Almond Pastry Pillows

Jarred preserves and prepared almond paste make these Linzer-like cream cheese pastries easier than they look.

almond pastry pillow cookie
Photo:

Carson Downing

Prep Time:
40 mins
Total Time:
1 hrs 50 mins
Servings:
52
Yield:
52 cookies

You only need six ingredients to make these bakery-style treats at home. Look for course sugar (or pearl sugar) in your grocery store to achieve the glistening finish on these holiday cookies. Feel free to swap in your favorite preserves here to incorporate the flavors you love.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter, softened

  • 8 oz cream cheese, softened and cut up

  • 2 cups all purpose flour

  • 1/4 cup strawberry, cherry, or raspberry preserves

  • 1/4 cup almond paste

  • 1 large egg, beaten

  • 2 to 3 Tbsp. coarse or pearl sugar

Directions

  1. In a medium bowl beat butter and cream cheese with a mixer on medium to high until combined. Beat in flour and ¼ tsp. salt.

  2. Divide dough in half. Cover and chill until dough is easy to handle, at least 1 hour.

  3. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Ona lightly floured surface, roll one portion of dough at a time to 1/8 inch thick. Cut dough into 2-inch squares. Place half the squares 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Place a scant ¼ tsp. each preserves and almond paste in the center of each square. If you like, using a very small cookie cutter, cut out centers of remaining squares.

  4. In a small bowl whisk together beaten egg and 1 Tbsp. water. Brush edges of squares on the cookie sheets with egg mixture. Top each with a plain dough square. Using a fork, gently press edges to seal. Brush tops of pillows with egg mixture. Sprinkle lightly with sugar.

  5. Bake until golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove; cool on a wire rack.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

78 Calories
5g Fat
6g Carbs
1g Protein
Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 52
Calories 77.5
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 5.5g 7%
Saturated Fat 3.2g 16%
Cholesterol 17.4mg 6%
Sodium 43.8mg 2%
Total Carbohydrate 6.2g 2%
Dietary Fiber 0.2g 1%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 1g
Vitamin D 0mcg 0%
Vitamin C 0.1mg 1%
Calcium 8.7mg 1%
Iron 0.3mg 2%
Potassium 17.9mg 0%
Fatty acids, total trans 0.1g
Vitamin D 0.8IU
Alanine 0g
Arginine 0g
Ash 0.2g
Aspartic acid 0.1g
Caffeine 0mg
Carotene, alpha 0mcg
Choline, total 5.8mg
Copper, Cu 0mg
Cystine 0g
Energy 324.4kJ
Fluoride, F 0.4mcg
Folate, total 10.7mcg
Glutamic acid 0.2g
Glycine 0g
Histidine 0g
Isoleucine 0g
Leucine 0.1g
Lysine 0g
Methionine 0g
Magnesium, Mg 3.1mg
Manganese, Mn 0mg
Niacin 0.3mg
Phosphorus, P 15.9mg
Pantothenic acid 0.1mg
Phenylalanine 0g
Phytosterols 0.2mg
Proline 0.1g
Retinol 44mcg
Selenium, Se 2.4mcg
Serine 0.1g
Starch 0g
Theobromine 0mg
Threonine 0g
Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) 0.3mg
Tryptophan 0g
Tyrosine 0g
Valine 0g
Vitamin A, IU 162.7IU
Vitamin A, RAE 44.8mcg
Vitamin B-12 0mcg
Vitamin B-6 0mg
Vitamin K (phylloquinone) 0.4mcg
Water 4.9g
Zinc, Zn 0.1mg

*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

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