Linzer Tarts, A fun cookie for the whole family to make

Cream together till fluffy

1 cup butter
3 oz. cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp lemon extract
1/4 tsp almond extract

Sift together :

2- 3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder

Mix all together and then add 1/2 cup of ground almonds.
Chill till firm.
Roll out the dough to approx 1/4 inch thick or so.
Cut bottoms to what ever size you want. You will need a well floured surface and roller. A smaller round is probably better as these are rich cookies. ( I use around scalloped shaped cutter),
Cut top to same size but make a hole in the middle ( I use a small bottle like the ones cookie sprinkles come in ) ,

Bake the tops and bottoms on separate sheets in oven 350 degrees on shiny ungreased new cookie sheet. (Don't try to use an old well worn one ) for approx 10 minutes. The tops may cook faster than the bottoms. They should be slightly brown on the edges.

Remove from sheet and cool.

Slightly heat a jar of raspberry preserves.

When tops are cool, place in a flat pan and sift confectioners sugar to cover the tops.

Spread a dollop of preserves on the bottoms, enough to fill the hole of the tops when cookies are assembled. le the sit for a hour or so.

The assembled cookies are best served the day the are to be eaten. You can make the tops and bottoms ahead of time and freeze till ready to serve.

Play match the cookies for a worthy cause

http://www.pepperidgefarm.com/pink/game.aspx

[edit] History
The Linzer Torte, named after the city of Linz, Austria, is the oldest-known torte or cake in the world. For a long time a recipe from 1696 in the Vienna Stadt- und Landesbibliothek was the oldest one known. In 2005, however, Waltraud Faißner, the library director of the Upper Austrian Landesmuseum and author of the book "Wie man die Linzer Dortten macht" ("How to make the Linzer Torte") found an even older recipe from 1653 in Codex 35/31 in the archive of the Admont Abbey.[3]
Johann Konrad Vogel (1796 - 1883) started the mass production of the cake that made it famous around the world.