Souvaroffs Butter Cookies with Jam

1¾ cups all-purpose flourfrac12; cup confectioners' sugar1frac12; sticks (frac34; cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits1 large egg yolk, beaten lightlyfrac12; teaspoon light rum or vanilla cup jam such as apricot or strawberry, heated and strained

For the dough: Into a bowl, sift together the flour and the sugar, add the butter, and blend the mixture until it resembles meal. Add the egg yolk, the rum, and 2 tablespoons ice water, toss the mixture until it is combined, and form the dough into a ball. Knead the dough lightly with the heel of the hand against a smooth surface for a few seconds to distribute the fat evenly, and re-form it into a ball. Dust the dough with flour and chill it, wrapped in wax paper, for 30 minutes.

Halve the dough, roll out half of it inch thick on a floured surface, and cut it into rounds with a 1frac12;-inch fluted cutter. Gather the scraps together, reroll them, and cut out more rounds. Roll out the remaining half of the dough inch thick and cut out more rounds in the same manner. Cut out the center of half the rounds with a frac12;-inch plain round cutter to form rings. Bake the rounds and rings in batches on greased baking sheets in the middle of a preheated 325 degree oven for 12 minutes, or until the edges are faintly golden. Transfer the cookies to a rack and let them cool. Sandwich the cookies together with the jam.

Makes about 3 frac12; dozen sandwich cookies.

Cook's notes: Roll out the dough between sheets of parchment or wax paper. For cleaner edges, chill or freeze the dough before and after cutting the rounds. After sandwiching the cookies, use extra jam to top off the centers.

#8220;The Gourmet Cookie Book: The Single Best Recipe from Each Year, 1941-2009#8221; (2010 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)