You will need a large cookie cutter and an extra small cookie cutter that will easily fit inside of the large cookie cutter. 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 2. In a large bowl, mix the butter with an electric mixer until smooth. Add one cup of the all-purpose flour and one cup of the whole wheat flour, brown sugar, eggs, baking powder, vanilla, cinnamon, allspice and salt. Beat until thoroughly combined. Add the remaining flour and mix until well blended. Chill for at least 1 hour or until dough can easily be handled. 3. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut 1/2 of the dough with large cookie cutters and set on a cookie sheet. Bake these for around 9 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms are lightly browned. 4. Cut the remaining dough with the large cookie cutters and then cut the center out with the small cookie cutters. Put these on a separate cookie sheet and bake for around 7 minutes. (These take less time because of the holes in the middle.) 5. Transfer all of the cookies to a wire rack and cool. Put a small amount of jam on the bottom cookie (the one without the hole) and a cookie with the hole cut out of it on top (like a sandwich). Repeat with all the cookies. Sprinkle the cookies lightly with powdered sugar to look like snow. *It is fun to use different color jams for a variety of "stained glass". |