Black Eye Cookies

(Karagoz)

Dough:
375 gr unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp vanilla extract

Filling:
3-4 tbsp strawberry jam

Garnish:
2-3 tbsp icing powder sugar

Round cookie cutter, 7.5 cm diameter

To make the dough, mix the sugar and butter in a bowl. Then add the vanilla extract and flour. Slowly knead them together. Make a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Leave in the fridge for 15-20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C). Sprinkle some flour on the counter. Make 0.5 cm thick dough with the roller. Cut the dough with the round cookie cutter (7.5 diameter) to make 14 round pieces of dough. Put parchment paper on the oven tray and place the cookies on it. Bake for about 10-12 minutes. Immediately make two little holes on half of the cookies, so 7 of them, as shown in the picture. I used an apple corer for the little holes. Let them cool.

Spread strawberry jam with a knife on half of the cookies without the holes (so the other 7). Then sprinkle some icing powder over the other 7 cookies with the little holes. Stack them on the cookies with the jam.

Serve Karagoz with afternoon tea.