combine. Divide the dough in half and place in separate bowls.
Add 4 tablespoons of currants to 1 bowl and the mini chocolate chips to the other bowl. Stir to combine both batches.
Drop the batter in rounded tablespoons onto the baking sheets, at least 2 inches apart. Wet your fingers and gently tap into circles with slightly rounded tops. Gently press some of the remaining currants onto the tops of each of the currant-filled cookies.
Bake all the cookies for 7–9 minutes, until they just begin to turn golden.
Glaze
Use a fork to mix the confectioner’s sugar and rum into a thick paste. Brush the glaze over the top of the currant cookies while they are still hot. The glaze will start to melt and you can even it out into a smooth glaze. Allow the glaze to harden before serving.
Lightly dust the chocolate chip cookies with confectioner’s sugar after they have cooled.
Anise Cookies with Pistachios and Dried Cherries
La Cornuelle Charentaise aux Pistaches et aux Cerises Séchées Quicker | Makes about 20 cookies
In the area of Charentes in the western part of central France, there is a special triangular cookie made and eaten on Palm Sunday. It is buttery, has ruffled edges, and an unusual hole in the center. Why three sided? Some say it is to represent the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Why the hole? I have sometimes seen them threaded through a twig to represent a tree when all stacked up.
These cookies are normally sprinkled with anise seeds, but I have also added drops of anise extract to further enhance their traditional flavor, and I like to include pistachios and dried cherries to add interest. I cut out a triangle from parchment paper then lay it over the dough to cut the shapes, not bothering to cut a circle out of each unless I want to string them on ribbon for Christmas swags.
Special Equipment mortar and pestle or spice grinder; electric hand mixer; 1 (2- to 3-inch) triangle shape template cut out of parchment paper; 1 baking sheet
2 teaspoons anise seeds, plus more to garnish
1/4 cup shelled salted pistachios
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure anise extract
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup dried cherries, coarsely chopped
1 egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon milk
Turbinado or granulated sugar
Lightly grind 2 teaspoons anise seeds in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. Leave the seeds for garnish whole or lightly chop. Toast the pistachios for about 2 minutes in a dry pan, cool, then coarsely chop. Reserve for garnish.
Slice butter into a large bowl. With the mixer, beat the butter with the confectioner’s sugar, salt, ground anise seeds, anise and vanilla extracts, and the egg.
Sift the flour and baking powder together then add this to the butter mixture, 1 cup at a time, mixing with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. Wrap the dough in a piece of plastic wrap, flatten into a disk, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
On a clean sugared work surface, roll out the dough to about 1/2 inch thick. If it crumbles, use your fingers to repair. Place the triangular piece of parchment paper over the dough, slice triangles of dough, and place them on an ungreased baking sheet.
Press pistachios and cherries onto the tops of each cookie in an attractive pattern. Brush the tops with the egg wash, sprinkle on a little turbinado sugar, then scatter with some anise seeds.
Place in the oven and bake for 18–20 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool.
Little Boat Cookies from Marseille
Les Navettes Marseillaises Quicker | Makes 12 cookies
Shaped like little rowboats, navettes are small unadorned cookies scented with orange flower water and, along with crêpes, are required fare during the Christian holiday of Candlemas every February 2nd. It is said that the cookies were shaped to symbolize the small boat that carried Mary Magdalene to the fishing village of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in Provence. Enjoy them dipped into coffee or tea.
Special Equipment 1 baking sheet lined with parchment paper
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon orange extract
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar
1 tablespoon finely grated organic orange zest
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a large mixing bowl.
With a fork, beat the eggs with the orange extract and olive oil and add this mixture to the bowl. Add the sugar and orange zest and stir with a wooden spoon until it is well combined.
Flour your hands and work the dough until it is smooth and comes together. Flour the dough, if needed, and roll it into a log. Slice the dough into pieces as large as you would like your cookies to be.
Flour your hands and roll each piece into an oval then pinch the ends to make it resemble a small boat. Use a dull knife to gently press down the center of each to create an indentation in the middle. Bake for 20–25 minutes, until they just turn golden.
Orange Madeleines with Orange Glaze
Les Madeleines Glacées à l’Orange Longer | Makes 24 madeleines
“And suddenly the memory revealed itself. The taste was that of the little piece of madeleine which on Sunday mornings at Combray (because on those mornings I did not go out before mass), when I went to say good morning to her in her bedroom, my aunt Léonie used to give me, dipping it first in her own cup of tea or tisane.”— Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time
Although technically not a cookie, I serve these small shell-shaped cakes like I would cookies, with tea or coffee after dinner. Madeleine baking pans have scallop-shaped indentations that give them their unique shape. If you don’t have one, use mini muffin tins to make buttery, soft mini cakes
A specialty of Commercy in northeastern France, madeleines became popular with Louis XV’s court at Versailles, and later became popular all over France.
