Raspberry Danish Shortbread Cookies & Giveaway Winner!

Firstoff... congrats to The UnGourmet for winning my giveaway! (Just make sure you contact me within the next 24 hours, or I'll have to choose someone else!)


Secondly. If any of you live in LA/SD/OC area you KNOW how hot its been and how hard it has been to motivate yourself to bake in this hot, hot heat. Well, I'm proud to say I succeeded in making some oh-so delicious Raspberry Danish Shortbread Cookies in the 105 degree heat. Normally I have to sneak a cookie right after they come out of the oven, but it was SO hot outside I didn't. I guess that's the one good thing about the heat: saved me some calories! :)


But really, these are delicious. Flaky, buttery, simple and sweet... everthing you could ever ask for in a shortbread cookie. As always... feel free to make these MINIS, they turn out EXTRA cute! 

Raspberry Danish Shortbread Cookie
Courtesy of: Sunset Magazine

Ingredients

• 1  cup  (1/2 lb.) butter, at room temperature
• 1/2  cup  granulated sugar
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla
• 2 1/2  cups  all-purpose flour
• 1/8  teaspoon  salt
• 1/2  cup  raspberry jam
• About 1/3 cup powdered sugar

Preparation

1. In a bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter, granulated sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Stir or beat in flour and salt until dough is no longer crumbly and comes together in a ball. Transfer to a lightly floured surface.

2. Divide dough in half. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out each portion to about 1/8 inch thick. With a floured 2- to 3-inch round or star-shaped cutter, cut out cookies. If desired, cut a 1/2-inch circle out of the center of half the cookies to make a window for the jam filling (see notes). Place cookies 1 inch apart on buttered or cooking parchment- lined 12- by 15-inch baking sheets. Gather excess dough into a ball, reroll, and cut out remaining cookies.

3. Bake cookies in a 325° oven until edges are just beginning to brown, 10 to 12 minutes; if baking more than one pan at a time, switch pan positions halfway through baking. With a wide spatula, transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.

4. Spread 1/2 tablespoon jam on the flat side of each of half the cookies (those without holes). Top each with a remaining cookie (with a hole), flat side toward jam. Sprinkle tops of cookies evenly with powdered sugar.

5. Makes about 20 cookies, or 40 if you do minis like me!