Imperial Cookies

My daughter-in-law, Natalie, loves these so much she included them on her cookie bar at their wedding. These are quite easy to make and I often make the sugar cookies well in advance, freeze them in a Ziploc bag and simply assemble cookies as I need them.

I stole this image off the internet because we ate all the cookies before I had a chance to take a pic. I chose this picture because I like to make mine small and thin. To see the thickness that I make, look at the Mini Vinarterta picture - that is an actual photo of my cookies and I use the same cookies for both recipes.

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INGREDIENTS

Cookies

  • 3/4 c butter
  • 1 c white sugar
  • 2 eggs at room temperature
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 1/4 c flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Filling

  • Jar of seedless raspberry jam

Icing

Almond Icing

  • 1 1/2 c icing sugar
  • 1/4 tsp almond extract
  • 2 tbsp hot water

These amounts are approximate. Add the hot water very slowly - you may need a bit more or less that what I say above. You want the icing to be runny enough to spread with the back of a spoon but not so runny that it runs off the side of the cookie. I put a bit in the centre of the cookie and work it in a circular motion and spread the icing out toward the edge of the cookie.

SAUCE

toppings

dressing

INSTRUCTIONS

Cookies

  1. Beat the butter and sugar until it is light yellow - this will take a few minutes.
  2. Add the eggs one at a time until well incorporated and then add the vanilla.
  3. Mix the dry ingredients together and add 1 cup at a time and mix just until the dry ingredients are incorporated.
  4. Scrape the bowl of the mixer well, make sure all the flour is incorporated and then put Saran Wrap on the surface of the dough and refrigerate for at least an hour.
  5. Once the dough has sat, take 1/4 of the dough and roll it to about 1/8" thickness and cut it into rounds using a 2" cookie cutter.
  6. Bake on a cookie sheet at 350ᵒ lined with a silpat mat or parchment paper.
  7. Cook until just barely starting to brown.
  8. Let cookie cool before adding jam and icing.

To Assemble

Turn half the cookies over and put 1 tsp (or so) of jam the bottom side. Then ice the top side of the other half of the cookies. Very carefully, place the iced cookie on top of the cookie with the jam and turn the top cookie while pressing down slightly. The turning motion will help spread the jam and pull the cookie together. These cookies really need to sit overnight so that the cookies absorbs moisture from the jam and becomes soft.

Store or freeze the cookies in a single layer. DO NOT stack the cookies unless they are completely frozen and when you take them out of the freezer, "unstack" them prior to allowing them to thaw (otherwise they will stick together and the icing will look messy).

TIPS & HINTS

I make my cookies small (2") and thin and I never put a little piece of cherry in the middle because I can't imagine doing that without making a hot mess!