Hausfreunde Cookies

These were my favorite cookies for our German Christmas! They take some work but for a special occasion they're worth it. Yum! I think you could get more cookies out of the dough than 48 (with an end result of more than 24) if you use a slightly smaller cookie cutter.  Be sure to watch them so you don't bake them too long, they should be just starting to brown around the edges. Also, there's no way you'll be able to knead all the powdered sugar into the marzipan so I'd say to start with about half of what it calls for and add a little at a time until you can't work any more in.  

Hausfreunde (Hausfreunde)

INGREDIENTS

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cubed

1 large egg, beaten

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

About 1/2 cup apricot jam

7 ounces almond paste or marzipan

3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

5 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

24 walnut halves, toasted

INSTRUCTIONS

In a food processor, pulse the flour with the granulated sugar and salt. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal with some pea-size pieces remaining. Add the egg and vanilla and pulse until the dough just comes together. Scrape out onto a work surface and pat into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.

 

Preheat the oven to 350° and line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough 1/4 inch thick. Using a 1 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, stamp out cookies as close together as possible; transfer to the prepared baking sheets. Gather the scraps, re-roll and stamp out more cookies. You should have a total of 48. 

Bake the cookies for about 15-20 minutes, until golden; rotate the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking. Transfer to a rack to cool.

 

In a small saucepan, warm the jam over moderate heat, stirring, until runny, about 3 minutes. Brush a thin layer of jam on 24 of the cookies and top with the remaining cookies. 

 

In a medium bowl, combine the almond paste with the confectioners’ sugar and knead until blended. Roll out the almond paste 1/8 inch thick between 2 sheets of parchment paper. Using a 1 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, stamp out 24 rounds. 

Brush the top of each cookie sandwich with another thin layer of jam and top with the rounds of almond paste. 

In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the chocolate at high power in 30-second bursts until just melted. Stir until smooth. 

Spoon chocolate onto the top of each sandwich cookie and gently spread out to coat the almond paste; transfer to the baking sheet. Top each cookie with a walnut half. Let the chocolate set before serving.