Special Equipment Citrus microplane; 2 madeleine baking tins or 1 mini muffin pan
Madeleines
1 organic orange, microplaned for zest then juiced
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 stick salted butter, melted and still warm
Glaze
3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
Enough orange juice to make spreadable glaze
Madeleines
Divide the orange zest into 2 piles.
Make the batter by hand, not using an electric mixer, to ensure tender madeleines. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolk, and sugar to combine. Whisk in half of the orange zest, vanilla, and 1 teaspoon orange juice. Sift in the flour and baking powder and stir to just combine.
Pour in the butter and whisk to just combine. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter and flour the madeleine tins and put them in the freezer until ready to use so that the butter hardens.
Pour the batter into the madeleine tins until just filled, trying for a mound in the center. If you are making large madeleines, they will take 14–16 minutes to bake until puffed and golden brown on top. Small ones will take approximately 8–10 minutes. Cool in pans for 2 minutes before removing.
Glaze
Mix the confectioner’s sugar with just enough orange juice to make an opaque, thick, yet spreadable glaze. Spread over each Madeleine with a pastry brush, sprinkle the remaining orange zest over the tops, and allow to dry for about 20 minutes before serving.
Breton Butter Cookies
Les Palets Bretons Longer | Makes 25 cookies
Round and fat, thick and crumbly, palets are slightly salty and sweet butter cookies traditionally made with butter from Brittany. Cookie making is big business in Brittany, with many cookie factories churning out buttery renditions of palets packaged in festive tin boxes, the prettiest of which I think are the Quimper tins decorated in the style of the plates from the same region.
Special Equipment food processor; 1 baking sheet lined with parchment paper
1/2 cup salted butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large egg yolks
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Slice the butter into the food processor then add the granulated and brown sugars, vanilla, and egg yolks; process to combine. Sift the flour and baking powder together then add to the food processor and process until a dough ball forms.
Sprinkle granulated sugar over a clean work surface. Make a round ball of the dough then, using your hands, roll out the dough into a long log, about 1-1/2 inches in diameter. As you form the log, make sure to press into the sugar to give it a nice crust on the outside. Slice the log in half, wrap both pieces in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Slice the dough logs into 1/2-inch-thick circles, place on the baking sheet, and bake for 11–12 minutes, until golden brown. Cool to room temperature before serving.
Apricot Jam “Eyeglasses” Cookies
Les Lunettes à la Confiture Longer | Makes about 12 (3-inch) cookies
I used to see these all the time in my village’s pastry shop, little jam cookies with two small circles cut out to resemble eyeglasses. Lunettes is French for eyeglasses. If you have fluted oval cookie cutters, they will look like traditional lunettes cookies when you make them. Dust the tops with confectioner’s sugar and enjoy!
Special Equipment electric stand mixer; oval cookie cutter; 1 baking sheet lined with parchment paper
1-1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 organic lemon, zested then juiced
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup apricot jam
Confectioner’s sugar
Slice the butter into the bowl of the mixer and beat until pale and thick, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and lemon zest and beat for 5 minutes, until fluffy. Add 1 teaspoon lemon juice, vanilla, and eggs and beat to combine.
Sift the flour, cornstarch, and salt together then add it to the bowl and beat only until it is combined and you have a soft sticky dough. Scoop out onto a large piece of plastic wrap, form into a ball, flatten into a disk, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Dust the dough disk on both sides with flour. Put the dough disk between 2 pieces of parchment paper and roll out to 1/8 inch thick. Cut out all of the cookies with the cookie cutter then, in half of them, cut 2 small circles to make the “eyeglasses.” Place all the cookies on the baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes then turn the baking sheet to rotate them and cook for another 5 minutes, just until the cookies begin to turn golden along the edges. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Heat the jam gently until it melts and loosens, cool to room temperature, and spread 2 teaspoons onto the cookies without holes, not quite to the edges. Liberally dust the ones with holes with confectioner’s sugar then place them on top of each one with jam and press lightly so the jam just begins to emerge from the holes.
Tip
Why not try peanut butter and jelly? Or lemon curd? On Valentine’s Day, cut out hearts instead of eyeglasses, at Christmas cut out trees. Make them with different colors and flavors of jam.
