i just loooooooooooooove that cupcake platter and will be on a hunt for one for myself. I'll have to start gathering for another box to Maryanne! I love sending surcies.....I LOVE SENDING SURCIES TO MY FRIENDS! Michelle

These made the cover of "The Best of Fine Cooking" No. 23 "Raspberry Linzer Cookies" by Elaine Khosrova Yields about thirty-two 2-1/2-inch sandwich cookies. 2-1/2 oz. (1/2 cup) sliced almonds 2-1/2 oz. (1/2 cup) coarsely chopped hazelnuts 9-1/2 oz. (2 cups plus 1 Tbs.) all purpose flour 3/4 cup granulated sugar 2 tsp. lemon zest 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. table salt 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp. ground cloves 7 oz. (14 Tbs.) chilled unsalted butter 1 large egg 1 Tbs. cold water 1/2 cup raspberry preserves Confectionersâ sugar for dusting Tip: For the best results, measure your flour by weight instead of volume. (1 cup of all-purpose flour equals 4-1/2 oz.) If you donâÂÂt have a scale, be sure to use the proper technique when filling your measuring cups. Several hours before baking: In a food processor, process the almonds and hazelnuts with 1/2 cup of the flour until fine textured but not powdered. (To avoid overprocessing, stop the machine occasionally and feel the nuts; they may look like theyâÂÂre still chunky, but they may actually just be clumping together.) Add the remaining flour, granulated sugar, lemon zest, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cloves. Pulse to combine. Cut the butter into 1/2-inch cubes and add to the flour mixture; pulse until the mixture looks like coarse meal. DonâÂÂt overprocess. Transfer to a large bowl. Whisk together the egg and water; sprinkle over the flour mixture and toss gently to combine. The dough should hold together when pinched. (If it seems dry, sprinkle on a bit more water.) Gather the dough into two balls and knead briefly just to blend. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, 2 to 3 hours. To bake: Heat the oven to 325ðF. Cover your cookie sheets with parchment. Generously flour a work surface. Roll one ball of the dough 3/16 inch thick. (Keep the rest in the refrigerator, and if the dough warms up to the point of being sticky while youâÂÂre working with it, return it to the refrigerator.) Cut out as many 2-1/2-inch rounds as possible, rerolling the scraps to make more rounds. Arrange on the cookie sheets about 3/4 inch apart. Cut 1-1/4-inch holes in the center of half the rounds. Reroll these center scraps to make more cookies. Bake until the edges are lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Let cool on the sheets. Repeat with the remaining dough. To assemble, spread a heaping 1/2 tsp. preserves on the underside of the whole cookie rounds. Top with the doughnut-shaped cookies, bottom sides against the preserves. Just before serving, sift confectioners' sugar lightly over the cookies. (Helpful hint: Sift confectioners' sugar over the cookie tops before assembling).

I have four recipes but have only made my original recipe. It's close to what I used to buy from my NY hometown bakery back in the 1960s. Only one calls for hazelnuts--the others call for almonds. I always chopped them fine in my Cuisinart along with a little sugar so that it didn't turn into almond flour. Ischl Tartlets 2 3/4 c. sifted flour 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1 c. butter at room temperature 3 oz. cream cheese at room temperature 1 c. sugar 1 egg 1/2 c. ground almonds 1 tbsp. grated lemon zest Sift flour and baking powder onto waxed paper. Cream butter, cream cheese, sugar, and egg until fluffy. Blend in flour mixture. Add almonds and lemon zest. Shape into a ball, wrap, and refrigerate several hours. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Divide dough in half and refrigerate half. Roll 1/8" thick. Cut with 3" cutter. Place on ungreased cookie sheet (I use parchment nowadays). Roll and cut out remaining cookies and place on cookie sheet. Cut a 1/2" circle from the middle. Bake 8 min. or until edges are lightly browned. Let stand one minute and then cool on wire racks. Warm raspberry jam. Spread solid cookies with thin layer. Top with cutouts. Sift confectioners sugar over cookies. Spoon a dab of jam into center. Let jam set slightly. Makes 3 1/2 dozen. They are best eaten fresh. Or freeze some of the plain cookies and assemble before serving.

The cookie cutter will be perfect for the Halloween Cutout Cookies recipe above. :-) King Arthur has "Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour", which is their version of Cup4Cup and is available at Wal-Mart in our area. Test kitchen tips for Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour This flour is best suited for non-yeasted recipes. Directly swap the amount of all-purpose flour called for with the same amount of Measure for Measure flour: No need for additional specialty ingredients. Works beautifully in your favorite recipes, whether you’re substituting just a few ounces of conventional flour or several cups. Grainlady's soapbox: The biggest drawback with most of the all-purpose gluten-free blends --- rice flour being the main ingredient. I wouldn't recommend using large amounts of rice flour for anyone, and especially children, due to the arsenic associated with it; and nearly all gluten-free flour blends and commercial gluten-free foods contain rice flour. For more information: http://glutenfreecooking.about.com/od/glutenfreecookingbasics/a/Arsenic-In-Rice-And-Gluten-Free-Diets.htm  I also dislike the large amounts of high-glycemic flours and starches they contain. To use an old idiom: Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Trading one health concern for another potential health concern - gluten intolerance followed by diabetes and other health issues due to food choices. Therefore, just as before I was gluten-free, I mill gluten-free wholegrain flour myself and use coconut flour and almond flour over rice flour. The brown rice flour I do use I make myself in order to reduce the amount of arsenic in it by rinsing, soaking, sprouting (which includes more rinsing), dehydrating the sprouted grain, and milling it into flour myself. With that much work involved, you use it sparingly. After a 10-day detox from all grains at the first of the year, I soon realized how other grains, even gluten-free grains, still affect your wellbeing. They initiate inflammation and auto immunity. Phytates block nutrient absorption, and oats contain higher levels of phytates than almost any other grain - unless you know how to soak and prepare them to reduce the phytates. Going gluten-free and maintaining your health is more challenging than just "going gluten-free." Especially with all the commercial gluten-free choices now, and most are really just more junk food - without the gluten. In the end, I would suggest using coconut flour and coconut oil, and a dairy-free margarine for the butter, like in this recipe: http://www.healthextremist.com/coconut-flour-cookies-recipe/ Or this one which uses almond and coconut flour with dairy-free choices: http://blog.meaningfuleats.com/the-best-almond-flour-sugar-cookies-gluten-free-grain-free/ -Grainlady