Along with the iced sugar cookies, rugulach, gingerbread and snowballs, these Bavarian treats yell “Look at me” on the cookie tray. The warm spices of cinnamon and clove pop with flavor, not to mention the fruity raspberry jam’s tart bite. They take a little time to make, but that’s part of what makes them special. Everyone who eats one knows that they are biting into something that was baked with love. I usually place them around the edges of the cookie tray because they really stand out with that snowy covering of powdered sugar. The dough freezes really well, so make as many as you want and then tuck the remaining dough away for another time. Not just for Christmas, they’d be pretty fabulous with a cup of coffee in January or February as well. Happy Holidays!

 Kitchen Counter Point: Rolling the dough between sheets of plastic means that you can re-roll the scraps over and over again. Rolling the dough in flour toughens it so you usually can’t re-roll scraps more than 1 or 2 times. It also helps to make cleaner cuts with no sticking if you dunk the cutter into flour once in a while. I like to use a decorative round cutter for the tops. It just makes them look a little more special. Just bake them separately from the solid rounds because they cook a little faster. To make the sugar topping look its best, use a strainer filled with powdered sugar to dust the tops of the cookies.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
1 cup finely ground almonds
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
Additional powdered sugar

In a small bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Wisk to blend.

Beat the powdered sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and add the dry ingredients by the cupful. Stir in the almonds.

Divide the dough in half and roll it out to about 1/8-inch thickness between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. Chill on a cookie sheet until firm, about 20 minutes. Cut out rounds with a 2-inch round cookie cutter and cut the center out of half the rounds with a 3/4-inch round cutter. Re-roll the scraps and cut out more in the same manner.

Preheat oven to 350ºF

Bake on parchment lined sheet pans for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool on wire racks and spread the rounds with raspberry jam. Top with a ring and sprinkle powdered sugar over all.