Meringue Flower Cookies: Delicate Butter Cutouts Topped With Piped Meringue and a Jam Center

Instructions

1. Sift the flour onto a clean work surface and make a well in the center. Crack the egg into the well and add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Scatter the softened butter, cut into pieces, around the edge. With two bench scrapers, chop the butter into the dry ingredients first, then quickly knead everything by hand into a smooth dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 3 hours so the butter firms up again.

2. Sift the powdered sugar through a fine sieve into a separate bowl. Put the egg whites and the pinch of salt in a clean bowl and beat for about 3 minutes until they form stiff white peaks. Then, while still beating, add the sifted powdered sugar a spoonful at a time and keep beating for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the meringue is perfectly firm, glossy and does not run. Chill the meringue for 30 minutes.

3. Roll the chilled dough to about 1/4 inch (5 mm) thick. With a flower-shaped cutter 2 to 2 1/4 inches (5 to 6 cm) across, cut out flowers and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

4. Fill a piping bag fitted with a small star tip with the chilled meringue. Pipe small meringue peaks around the edge of each cookie, leaving a dip in the center for the jam.

5. Bake in an oven preheated to 340°F (170°C) for about 15 minutes, watching that the meringue does not brown. Leave the cookies on the baking sheet for a few minutes after baking, then move them to a rack to cool completely.

6. Put the rose hip and apricot jams in a piping bag and fill the centers of the cooled flowers generously.