Linzer Schnitten

Jam makes extraordinary gifts.  I should know, because I have a ton of it in my cupboard.  I don't mean to sound ungrateful - I really do love getting jam as gifts, and I love the fact that my cupboard is always full.  Jams which showcase the area from where they're from.  Containing the very best of the harvest.

The problem is, we don't eat a lot of toast here.   And I don't make peanut butter and jelly nearly as often as Thatboy would like.  So part of the reason my cupboard is so full of jam is because we don't use it that often.  And while it does keep for a good long time, even jam doesn't last forever.  So I'm currently working on using some of the stash.  Which means I'm on the lookout for recipes using jam.

You may or may not be surprised to know that many recipes that use jam are dessert recipes.  I mean, I am using it as a glaze for chicken, but primarily it's finding a new home in cakes, pies, and cookies.  Like the famous Linzer cookies.  Which in my experience are often sandwich cookies.  My trusty Fannie Farmer Cookbook however has them as schnitten - which is one big sheet of cookie, sliced into little diamonds.

Linzer Schnitten (From the Fannie Farmer Cookbook)

3 eggs

2 1/4 cups sugar

3/4 cup butter, melted

3 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp powdered cloves

1/4 tsp salt

grated rind and juice of 1 lemon

1 cup apricot preserves

1. Beat 2 of the eggs until light.  
2. Gradually add 1 1/2 cups of the sugar and the butter, blending well.
3. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, and salt together in a bowl and then stir into the wet ingredients.
4. Add the lemon rind and juice and mix well.
5. Turn dough onto a floured boards and knead until smooth. Cover with a bowl and let stand 1 hour.  
6. Preheat oven to 375.  Roll out to 1/2 inch thick.  Cut into strips 1 1/2 x 10 inches.  Mark a groove down the center of each strip with the handle of a wooden spoon.
7. Fill the grooves with apricot preserves.  Place on a cookie sheet and bake 20 minutes.
8. Beat the remaining egg and sugar together, brush over the baked strips while still hot and cut into diagonal pieces.