SPITZBUBEN (Little Rascals)

Cookies are best eaten within 8 hours of assembling.This attractive cookie is very popular throughout Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Enjoy..

Ingredients

• 1 cup (about 4 1/2 oz.) slivered blanched almonds
• 1 3/4 cups plus 2 Tbl. all-purpose or unbleached white flour
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cu. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened
• 1/2 cu. granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 to 3 drops almond extract
• To assemble:
• 1/4 cu. red raspberry or red currant jelly ( I prefer apricot or even strawberry)
• 2 to 3 Tbs. powdered sugar

Directions

Place almonds in a food processor or blender and process until finely ground. Stir together flour and salt and set aside. Place butter in a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until lightened. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and almond extracts. Gradually add dry ingredients, beating until smooth. Form dough into a ball and divide in half. Roll each half out between sheets of waxed paper to 1/8 inch thick. Slide dough sheets onto a large tray or baking sheet and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350*F.Grease several baking sheets.
Working with one dough sheet at a time and leaving the other refrigerated, turn over dough and peel off bottom sheet of waxed paper. Replace paper loosely. Turn dough rightside up and peel off the top sheet of paper. Cut out cookies using a 1 3/4 to 2 inch scalloped, saw-toothed, or plan round cutter. Transfer to baking sheets, spacing rounds about 1 1/2 inches apart.
To make cookie tops, remove second dough sheet from the refrigerator. Turn over dough and peel off bottom sheet of waxed paper. Replace paper losely. Turn dough right side up and peel off and discard top sheet of paper. Cut out 1 3/4 to 2 inch rounds as before. Then cut out the center of each circle using a miniature star or heart shaped cutter, or thimble, or the cap of a vanilla extract bottle. Lift out the center dough trimming with the point of a paring knife.
Place in the center of the oven and bake cookies until pale gold, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand on baking sheets for 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
Store plain unassembled cookies in an airtight container for 5 or 6 days. Assemble the cookies shortly before serving time. (The cookies will still taste fine if assembled in advance, but they will lose their crispness).
To assemble cookies, melt jelly in the top of a double boiler set over hot water until slightly liquefied, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, lightly sift powdered sugar over cut-out cookie tops. Place about 1/2 tsp. jelly onto the center of each plain cookie bottom, then center a top over each bottom and firmly press it onto jelly to form a sandwich.

Submitted 6/13/05.
Source: My files
Submitted By: Eileen Werth
crzylegs@erols.com
SPITZBUBEN (Little Rascals)