Snack: Sweet Cherry Linzer Torte Cookies

These Valentine's Day cookies are way better than a bouquet of flowers—and tastier too!

This recipe includes superfoods such as:

Cinnamon

Health benefits of Sweet Cherry Linzer Torte Cookies

Cinnamon is one of the best ingredients that someone with insulin sensitivity can eat. Half a teaspoon of cinnamon per day has been shown to be very effective at normalizing blood sugar levels. Cinnamon contains hydroxychalcone, which is thought to enhance the effects of insulin. It has also been suggested that Cinnamon prevents post-meal blood sugar spikes by slowing the gastric emptying rate - meaning that food digests slowly. (Reference: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11506060).

Ingredients

3/4 c. pecans
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch ground cloves
Pinch ground allspice
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 12-oz. cherry jam
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Instructions

In a food processor, pulse the pecans and 2 tablespoons flour until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add the cinnamon, cloves, allspice, salt and the remaining flour and pulse to combine.
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg. Add pecan-flour mixture; mix to combine.
Divided the dough in half. Roll each half between 2 sheets of wax or parchment paper to 1/8-inch thick, then freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Working with 1 sheet of dough at a time, use a 2-inch-round fluted cutter to cut out cookies; transfer to the prepared baking sheets. Reroll, chill and cut the scraps.
With 1 sheet of cookies, use small 1/2-to 1-inch letter and heart cookie cutters to stamp out shapes. Bake until the edges are beginning to brown, 12 to 16 minutes. Let cool completely on the baking sheets.
Pass the jam through a wide-mesh strainer; discard any large cherry pieces. Spoon jam onto the whole cookies (about 1 teaspoon jam per cookie); dust the stamped-out cookies with confectioners' sugar. Top jam cookies with stamped-out cookies.

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