Bake a free-from version of this Austrian Christmas cookie using gluten-free flour and ground almonds
INGREDIENT :
150g butter, softened
120g icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
70g ground almonds
325g gluten-free flour, plus extra for dusting
100g raspberry jam
RECIPE DIRECTION :
Beat the butter, icing sugar and vanilla in a large bowl until creamy using an electric hand mixer. Add the egg and beat for another 2 mins. Gradually incorporate the almonds and flour to form a dough – it will be quite soft in texture. Cover and keep chilled for at least 1 hr.
Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line two baking sheets with baking parchment. Lightly flour a worktop and roll out the dough to a thickness of 2mm. Using a 6-7cm star or circular cutter, stamp out an equal amount of stars or circles from the dough. Then using a 2-3cm cutter, cut out a small piece from the centre of half (these will be the tops of the biscuit sandwiches). Re-roll any offcuts and repeat. You should have about 50 pieces.
Arrange on the prepared baking sheets and bake until golden, about 8-12 mins. Leave to cool completely on the trays, then cover the whole biscuits with 1 tsp of jam each and spread out to the edges. Put the biscuits with holes on top, then dust with icing sugar. Will keep in an airtight container for up to five days.
