Linzer Torte Cookies

Back in November, I bought a Linzer torte cookie cutter in hope of using it during the Holiday Season. But even though I did quite a lot of baking during the holidays, I didn’t get to try my new cookie cutter.

A few days ago, I finally got to use it. The cookies came out wonderfully! I loved this recipe, which originally is from Joy of Baking.



1 cup sliced almonds

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup granulated white sugar, divided

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 large egg yolks

Zest of 1 lemon (outer yellow skin of lemon)

Confectioner’s sugar for dusting

1/2 cup Raspberry or Black Currant Preserves or Jam

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and place rack in the center of the oven. Place the almonds on a baking sheet and bake for about 8-10 minutes (or until lightly browned and fragrant). Once the nuts have cooled, place in a food processor and process with 1/4 cup of the sugar from the recipe until finely ground.

In a separate bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, cinnamon, and salt.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and remaining sugar until light and fluffy (approximately 3 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract, egg yolks, and lemon zest. Beat in the ground nuts. Add the flour mixture beating just until incorporated. Divide the dough in half and shape into two rectangles about 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) thick. Wrap the two rectangles of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm (at least one hour and up to several days).

Remove one rectangle of dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough until it is about 1/4 inch thick. Using a 2 to 3 inch cookie cutter (round, square, heart, etc.) cut out the dough. Place the cookies about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Use a smaller cookie cutter (3/4 - 1 inch) to cut out the centers of half of the cookies on the baking sheet. (You will be sandwiching two cookies together and there will be a small 'window or cut out' in the top cookie so you can see the jam underneath.)

Reroll any scraps and cut out the cookies. Remove the other half of the dough from the refrigerator and roll and cut out the rest of the cookies. Bake the cookies for 12 - 14 minutes or until they are very lightly browned. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
To Assemble Cookies: Place the cookies with the cut-outs on a wire rack and lightly dust the tops with the confectioner’s sugar.

On the bottom surface of the full cookie (top of cookie will face out) spread with about a 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of jam. Place the cut-out cookie on top and gently sandwich them together, making sure not to smug the confectioner’s sugar. Using a small spoon, fill the cut-out with a little more jam if needed.

Note: You can store the unassembled cookies in the refrigerator for several days in an airtight container. It is best, though, to assemble the cookies the same day as serving in order to keep the cookies crisp.

Makes about 20 - 2 inch sandwiched cookies.

I'm linking this recipe to Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum.

My Etsy Shop

It has finally happened! I have obtained all the necessary permits and licenses, and now I am an official owner of a crochet business. Sounds great!

But how great it’s going to be in reality I don’t know. In fact, after checking dozens of other crochet shops on Etsy, my spirits went down. There are so many talented crocheters out there, so the competition is enormous. The good thing is that my business doesn’t have to be a profitable one. It only has to be an enjoyable one! And since I enjoy crocheting so much, I think it is worth giving a try!

I love everything lacy and enjoy crocheting with thread, so I named my shop Olga’s Lacy Crochet. The items there are mostly doilies, but I hope to include bookmarks, coasters, ornaments, and other crochet items soon.

Before posting an item in my shop, I sometimes share its story on my crocheting blog Lacy Crochet.

So wish me luck and if you’ll have a chance, visit Olga’s Lacy Crochet on Etsy.

Thank you!

Bedroom Remodeling Project: White Chairs

Last summer, my blogging friend Willow from My Irish Cottage shared several posts about her bedroom-remodeling project. It was exciting to see all the beautiful changes that she worked on. She inspired me to start my own bedroom remodeling.

I’ve been working on it for several months now, yet it’s not completely finished. The biggest work is done – my brother painted the walls pale green and I bought a new furniture set. Still there are lots of small projects to work on.

As soon as all the work is complete, I plan to share pictures of my bedroom. But for now, I’ll just share a few small projects.





The one I’m showing today is an old chair that found a new use (actually, it’s a pair of two identical chairs, but I’m showing only one of them in the pictures).

I absolutely love my new white furniture set, but it felt like having a chair or two for stocking throws and extra blankets would be nice. So I moved two old chairs, which weren’t in use until then, to my room.

However, they looked totally out of place because of their light brown color (my bedroom has three basic colors – green, white, and blue). The solution was to re-paint them. I had never painted furniture before, so I was afraid it won’t turn out the way I want it. But since these were old chairs that I didn’t use anyway, I took the risk.

If you were to take a close look at my re-painted chairs, you would see an amateur’s work right away. But I am quite happy with my lovely white chairs, which now fit in my bedroom perfectly.

I'm linking this post to
Show off Your Cottage Monday @ The House in the Roses
and
Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch.

Thank you for stopping by and have a lovely week!

Last Rose from the Garden

Today I got to spend some time in my little garden. I did a bit of cleaning, and I also pruned my rose bushes. I picked this last rose from my Bewitched Hybrid Tea rose bush.

Usually the blooms from this rose are rich pink, but the last one is pale and fragile. Nevertheless, it’s very fragrant. The delicate aroma filled the entire room.



I checked my garden whether there was anything new blooming, but didn’t find anything other than geranium. Last year around this time, my calla lilies already had some blooms, but this year there aren’t any yet.

I really enjoy the warm and sunny days we have, but the garden really needs some rain. I hope we’ll get some soon.

I'm linking to
Fertilizer Friday @ Tootsie Time
and
Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home.