Star Sandwich Cookies Recipes

RASPBERRY STAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg. Combine the flour and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Dough will be stiff. On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough out to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into star shapes using a cookie cutter. Set cookies 1 inch apart onto the prepared cookie sheets. Place a teaspoon of jam onto each cookie and spread out towards the points of the stars. Roll out remaining half of the dough and cut into stars the same size. cut holes in the center of each star, then place them onto the jam stars.
• Bake for 7 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden around the edges. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks. In a small bowl, mix together the confectioners' sugar and almond extract to form a glaze. Add water a teaspoon at a time if the mixture is too thick to drizzle. Drizzle glaze over cooled cookies.

LINZER STAR CHRISTMAS COOKIES

Steps:

• In food processor, place almonds and 1/4 cup of the brown sugar. Cover; process until nuts are finely ground. In small bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
• In large bowl, beat butter and remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add nut mixture. Beat in egg, lemon peel and vanilla. On low speed, beat in flour mixture until combined. Shape dough into 2 balls; flatten into rounds; refrigerate 1 hour. Heat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with cooking parchment paper. On floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut with 3-inch star-shaped cutter. Using 1-inch star-shaped cookie cutter, cut out star in center of half of the cookies. On cookie sheets, place 3-inch cookies 1 inch part. Place small stars on separate cookie sheet. Bake 3-inch cookies 7 to 9 minutes, 1-inch cookies 5 to 6 minutes, or just until golden. Remove to cooling racks; cool completely. In small bowl, microwave jelly on High 15 seconds; stir. Spread about 1 teaspoon jelly on each cookie. Top with cutout cookie. Sift powdered sugar over sandwich cookies and small stars. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon jelly into center of each sandwich cookie.

WHITE CHOCOLATE STAR SANDWICH COOKIES

Steps:

• In a small bowl, beat cookie dough and flour until combined. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-3/4-in. star cookie cutter. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. , Decorate half of the cookies with sugars and nonpareils. Bake at 350° for 7-9 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool., In a microwave, melt white chocolate; stir until smooth. , Cool. In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and food coloring until fluffy. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar and melted chocolate until smooth. Spread over the tops of plain cookies; top with decorated cookies. Store in the refrigerator.

CHRISTMAS STARS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir flour mixture into the butter mixture until well blended. Divide dough in half and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate dough for three hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two cookie sheets or line them with parchment paper.
• On a floured surface, roll out half of the dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut dough into star shapes using a 3- to 4-inch star cookie cutter. Using a 1- to 2-inch star cookie cutter, cut a star into the center of half of the big stars. Place the full stars on one cookie sheet and the "tops"--the cookies with the center cutouts--on another. Sprinkle colored sugar on the star tops, if desired.
• Bake in preheated oven until edges are golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Allow cookies to cool completely. (You can re-roll the mini stars cut out of the centers, or bake them separately for about 5 minutes.) Repeat with remaining cookie dough.
• After cookies cool completely, spread 1 teaspoon of preserves in the center of each full star cookie. Place a cut-out cookie on top of the layer of preserves. Pack cookies between waxed paper in a covered tin to preserve freshness.

LINZER STAR SANDWICH COOKIES

Steps:

• For the cookie batter: In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the butter until smooth. Add the granulated sugar and continue mixing until the mixture becomes light and fluffy, 5 to 8 minutes.
• In another bowl, combine and mix the flour, almonds, cinnamon and nutmeg.
• Mix and roll the cookies: Because this dough has a good amount of butter, it needs resting time and it needs to be rolled fairly quickly. Lay three large pieces of wax paper in a single layer on a flat surface. Sprinkle each one with a light coating of flour. Remove the bowl from the mixer and, using a rubber spatula, blend the flour mixture in with the butter. When the ingredients are fully integrated, place one third of the batter on each of the pieces of wax paper. Coat with another light layer of flour and top with another piece of wax paper of the same length to make three dough "sandwiches." Press these wax-paper-and-dough-sandwiches down with your hands until the dough is fairly thin. This will save a lot of time on rolling later on. Place two of them in the refrigerator and work with them one at a time. Roll the first batch into as neat a shape as possible. What matters most is avoiding creases or cracks and getting it to about 1/8 inch in thickness. When the first is rolled, refrigerate it and repeat the same process for the other two. Let them chill at least 10 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Make the cookie bottoms: Remove the first rolled sheet from the refrigerator and cut as many 1 1/2-inch stars (or rounds) as you can. Reserve the scraps in the refrigerator. Arrange the stars neatly in a single layer on a greased baking sheet. Repeat with the other two sheets, reserving any scraps.
• Make the cookie tops: Cut a star, with the smaller cutter, out of the center of half of all the cookies. Roll the scraps in between two of the pieces of wax paper and cut additional stars, if desired.
• Bake and assemble the cookie sandwiches: Bake the cookies until they are lightly brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the trays from the oven and allow them to cool slightly on the trays for a few minutes before gently transferring them to a flat surface. P
• Place the raspberry jam in a small pot and bring it to a light simmer. Remove from the heat to cool slightly. Spoon 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon raspberry jam on each bottom and place a top star squarely on each. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired.