Vanilice (Serbian Sandwich Cookies)

1. Combine shortening and 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl; cut with a pastry knife until crumbly. Add egg and vanilla; beat with an electric mixer until well combined. Work in 2 cups flour with your hands; knead until stiff and similar in consistency to pie dough.

2. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat® mats.

3. Dust a work surface generously with flour and set dough on top. Roll dough with a floured rolling pin to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Cut into rounds with a 1 3/4-inch cookie cutter or the rim of a glass. For every 2 cookies you cut, use a smaller cookie cutter to cut a hole or shape out of the second cookie; the cut-out cookies will be placed on top of the whole cookies when filled.

4. Re-roll the dough and continue cutting out cookies until all the dough is used up. You should have an equal number of whole and cut-out cookies. Transfer to the prepared baking sheets.

5. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes; do not let the cookies brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before carefully transferring onto wire racks. The cookies will be crumbly and fragile while still hot so handle carefully. Let cool completely.

6. Place remaining 1/2 cup sugar into a bowl. Spread 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon apricot jam onto each whole cookie, then place a cut-out cookie on top. Dip the filled cookies in sugar until well coated on both sides.

Cook's Notes:

You can use butter instead of shortening. Any type of jam can be used to sandwich the cookies together. Peach or raspberry jam are good options.

If you wish to double the recipe, mix the cookie batter in two separate bowls as if to make two batches.