LINZER HEARTS

Makes 18 large cookies:

6 tablespoons dry plain cookie crumbs
1 cup finely ground toasted almonds
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/4 cups pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon finely ground sea salt
1 cup chilled unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups raspberry preserves

In food processor, combine cookie crumbs, almonds and 2 tablespoons sugar; pulse until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Transfer to a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and stir into the almond mixture.
Cream the butter. Beat in remaining sugar. Beat in one egg and the vanilla until creamy. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture until just combined. Halve the dough, form into 2 disks, wrap in plastic and chill until very firm, at least 1 hour.
On a floured surface, roll out half the dough to a 1/6-inch thickness. Brush off excess flour on the top of the dough and a use a large (about 3 1/2 inches at its widest point) heart-shaped cutter to stamp out as many hearts as possible.
Transfer to parchment-lined cookie sheets and chill. Gather the scraps, form into a disk and refrigerate. Repeat with the remaining dough. Using a slightly smaller (about 2 3/4 inch wide heart-shaped cutter, cut out the centers of half the chilled hearts. Leave the exterior rings on cookie sheets, and add the cut out centers to the scraps. Roll out the chilled scraps and cut out an equal number of large hearts and rings. Chill them for at least 1 hour. Preheat oven to 35o degrees. Lightly whisk the remaining egg. Remove the chilled large hearts from the refrigerator and using a small pastry brush, brush a coating of egg around edges of each. Carefully lift the rings from the cookie sheets and place each over a heart. Press gently to make them adhere. Brush the rings with more egg. Bake the cookies until the hearts are lightly colored, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and drop about a tablespoon of the preserves in the centers, spreading to fill. Return the cookies to oven and bake until the jam is set but not bubbling, about 3 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on the sheets.