Sugar Free Linzer Cookies

It is so hard to find a recipe for sugar free cookies that don't turn out gross or weird. These Linzer cookies are awesome! They are decorative, but also sweet and light. The preserves give them a rich decadence, and if you use the right brand you can't tell that they are sugar free! You can use any flavor; I tried Strawberry and Apricot preserves, which were delicious.

Sugar Free Linzer Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup granulated Splenda
1/3 cup sour cream
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup almonds, ground super fine
1/2 cup sugar free Pollaner All Fruit preserves

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and Splenda with an electric mixer. Gradually add egg and vanilla while mixing. It will look like scrambled eggs. Stir in by hand flour, baking powder, and baking soda a little at a time. Fold in sour cream and almonds. Divide dough in half and form into two discs. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Remove and unwrap a disc of dough. Roll the dough out between two large pieces of wax paper to 1/8 inch thickness. If the dough is too cold, it will be very hard to roll out. In this case, let the dough stand at room temperature until it is soft enough to deal with. Use your favorite cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Cut out an even number of each shape. Cut a circle out of the middle of half of the cookies using small circular cutters or bottle caps. The top to the vanilla extract is a nice size. The whole cookies will be the bottoms and the holey ones will be the tops.

Repeat with other disc of dough, or keep refrigerated for up to 3 days for later use. You can also try freezing the dough for up to 6 months. Just thaw in the refrigerator over night.

Place cookies on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 6-8 minutes. Remove cookies from oven and let sit on the pan for 5 minutes. Carefully transfer cookies to wire rack and cool completely. Before adding another batch of cookies to the pan, let it cool back to room temperature.

Stir the preserves until smooth. When cookies are completely cooled, sandwich the preserves between a whole cookie and a holey one. Squash the cookies together so that the preserves squish out the hole you cut. If you like, you can dust the holey top cookie with powdered sugar (no longer sugar free, but low sugar) before sandwiching. Makes 30-40 sandwiches, depending on cookie size.