Normally, Valentine's Day is not a big event in our household, mostly because my grandfather's birthday is only a few days before (and our whole family gathers to celebrate that), and also because a lot of chocolate is consumed at the end of January when the Salon Du Chocolat is held in Tokyo. But since Valentine's is not just about chocolates, and ever since I started this blog I am always looking for an excuse to try something new, I decided to plan a Valentine's post. And to be honest, it was supposed to be up by now (over the weekend to be exact), but partly because a snowy dark day prevented me from photographing the results (public excuse), and partly because I did not have the good grace to follow my baking agenda closely (truth), I am running late.
This post is part of the said Valentine's post. After looking at numerous photographs of pretty linzer cookies on the internet and in magazines, I decided I wanted to try them myself. I didn't want to use the traditional dough which contains nuts (usually hazelnuts or almonds), because I already had a different treat that includes almonds planned for the Valentine's post. But I did know what kind of jam I wanted to use for the filling — jam from a lovely shop called Romi-Unie Confiture.
Romi-Unie Confiture is a small cozy shop, on a quiet street in Kamakura, that specializes in handmade "confitures". There are a myriad of jams to choose from; every single one with a lovely name; most in French. My favorites are their "Anniversaire" (strawberry & raspberry), and "Claire" (kiwi fruit & apple) confitures, but I wouldn't really know because I have yet to try them all. For these Valentine's cookies, I wanted to use a raspberry jam, and after much consideration, I picked the "Paris" raspberry confiture with kirschwasser (cherry brandy), and the "Tartiner Framboise" chocolate spread with a hint of raspberry. The jams were so full of flavor, I decided to use an uncomplicated but delicious plain butter cookie dough which I (not so coincidentally) posted about previously. I know the jams I have written about here are impossible to buy unless you are in Japan, but any good quality jam would work. I recommend choosing something that is not overly sweet, because the cookie dough has enough sugar and a dusting of confectioner's sugar will be added on top. For those of you who do live in Japan, you can visit the shop, or buy online here.
* Romi-Unie Confiture
1-13-1 Ogigayatsu
Kamakura, Kanagawa
248-0011 Japan
* { valentine's cookies, cookies adapted from lionel poilâne, via dorie's website and paris sweets by dorie greenspan }
— continue reading for the recipe and assembly instructions
