Mother's Day Tea Cookies

Sorry, I am a little late in posting this. Please note that the recipe requires one hour of chilling time. Local recipe.

• Ready In: 1 hr 23 mins
• Yields: 35 cookies

Ingredients

• 1⁄2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1⁄3 cup  unbleached granulated sugar
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1  tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1  teaspoon lemon zest, finely grated (my addition)
• 2  large eggs
• 2  cups unbleached flour
• 6  ounces  fruit jam, approximately (your flavor choice, we tested strawberry preserves and rose water jam. Read *Tip below.)

Directions

1. *Tip: make your own "instant" rose water jam by stirring a small amount (about 1-2 teaspoons, to taste) rose water into your favorite homemade or store bought jam.
2. Preheat oven to 365 degrees. <<This is the correct temperature.
3. In a large mixing bowl, food processor or KitchenAid stand up mixer, combine the butter, sugar, salt, extract, lemon zest and eggs.
4. Stir in the flour until incorporated.
5. Gather cookie dough into a ball, wrap in plastic and chill for 1 hour.
6. Remove from refrigerator and roll out dough on a floured surface to 1/4" thickness.
7. Cut into 2" rounds and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (I used the cap to one of the plastic spice bottles in the pantry. It measures 2 1/8").
8. Spoon 1/4 teaspoon (no more than that) fruit jam in center of each dough round, pinch sides of cookie to close (see photo above). Note: the jam should show on both sides of the impression.
9. Bake 8-10 minutes until *very lightly* browned. Rotate the baking sheet at the halfway mark. I noticed a few of the cookies started to come apart in the center where they were pinched. I carefully pinched them again. I'm confident in time my dough pinching skills will improve.
10. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in a covered container.