Polish Tea Cakes

Ingredients:
1/2 C. unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 C. granulated white sugar
1 large egg, separated
1/2 tsp pure vanilla
1 C. all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup almonds, pecans or walnuts, toasted and finely chopped
1/2 cup jam

Preheat oven to 350* and place rack in center of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract and beat until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Add the flour mixture to the batter and beat just until combined. If the batter is too soft to roll into balls, refrigerate for about 30 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk the egg white until frothy. Place the chopped nuts on a plate. Roll the dough into 1 inch balls. Taking one ball of dough at a time, dip first into the egg white and then lightly roll in the nuts. Place on the prepared baking sheet spacing about 1 inch apart. Using your thumb or end of a wooden spoon, make a indentation into the center of each cookie and fill with about 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of jam.

Bake for about 13-15 minutes, or until cookies are set and the nuts have nicely browned. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool.

Note: If you are planning to store these cookies, I like to bake them without the jam. Just reduce the baking time by a few minutes. These cookies can be stored for about a week. Fill the cookies will jam the same day as serving.

Makes about 20 cookies.