Mother'S Day Tea Cookies - cooking recipe

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.)

Preparation

*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.
Preheat oven to 365 degrees. <In a large mixing bowl, food processor or KitchenAid stand up mixer, combine the butter, sugar, salt, extract, lemon zest and eggs.
Stir in the flour until incorporated.
Gather cookie dough into a ball, wrap in plastic and chill for 1 hour.
Remove from refrigerator and roll out dough on a floured surface to 1/4\" thickness.
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\").
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.
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.
Remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in a covered container.