12 Days of Cookies - A Gourmet cookie extravaganza

This event is the brain child of Andrea of Andreas Recipes. How I got asked to be involved with this incredible group is beyond me but all the thanks goes to Kelly of Sass & Veracity. There are 7 of us that have decided to do The 12 Days of Cookies - A Gourmet cookie extravaganza. We will be choosing, baking, tasting, blogging and sharing with you a cookie a day for the next 12 days of December.

These cookies are coming from Gourmet's Favorite Cookie Recipes: 1941-2008. They’ve published a lot of cookie recipes in their 68-year history, many of them around the winter holidays. This season they decided to choose the very best from each year.

These are my partners in crime. We will all be choosing different cookies and surprising each other. How fun is that???? Be sure to check out their selections for the day!

Jerry - Cooking...by the seat of my Pants
Sandy - At the Baker's Bench
Courtney - Coco Cooks
Kelly - Sass & Veracity
Claire - The Barefoot Kitchen
Andrea - Andreas Recipes

Day 2 of my 12 Days of Cookies features Jelly Centers!

We can only imagine the anniversary buffet suggested in our June 1948 issue, resplendent with molded salads garnished with radish roses, cold salmon, and dainty little petits fours. These cookies—dotted with chopped almonds and filled with jewel-toned jams—would fit right in. - Gourmet

Jelly Centers - June 1948 (link to the recipe as it was originally printed)

Ingredients:

1 cup butter (I used unsalted)
1 cup powdered sugar or very fine granulated sugar
6 egg yolks
pinch of salt
juice and zest of 1/2 lemon
3 cups sifted flour
blanched almonds, finely chopped (I used regular almonds and did not blanch)
coarse sugar
apricot jam or any red jam or jelly (I used raspberry jam)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350°
  
• Cream the butter until it is light.
• Gradually add the powdered sugar, creaming well after each addition.
• Add the egg yolks one at a time, salt and the lemon juice, and zest.
• Gradually add the flour and stir or knead the dough until blended.
• Chill for at least 2 hours.
• Roll the dough with lightly floured hands into uniform balls the size of large marbles. Press an indentation into each ball with your little finger. Brush on the egg yolk and sprinkle the tops with almonds and sugar.
• Bake for about 10 minutes or until the balls are golden brown.
• When ready to serve fill the indentations with your choice of jam.
  

They look like little jewels on my plate!

I loved the flavor of these cookies. Not too sweet. If I made these again I would definately fill them with a homemade jam or jelly. I think that would really add to these. For me though they were a little fussy to make and I found some of the (very short) directions a little confusing. There wasn't even a bake time in the original recipe.

Would I make these again? Probably not as they were a little fussy for me but they did look really elegant and I could see how they could have been a really popular cookie back in 1948!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com