Raspberry Almond Shortbread Cookies

This is a wonderful holiday cookie recipe that I have come to love over the years. The Raspberry Almond Shortbread Cookies come from New Hampshire from The Forest which is a quaint country inn located there. I got it from my magazine Holiday Cakes and Cookies by Family Circle from 1999. They are super simple to make and the recipe makes quite a bit of cookies. It is versatile in that you can use any berry jam, I really like the raspberry and one year I made it with cherry jam and it was very good too. With the almond glaze, this makes it a very decadent cookie for any occasion. My family loves them, I usually end up making at least 3-4 batches a year for Christmas cookies. I may have to make more this year since I took some to work and they were received very well by my fellow co-workers. This is not one of my Grandma's recipes but, it is just a good cookie to have around!



Raspberry Almond Shortbread Cookies

2/3 cup sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) of butter, at room temperature
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup raspberry jam

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp almond extract
2-3 Tbsp water (or milk can be used for a richer glaze)

Beat sugar, butter, and almond extract in a large bowl until light and creamy. On low speed, beat in flour until dough forms. Cover and chill at least an hour. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Shape dough into 1 inch balls; place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. With thumb, make indentations in center of each dough ball. Fill each indentation with 1/4 tsp of jam. Bake for 14-18 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on rack.

For the glaze whisk together powdered sugar and almond extract. Add water or milk until desired consistency is achieved whether you like a thin glaze or a thick frosting. Pipe on or drizzle on glaze on each cookie. Store in an airtight container.

Notes:
- Good cookie for gift giving but not for shipping. They are too fragile to make it in the mail but are great to put into a decorative tin to give gifts to friends and family locally.
- I make my glaze thick so that it pipes on good and stays on the cookie and a thicker glaze doesn't make the cookie soggy while it is stored. If you use a thinner glaze, plan on eating the cookies within about 3 days as they will absorb the moisture and become soggy the longer they sit.