Shortbread Jelly Cookies

This recipe comes from my friend Evelyn. She brought us a plate of them and I selfishly ate not only my share, but the girls' too. Trevor doesn't like sugar cookies, but he loved these because they're shortbread. They're so good!

Cookies:
1 lb. butter, slightly softened
1 C sugar
4 egg yolks
2 tsp. grated lemon rind
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
4 C unsifted flour

Filling:
seedless jam or jelly (or you can strain regular jam/jelly. No seeds--pretty color) I used raspberry because I had that on hand, but the strawberry filled ones from Evelyn tasted even better

1 C powdered sugar for dusting

Directions:
Cream butter and sugar. Add yolks one at a time. Add lemon rind, vanilla and salt. Blend in 4 C flour, one at a time until to thick to mix with mixer. Put on floured board and knead in remaining flour. Wrap dough in waxed paper and chill one hour in the refridgerator.

Preheat oven to 375°. Roll dough 1/4" thick and cut with cookie cutter shape of choice. Cut tops with the same cutter and a smaller inside shape cutter (star, bell, etc.) to leave an opening for jam to show through. Bake all pieces (bottoms, hearts with cut-outs, small cut-outs) until lightly browned, about 10 minutes for big cookies. Let cool.

Generously spread jam on bottom cookie pieces, covering entire cookie to 1/8 inch from the edge. Dust powdered sugar (using a sifter or a fine mesh sieve) over the top pieces BEFORE placing on top of the jam. When dusted, sandwich top and bottom pieces together. Enjoy!

Number Of Servings: 24 sandwiched cookies (about the size of your palm)
Preparation Time: 30 minutes