Serves: 24
Total Calories: 127

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups hazlenut meal or finely ground hazelnuts
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
lemon zest of one small lemon
1/2 cup black current or raspberry jam or preserves
powdered sugar for dusting

1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or
grease it lightly and set aside.
2. Into a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, cinnamon, cloves, and
salt, then lightly whisk in the hazelnuts and set aside.
3. In a stand mixer set on medium speed, beat the butter until creamy,
about 30 seconds. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3
minutes. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and beat until fully incorporated,
scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary. Beat in the
lemon zest until blended. Turn off the mixer, add half the flour mixture,
and beat on low speed until blended. Add the remaining flour and beat until
blended.
4. Use lightly floured hands to gather the sticky dough into a ball. Divide
the ball in half and flatten each portion into a 6- to 8-inch disk. Tightly
wrap each disk in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes. Roll out the first
disk 1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured board, between 2 sheets of parchment
paper or heavy-duty plastic wrap, or on a pastry cloth with a cloth-covered
rolling pin.
5. Lightly dip a 2 1/2-inch wreath-shaped cookie cutter or round biscuit cutter
in flour, then firmly press it straight down into the dough. Repeat, cutting
the cookies close together to avoid rerolling. Using a spatula, carefully
transfer the cookies to the baking sheet. Bake until lightly colored, 10
to 12 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.
6. Roll out the remaining disk of dough, cut into cookies with the same
round cutter, and use a smaller, 1 1/2-inch round garnish cutter to remove
the centers from the cookies. Bake the large and small rounds as directed.
(The small rounds will take less time to bake, 7 to 9 minutes.) When cool,
lightly spread half the large rounds with black currant preserves. Sift powdered
sugar onto the cut-out rounds’ frames and carefully set them atop
the jam-spread rounds. Enjoy the mini-rounds on their own.

NOTE: Hazelnut meal is available in the baking section of many supermarkets or
in specialty markets such as Trader Joe’s in the nut section. One brand is
Bob’s Red Mill. Hazelnut meal is finely ground hazelnuts.



From Holiday Baking. Text copyright © 2005 by Sara Perry. Photographs copyright © 2005 by Leigh Beisch. All rights reserved. First published by Chronicle Books LLC, San Francisco, California.

Nutritional Facts:

Serves: 24
Total Calories: 127
Calories from Fat: 50

More Recipes from the Holiday Baking Cookbook:
Christmas Day Trifles for You and Me
Flashy Cocktail Rings with a Trio of Seeds
Gingerbread Men and a Few of Their Holiday Friends
Linzer Wreaths
Saint Lucia's Saffron Crown
Snowflake Cake
Sofia's Snow Pillows
Stir-Up Sunday Fruitcake
The Kid's Cinnamon-Roll Christmas Tree
Without Thinking Twice Perfect Popovers