Would you like to Make Homemade Rhubarb Jam and Tonka Sugar Cookies?

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Eat Your Heart Out: Homegrown Rhubarb Jam on Cookies, by Ivana Damien George May 2016

I am passionate about growing my own food around my urban home. Since I live in New England, the climate is perfect to grow rhubarb. All I have to do is pile it up with compost every spring and it produces bountifully. I like to explore making different dishes with it and this year I wanted to make cookies and then use them to make a new artwork, like the image above. I modified several recipes I found online to create my own. These cookies have an amazing buttery, nutty sweetness which is perfectly complemented by the sweet tart flavor of the Rhubarb Jam. Yum! For my Rhubarb Jam recipe visit http://www.ivanadamiengeorge.com/blog/2015/8/4/how-to-make-amazing-rhubarb-jam

Ingredients
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon grated tonka bean (if unavailable substitute 1/2 teaspoon almond extract)
• 1 egg yolk (reserve the white)
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Directions
• Prep time 15 minutes.  
• Cook time 10 minutes
• Ready in 9 h 25 m
1. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, butter, cream cheese, salt, almond and vanilla extracts, and egg yolk. Beat until smooth. Stir in flour until well blended. Chill the dough for 8 hours, or overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough 1/3 at a time to 1/8 inch thickness, refrigerating remaining dough until ready to use.
4. Using a large and medium lightly floured cookie cutters of the same shape, cut out two large shapes.  From one of the large shapes, cut out the center with the medium cutter.  Coat the edges of the whole shape lightly with beaten egg white.  Then stick the large piece with the cut out on top lightly pressing it into the egg white to adhere it.  Place 1 inch apart on un-greased cookie sheets with parchment paper or sillpads.
5. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes in the preheated oven, or until light and golden brown. Cool cookies completely before adding Rhubarb Jam.

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