MELT IN YOUR MOUTH PECAN LINZER TARTS!

  THESE TASTE LIKE A TRULY AUTHENTIC LINZER TART COOKIE! BETTER THAN THE BAKERY ONES!!!!

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups butter, softened
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups ground pecans
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• jar of seedless raspberry jam
• confectioners' sugar for decoration

Directions

1. Cream the butter and sugar together until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, the pecans and cinnamon, and continue beating until the mixture becomes a slightly stiff dough.
2. Shape the dough into a ball, wrap it in wax paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate it for about one hour.
3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll the 1/2 of the dough into a sheet 1/8 inch thick. With a 2 1/2 inch cookie cutter, cut as many circles (OR HEARTS LIKE I DID) from the sheet as you can. Knead the leftover scraps of dough into a ball and roll it out again into a 1/8 inch sheet. Cut out more circles (HEARTS). You should now have about 12 circles (HEARTS).
5. Arrange them on a parchment lined sheet leaving about and inch of space between them.
6. Repeat the rolling and cutting process with the other half of the dough, but before placing the second batch on the baking sheet, cut out the center of each circle with a 1/2 inch cookie cutter. Bake both batches for 10 - 15 minutes or until light brown. Cool on cake rake for 20 minutes.
7. Lay hearts upside down and top with with a coating of jam on each.  Heavily dust the cut out hearts with powdered sugar and then sandwich the 2 halves together.   
8. NOTE: Keep dough as cold as possible for easier handling. You may have to chill it after rolling it out so that it will be easier to cut. 

Recipe given to me by a former student of mine!