Empire Cookies

Ingredients:

Sandwich cookies

• 55 g plus 2 tbsp (30 g) butter at room temperature
• 55 g plus 2 tbsp sifted powdered sugar
• 1 hard-boiled egg yolk
• 1 large egg yolk
• 0.5 tsp vanilla extract
• 310 g of premium flour, sifted
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling and glaze

• 100 gr. raspberry jam
• 110 g icing sugar, sifted
• 1-2 tablespoons of warm water
• 4 tsp almond or vanilla extract
• 6-8 candied cherries, each cut into 6 pieces

Preparation:

1. Beat the butter with the powdered sugar until fluffy. Strain the boiled yolk through a sieve and combine it with the raw yolk and vanilla extract. Add this mixture to the butter and stir.
2. Then add the flour and salt and mix. Knead the dough and form it into a disk (the dough will be very soft), wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up.
3. Preheat oven to 160°C and line two baking sheets with baking paper.
4. On a lightly floured work surface, gently knead the dough until it becomes soft. Roll it out to a thickness of 0.5 cm and, using a 5 cm fluted cutter, cut out cookies from the dough. Place the cookies on baking sheets, spacing them 1.5 cm apart.
5. Bake the cookies for 10–12 minutes, until lightly browned around the edges. Cool completely on the baking sheet.
6. Stir the raspberry jamto make it more runny, and spread it over one cookie. Top with another cookie, pressing gently to seal the two halves. Repeat with the remaining cookie.
7. Prepare the glaze.
   
   Mix powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon of water and vanilla or almond extract. Add more water if necessary, until the mixture reaches the consistency of a runny glaze.
   
   Top each cookie with icing, place a cherry in the center, and place on a wire rack to harden. Let the cookies dry for 3 hours, then transfer to an airtight container for storage.
   
   Cookies can be stored for 3 days.