Parisian Hearts

---------- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.05

Title: Parisian Hearts
Categories: Cookies
Yield: 14 servings

1 1/2 c All-purpose flour
4 1/2 oz Blanched whole almonds
Finely ground
3/4 c Butter or margarine;
-softened
1/2 ts Almond extract
1/8 ts Salt
1 Egg
1 c Confectioners' sugar
4 ts Lemon juice
3 tb Raspberry preserves

Into large bowl, measure flour, ground almonds, butter or margarine,
almond extract, salt, egg and 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar. WIth mixer at
low speed, beat ingredients until well blended, occasionally scraping bowl
with rubber spatula. Shape dough into a ball; wrap with plastic wrap.
Refrigerate dough 2 hours or until easy to handle.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 2 large cookie sheets. On lightly
floured surface with lightly floured rolling pin, roll half of dough 1/8
inch thick, keeping remaining dough refrigerated. With floured 3-1/2 inch
heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut dough into hearts. (Or, cut 3-1/2 inch
heart-shaped pattern from cardboard; use pattern and knife to cut out
cookies). With floured 1-inch round cookie cutter, cut out center from
half of hearts.

With pancake turner, place hearts, 1/2 inch apart on cookie sheets. Bake
10 minutes or until golden. With pancake turner, immediately remove cookies
to wire racks to cool. Repeat with remaining dough and trimmings.
To assemble cookies: In small bowl, stir lemon juice iwth 1/2 cup
confectioners' sugar until smooth. Spread a thin layer of lemon icing on
hearts without cut-out centers; top each with a heart with cut-out center,
gently pressing hearts together. Fill cut-out centers with a heaping 1/4
teaspoonful preserves. Sprinkle cookies lightly with confectioners' sugar.
Store cookies in tightly covered containers to use up within 2 days. Makes
14.

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