Raspberry-Star Sandwich Cookies

In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, vanilla extract, and salt. With pastry blender or two knives used scissor-fashion, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle 4 to 5 tablespoons cold water, 1 tablespoon at time, into flour mixture, mixing lightly with a fork after each addition until dough is just moist enough to hold together. Shape dough into a ball; wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour or until firm enough to roll. (Or, place dough in freezer 30 minutes.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. On lightly floured surface, with floured rolling pin, roll one-third of dough at a time 1/8 inch thick, keeping remaining dough refrigerated. With floured 4-inch star-shaped cookie cutter, cut dough into as many stars as possible. Place stars, 1/2 inch apart, on ungreased large cookie sheet. Reserve trimmings. With floured 1 1/2-inch star-shaped cookie cutter, cut out centers from half of stars. Remove cutout centers; reserve.

Bake cookies 10 to 12 minutes until lightly browned. With pancake turner, remove cookies to wire racks to cool. Roll trimmings, cutout centers, and remaining dough together to make more cookies; bake.

When cookies are cool, sprinkle cookies with cutout centers with confectioners' sugar. Spread center of each cookie without cutout center with 1 rounded teaspoon raspberry preserves; top each with a cookie with a cutout center, gently pressing cookies together to form a sandwich. Store in tightly covered container.