A Recipe Dedicated to my Grandma

Vanilla Apricot Sandwich Cookies (or Kolutici sa marmaladom)

My grandma used to be one hell of a baker. She fuelled my passion for food at a very young age (and my sugar addiction); and definitely played a large part in my decision to make cooking and baking my career. My favourite childhood memories of my grandma are baking Christmas cookies with her in her TINY kitchen. I loved watching her as she would bake, recalling recipes from her head, (never referring to her recipe cue cards which were kept in a "recipe box"), gracefully moving around the kitchen knowing where everything was and what had to be done at what exact time.

She took her Christmas baking very seriously. Everything had to be perfect, with at least 7 varieties of Croatian desserts (many times 8 to 10) including Orahnjaca (walnut roll), Kiflice (basically a sweet filled croissant), Salame od Cokolade (translates to chocolate salami- don't worry it was sweet), Oblatne (wafer cake), Prance (type of cookie made in a mold), and Cupavci (a version of the Australian Lamington).

Now not only did my grandma make a variety of desserts for Christmas Day, she also made the same amount for our family and my cousins to have before Christmas Day at our homes (yup there's that sugar addiction again).

All the cookies were loved but there was one in particular - Kolutici sa Marmaladom (little wheels with Jam) that were definitely the family favourite, and my grandma made double the recipe amount, so that we would have enough at home and enough on Christmas Day.

Sadly my grandma hasn't been well for many years, so she doesn't bake anymore. As for me, over the past 10 years, I have followed the paleo diet, but when Christmas comes around, the craving for these "little vanilla wheels with apricot jam" always return, along with the memories associated with them. I desperately wanted to come up with a recipe that hopefully replicated the ones she used to make; but still follows the way I eat. Now you would think that this would be pretty easy - all you need is a vanilla cookie with apricot filling, and done. BUT it is actually a little more complicated when it comes to creating something that has such a strong nostalgic memory associated with it.

Her cookies were buttery and soft but had structure. They were not too sweet and had a distinct vanilla sugar flavour to them (if you have European parents or grandparents you probably know the vanilla sugar I am referring to here. It comes in a yellow sachet and it is put into almost every baked good). They were filled with a specific store bought apricot jam. It wasn't completely smooth but it wasn't chunky either. It was sweet with a burst of apricot flavour that just buzzed on your tongue. The cookies were amazing the day they were baked; but the longer you let the apricot jam slowly meld with the cookies, they became unbelievably better and better.

Over the years, I have tried to replicate this cookie and I have created some good cookies in the past , but admittedly nothing that ever came close to the recipe my grandma used to make............ UNTIL NOW!

These Vanilla Apricot Cookies are simple but oh so delicious. They are buttery and soft with a bit of a bit to them. The apricot jam is not too sweet but with the option of making it sweeter and even though there are two steps to this recipe, it is so easy to make.

These Vanilla Apricot Cookies not only gluten free but are free from

• grains

• eggs

• refined-sugar

• soy, corn, & legumes

• and can be made dairy free

I hope that these cookies can create new memories in your kitchen with your loved ones this holiday season.

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vanilla apricot cookies

24 cookie sandwiches

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INGREDIENTS:

Cookie

• 2 1/4 cup almond flour

• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons arrowroot flour

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon vanilla powder (can use vanilla extract but I highly reccomend using the powder or bean)

• 1/4 cup maple syrup

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature (can substitute with palm shortening)

Apricot Preservers

• 6 fresh apricots, cut with the skin on

• 2 - 4 tablespoons of honey

• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

• 1/8 teaspoon salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat your oven to 170C/350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2. In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, attachment, add the almond flour, arrowroot powder, salt, and vanilla powder. Mix together until the dry ingredients are incorporated.

3. Next, add in the maple syrup and butter. Beat just until a cohesive dough forms. Form the dough in a flat square or circle and tightly wrap it in plastic wrap or beeswax paper. Transfer the dough into the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour. I like to make the dough a day before needing to bake them.

4. Once the dough has chilled, remove it from the fridge. Grab two pieces of parchment paper and roll your dough out in between them until it is about ¼" thick. Use a 2" linzer cookie cutter to cut out the cookies and place on the baking sheet with parchment paper. Repeat this process until you are finished with the dough.

5. Take half of the cookies and with a small circle cutter, cut a hole in the middle of the dough. I used a piping tip to cut out the circles. This step isnt necessary but I love when you can see the jam through the cookie.

6. Bake the for 7 - 10 minutes, or until the cookies are baked. Be careful not to over cook the cookies. You want them still to be pale but to have a slight tan colour to the edges of the cookies but no more than that. Take out of the oven and let cool completely.

7. While you wait for your cookies to cool, you can make your apricot jam.

8. Add all the ingredients into a sauce pan over medium low heat. Do not remove the skin of the apricots. The skin has pectin in it which allows the jam to thicken naturally without adding anything to it. Let the jam slowly cook until all of the apricots are broken up. To help this process you can take a potato masher and carefully mash all the apricots. This process will take about 5 - 10 minutes. Before taking the jam off the heat, taste it to see if it is sweet enough for you. Add more honey if you would like it to be sweeter. Take off the heat and let cool completely.

9. Once the cookies and the jam are cooled you can start assembling your cookies.

10. Flip all the bottom cookies upside down and dollop 1 tsp of apricot jam on the cookies, carefully place a top cookie (the one with the hole in it) on top of the jam and press down ever so slightly. Continue until all of your cookies are decorated.

11. You can finish of by lightly dusting your cookies with powdered sugar.

12. Serve and enjoy!