adapted from Oh, Lady Cakes
Since moving away to college, I have been experimenting with this whole vegan thing, mostly so that I will stop overeating rice crispy treats at the student cafeteria. Managing my sweet tooth during the holidays has been quite a battle. Especially as I watched my family consume unbelievable amounts of peanut butter blossoms while I gnawed on dark chocolate. I found this recipe in an attempt to eat something sugary and delicious that is also vegan. I have always been a fan of jam cookies, and these did not disappoint.
In a stand mixer fid with a whisk attachment combine the butter, sugars, and extracts. Whip on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the salt, baking soda and almond flour and mix until just incorporated. Add the sifted all purpose flour and mix until combined. Divide the dough into two parts, cover in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Line two cookie sheets and a flat surface with parchment paper. Sprinkle the flat surface with flour and roll out one of the balls of dough on the parchment paper until it's about 1/4-1/8 inch thick. Cut the dough with a 2" circle cutter and use a 1.5" heart cutter to cut out the center of half the cookies. Slide the parchment with the dough onto a cutting board that will fit in the freezer and freeze the dough for 10 minutes. Slide the frozen dough onto a prepared cookie sheet and remove the scraps and center hearts from the dough. Repeat the process with the remaining scraps and ball of dough. Bake the cookies at 350˚F for 7-8 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
When ready to serve the cookies, dust the cookies with cutout centers with powdered sugar. Spread the full circle cookies with about a tablespoon of cherry preserve, sandwich the two halves of the cookie together and enjoy!