Steps for the Apple-Filled Cookies

• First, to make these delicious apple-filled cookies, you need to prepare the shortcrust pastry. If you want, you can knead everything by hand in a bowl or use a kitchen robot like a stand mixer or Thermomix. For convenience, I used the Thermomix. Add the cold butter pieces, granulated sugar, pinch of salt, cinnamon, grated lemon zest to the bowl and mix at speed 4 for 50 seconds. Once you have a creamy mixture, add the egg and continue mixing. Finally, add the flour and baking powder and knead again at speed 4-5 for 1 minute to get a homogeneous dough. Compact the dough well, wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for 1 hour.

  

• In a pan, melt the butter and add the apples that have been cleaned and diced. Sauté for a few minutes, then add the brown sugar and cinnamon and mix well. Cook the apples until soft, adding water occasionally. Once the apples can be mashed with a fork, turn off the heat. While warm, mash them with a fork and let them cool. Once cooled, add chopped hazelnuts or almonds, then the crumbled amaretti or plain cookies. Mix well to obtain a more substantial mixture. Place the apple mixture in a piping bag.

  

• Take the shortcrust pastry from the fridge, roll out a sheet 1/8 inch thick and form a rectangle. Place the apple mixture lengthwise in the center, roll it to form a log, and seal the edges well. Repeat with the remaining shortcrust pastry. Place the logs in the freezer for 30-40 minutes. After this time, cut the logs into approximately 1-inch pieces with a smooth knife. Place each piece on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake in a preheated static oven at 355°F for about 20 minutes or until golden. Turn off the oven, remove the cookies, and let them cool.

  

• And here they are, the apple-filled cookies. I hope you like this latest recipe of mine, see you next time friends.