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1
Pulse the hazelnuts and 1/8 cup granulated sugar in a food processor until finely ground.
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2
Transfer to a bowl and whisk in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and cloves.
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3
Beat the butter and the remaining 1/8 cup granulated sugar in a large bowl with a mixer until fluffy.
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4
Beat in the egg, vanilla and lemon zest.
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5
Gradually add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
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6
Divide the dough in half, flatten each half into a 5-inch disk and wrap in plastic wrap.
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7
Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.
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8
Roll out each disk of dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper to 1/8 inch thick.
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9
Refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes.
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10
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
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11
Cut out stars or trees using a 2-inch cookie cutter and place them 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets.
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12
Cut out the centers of half of the cookies using smaller cutters.
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13
Refrigerate 10 minutes.
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14
Reroll the scraps just once and repeat.
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15
(Refrigerate the dough if it gets too soft.)
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16
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake until the cookies are golden brown around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes.
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17
Let cool 2 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to a rack.
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18
Dust the cutout cookies generously with confectioners' sugar.
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19
Spread about 1 teaspoon preserves on the underside of each whole cookie, then sandwich with the cutout cookies.
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20
Store in an airtight container up to 3 days.
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21
Photograph by Steve Giralt
