Chocolate Raspberry Sugar Cookie Sandwiches

Lisa Basini Recipe Developer, Food Stylist and Owner of the Baking Coach, Inc. The Baking Coach® is a baking instruction company located in Huntington, NY. We teach to people of all ages and abilities! Phone (631) 543-8608
www.bakingcoach.com

Yield: 18 sandwich cookies

Here Is What You Need:

Tools:
3 baking pans lined with parchment paper
3 1/2-inch round cookie cutter
1-inch round cookie cutter
Rolling Pin
Mixer

For the Dough:
2 sticks or 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

For the Icing:
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
1 ½ tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 ½ to 3 tablespoons water

For the Filling:
1 ½ cups raspberry jam with or without seeds

Here Is How You Do It:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 3 cookie sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar. Incorporate eggs one at a time. Add in extract, and stir.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt; slowly pour into the butter mixture using a rubber spatula. Roll out a portion of the dough to a ¼ inch thickness.  Using the 3 ½ inch cookie cutter, cut out 12 cookie circles and place them 1 inch apart on the first tray. Cut another 12 cookie circles and place on the second tray. Cut out the center of these cookies using the 1-inch cookie cutter. At this time, you will have 12 solid round cookies and 12 round cookies with the 1-inch round cut out. Recycle the cut-out portion of the dough to the remaining dough and cut 6 solid circles and 6 circles with the 1-inch round cut-out for the third tray. Bake each tray for 10 minutes. If you put all three trays in at once, be sure to rotate them after 5 minutes. Cookies should look dry and slightly darker on the edges when they are fully baked.
Allow cookies to cool completely in pans, or wait 10 minutes and transfer to a cooling rack.
Prepare your icing. Mix the dry ingredients into a bowl. Add 2 ½ tablespoons of water, and mix.  If the icing is too thick, add in remaining ½ of a tablespoon a little at a time.
Using the ring cookies (with the cut out), place the top of the cookie into the glaze, covering only the top. Gently shake off excess, flip, and turn back on to the parchment paper, or drizzle the chocolate icing over the tops with a fork. Repeat this process on all cookies. Top with sprinkles while the icing is wet if you desire.
Take the solid bottoms and turn them upside down, then place a heaping tablespoon of jam in the center. Press down slightly, but leave a ½ inch boarder of the cookie without any jam.  When you add the top, the jam will spread, filling the whole cookie.
Once tops are dry enough to move, top each filled bottom-half cookie with a glazed top. Store in the fridge or a cool place in an airtight container. Cookies are best if enjoyed within three days.