Lillian Langseth-Christensen was a much-loved Gourmet writer for many years. Known as Liesel, she was a fabulous baker, and among her many wonderful cookies we particularly like these buttery treats, which can be filled with apricot jam or ganache. A little rum in the dough sets off the sweetness of the jam, and also deepens the flavor of the chocolate.
This is just one of Gourmet’s Favorite Cookies: 1941-2008. Although we’ve retested the recipes, in the interest of authenticity we’ve left them unchanged: The instructions below are still exactly as they were originally printed. Learn how to roll out thin cookie dough—with no mess and no extra flour.
1980s Recipes + Menus
Souvaroffs
Butter Cookies with Apricot Jam or Ganache
November 1984
For the dough
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
- 1 large egg yolk, beaten lightly
- 1/2 teaspoon light rum or vanilla
- 1/3 cup apricot jam, heated and strained
- 1/2 cup ganache
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Make the dough: Into a bowl sift together the flour and the sugar, add the butter, and blend the mixture until it resembles meal. Add the egg yolk, the rum, and 2 tablespoons ice water, toss the mixture until it is combined, and form the dough into a ball. Knead the dough lightly with the heel of the hand against a smooth surface for a few seconds to distribute the fat evenly and re-form it into a ball. Dust the dough with flour and chill it, wrapped in wax paper, for 30 minutes.
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Halve the dough, roll out half of it 1/8 inch thick on a floured surface, and cut it into rounds with a 1 1/4-inch fluted cutter. (The scraps may be chilled, re-rolled and cut into more rounds.) Bake the rounds on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper in a preheated 325° F. oven for 12 minutes, or until the edges are faintly golden. Transfer the cookies to a rack and let them cool. Sandwich the cookies together with the apricot jam. Makes about 35 cookies.
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Roll out the remaining dough 1/8 inch thick on a floured surface and cut it into rounds with a 1 1/4-inch round cutter. Cut out the centers from half the rounds with a 1/2-inch round cutter. (The scraps may be chilled, re-rolled, and cut into more rounds.) Bake the rounds and the rings in a preheated 325° F. oven for 12 minutes, or until the edges are faintly golden. Transfer the cookies to a rack and let them cool.
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Spread the rounds lightly with some of the ganache, cover each one with a ring, and fill the centers with a rosette of ganache piped through a pastry bag fitted with a 3/8-inch fluted rosette tip. Makes about 45 cookies.
- Keywords
- favorite cookies 1941-2008,
- winter holidays,
- cookies,
- fruit,
- chocolate
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