Makes 24

Ingredients

• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ medium tonka bean, finely grated
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 1/3 cups All-Purpose Flour
• 3/4 cup Almond Flour
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

Filling

• Raspberry, or strawberry, jam

To Finish

• Candy eyes
• Melted chocolate
• Powdered sugar, for dusting

Method

1. Line two large cookie trays with baking parchment and set aside until needed
2. Beat the butter, sugar, cinnamon and tonka bean until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl as needed, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk, vanilla and beat until combined
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, almond flour, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix until just combined, taking care not to overmix
4. Divide the dough in half, and pat each half into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour
5. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, and let it soften for 5 to 10 minutes, until it feels soft enough to roll.
6. On a floured surface, roll one disc of dough out about 1/8″-thick. Using a 2 1/2″ round cookie cutter, cut out cookies. Transfer rounds to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Gather the scrap dough, roll, and repeat. If at any time during this process the dough becomes sticky and hard to work with, simply refrigerate it for about 20 minutes, until firm
7. Place the cut cookies (you should have 24 cookies) in the refrigerator for 30 minutes and preheat your oven to 350°F
8. While the first half of cookies is chilling, cut 24 rounds from the second dough circle. Once you’ve transferred these cookies to a baking sheet, use your smallest cookie cutter, or the end of a round piping tip, to make a cutout hole off-center of each and remove it. Place cookies in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill
9. Bake the cookies for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges are just beginning to turn brown. Let them cool for 5 minutes on the sheets, then transfer to a rack to cool completely
10. Turn the whole cookies flat side up and spoon 1/2 teaspoon of jam into the center, spreading it slightly. Top with the sugar-dusted cookies. With your melted chocolate in a small piping bag, with the end slightly snipped off, pipe on “antlers” and fix candy eyes at the ends, above the hole
11. Though you can eat these cookies straight away, they taste better after letting them sit for a day or two so the jam can soak into the cookie making it deliciously soft