Sasha's Cookies

NICU nurses are the absolute best!

How do you say thank you to some of the most special people on the planet?  I don't know but I do know that food is love and so as a family we poured all our love into trays of cookies for the NICU staff at our local hospital.  I am happy to say, they liked it. 

Linzer Bars

Ingredients

Crust:

• 3 cups (15 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup (6 ounces) granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup (6 ounces) firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks
• 1 cup chopped roasted hazelnuts

Filling:

• 4 cups (1 pound) raspberries, rinsed
• 1/3 cup (3 ounces) granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Glaze

• 1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) sifted confectioners’ sugar
• 5 tablespoons (3 ounces) heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

• Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking dish or two 8-inch baking dishes with parchment paper.

Crust

• In a bowl, combine the flour, granulated and brown sugars, salt, and lemon zest. Add the butter and, using a food processor, quickly cut the butter into the flour mixture until the butter is the size of small peas.  Add hazelnuts and pulse 5-10 times.
• Press about 3/4 of the crust mixture over the bottom and slightly up the sides of the prepared pans, pressing firmly to make an even layer. Bake until the crust is pale golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Cover the remaining 1/4 crust mixture remaining in the bowl and refrigerate it.
• Set the crust aside to cool while you make the filling.

Filling and Assembly

• In a saucepan, stir together the raspberries, granulated sugar, and cornstarch. Simmer over medium heat, stirring often, until the sugar dissolves and the berries are juicy but not completely broken down, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.
• Spread the filling over the partially baked crust. Crumble the remaining chilled crust mixture over the filling. Bake until pale golden and bubbly, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.

Glaze

• In a bowl, combine the confectioners’ sugar, cream, and vanilla extract. Whisk the ingredients together until combined. Fit a piping bag with a small, plain tip, and fill it with the glaze or pour the glaze into a large resealable plastic bag and snip off the tip of one of the bottom corners. Pipe or drizzle the glaze over the linzer bars in a crisscross pattern. Refrigerate until chilled through, at least 1 hour. Cut into bars.