Editor's note: This recipe is from chef Wolfgang Puck.
My mother would always begin baking in early December and keep it up right through the holidays. But she wasn't working frantically the whole time. She just knew that the earlier you start your holiday baking, the more you'll be free to enjoy the big celebrations. The ingredients in her cookies promote tenderness and retain moisture so that they stand up well to storage for several weeks when properly packed. My mother's Linzer cookies not only stay moist thanks to their ground hazelnuts and raspberry jam, but they actually improve in flavor as their subtle blend of spices matures. They remain one of my favorites.
·It helps to have more than one cookie sheet when baking quantities of cookies. That way you can have one ready to go into the oven while the other is baking. I prefer shiny metal sheets to the dark ones, as dark metals absorb heat more quickly and can make cookies brown too fast. Always line the cookie sheets with parchment paper. Then you can quickly slide the entire batch on the paper off of the cookie sheet to cool. ·After rolling out the dough and before cutting the cookies, place the dough in the freezer for 15 to 30 minutes to facilitate cutting.
