Fursecuri Fragede 3-2-1 (Sandy Butter Cookies)

Name: Fursecuri Fragede 3-2-1 (Sandy Butter Cookies)
Yield: about 30 sandwich cookies
Cuisine: Romania
Ingredients: 300 g all-purpose flour; 200 g cold butter, cubed; 100 g powdered sugar; 1 tsp vanilla; zest of 1 lemon; a pinch of salt; 150 g thick jam, such as apricot, raspberry, sour cherry or plum; powdered sugar, for dusting

Also called fursecuri 3-2-1, 3-2-1 cookies, fursecuri fragede

Eggless shortbread sandwich cookies made from 3 parts flour, 2 parts butter and 1 part sugar, filled with jam.

Makes: about 30 sandwich cookies

Cookies Make ahead

Ingredients

Scale

Pan sizes, times and temperatures in the method are not scaled.

Dough

Filling

150 gthick jam, such as apricot, raspberry, sour cherry or plum
powdered sugar, for dusting

Method

Cut the cold butter (200 g¾ cup + 2 tbsp) into the flour (300 g2½ cups) until it looks like fine sand. Add the powdered sugar (100 g¾ cup + 1 tbsp), vanilla (1 tsp), zest and salt and press together into a dough. It will barely hold together; don't add liquid.
Chill 30 minutes.
Heat the oven to 340°F (170°C) and line baking sheets.
Roll the dough 5 mm (3⁄16 inch) thick between two sheets of parchment. Cut rounds with a 4 to 5 cm (1½ to 2 inch) cutter. Cut a small hole or shape from the center of half of them.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes, pale golden at most. They are very fragile when hot.
Cool completely on the sheet. Dust the cutout tops with powdered sugar, spread thick jam (150 g) on the solid bottoms and sandwich together.

Notes

Texture. They should shatter when bitten. Tough means overworked dough; spreading means the butter was too warm.
Sturdier version. Add 1 egg yolk to the dough.