Makes about 48
Notes
These cookies can be made a day ahead. Store them in an airtight container between layers of parchment so they don’t stick together. You can play around with combinations of jam and nuts for the filling, as you like.
Ingredients
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup fig preserves
- ⅓ cup coarsely chopped toasted skinned hazelnuts
Directions
Sift the flour and salt together. Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until very pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes, then beat in the egg and vanilla extract. At low speed, mix in the flour mixture until a dough forms. Wrap dough in plastic, and chill until firm, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees with racks in the top and bottom thirds. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Pinch off heaping-teaspoon-sized pieces of dough, and roll them into balls. Place balls on the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart, and flatten them slightly with the palm of your hand. Bake them until they are puffed but not browned, about 8 minutes.
Remove baking sheets from oven, and carefully make a small crater in the middle of each cookie, using a teaspoon-sized measuring spoon. Fill each crater with ¼ to ½ teaspoon preserves, and sprinkle some chopped hazelnuts into the preserves. Finish baking the cookies until they are golden brown on the bottom and edges, about 8 minutes more. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer them to racks and cool completely. Store in airtight containers at room temperature.