Hokkaido Rum and Raisin Buttercream Sandwich Cookie

Directions

1. To make the butter shortbread cookies Mix the unsalted butter that have been softened at room temperature with granulated sugar in a stand mixer at low speed first, and gradually turn to medium and high speeds, the mixture will become feathery; while mixing, you can pause and clean the bottom with a silicone spatula;
2. Add two egg yolks at room temperature a little bit at a time, and continue to mix to form a vanishing cream;
3. Sift in almond flour, salt and baking powder, and mix gently. Until the almond flour and butter are fully incorporated, sift in the cake flour and mix gently, until there is no obvious white crumbs. Any excessive mixing will easily produce gluten in the dough, and the butter cookies made with gluten will no longer crispy but hard and dense. (Mixed almond flour first can reduce the number of stirring required to fully mixing of the cake flour and butter);
4. Pace a sheet of parchment paper on the table, lightly sprinkle a thin layer of flour, transfer the cookie dough to the parchment paper, and knead into a dough. Sprinkle with a thin layer of flour and cover with another layer of parchment paper to start shaping the dough. Use a rolling pin to roll into flat bed, about 4-5 mm thick. If the dough is too soft and sticky, you can put it in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to rest, the butter will solidify a little and it will be easier to shape;
5. After shaping, put the dough over a baking pan to keep the dough flat, and send it to the refrigerator to rest for more than two hours. Let the dough fully relax and absorb the moisture from the butter, which is a necessary step to make crispy cookies;
6. To make the raisin buttercream filling While the cookie dough is relaxing and resting, the filling can be prepared. Quickly stir the unsalted butter that has been softened at room temperature to whiten, mix in the granulated sugar and vanilla paste, stir until feathery, then add the white chocolate and milk powder melted in insulated water, and stir it into a white cream.
7. Slightly chopped the rum aged raisins, add the raisins and rum to the white cream cream and mix well, put it into the piping bag for later use;
8. To bake I use a Breville Smart Toaster Oven with convection function. First preheat it at 180C (350F), and take out the chilled cookie dough, use a rectangular pineapple cake mold to press the cookies, and place them evenly on a silicone mesh mat. After the oven has been preheated, put it in the oven and bake for 18 minutes. After baking for about 10 minutes, the home will be filled with the aroma of butter;
9. After the cookies are baked, take them out of the oven, and carefully transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to let cool. Pay attention to the high temperature of the bakeware, you can use some tools, and do not use your bare hands! (If it is not transferred from the baking pan, the bottom surface of the cookie will continue to be slowly heated due to the residual temperature of the baking pan, and the color will be darker than the surface in the end);
10. To assemble Take two well-cooled cookies, brush a thin layer of rum, and squeeze some buttercream filling to complete the delicious Rum and Raisin Buttercream Sandwich Cookie!