Instructions: Prepare the pastry dough, divide it in half, and chill both portions for at least 1 hour. Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or grease them with butter.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out half of the chilled dough 1/4 inch thick. Using a round plain cookie cutter 2 1/2 inches in diameter, cut out as many rounds as possible. Lay the dough cutouts on a flat work surface. Gather up the scraps, reroll them, and again cut out as many 2 1/2 inch rounds as possible. Do not reroll the dough again, as these scraps will produce cookies that are tough. Repeat with the remaining dough portion. You should have about 36 rounds in all.

Lightly brush each round with the beaten egg, then place a rounded teaspoon of apricot jam in the center of the round. Fold in half to form a half-moon and pinch the edges together to seal securely. Brush the top of each half-moon lightly with beaten egg.

Arrange the cookies 1 inch apart on the prepared sheets. Bake the cookies in the preheated oven until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely before serving. Store in a covered container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

Plump, golden apricots - "eggs of the sun" as the Persians called them - appear in Italian markets briefly during the warm days of summer. They are snatched up quickly and eaten while still blushing with color, or cooked into a jam for filling these crumbly "bundles."

NOTE: Fagottini Di Lampone "Raspberry Jam-Filled Butter Cookies" Substitute 1 cup raspberry jam for the apricot jam in fagottini dalbicocca and proceed as directed.

From the bakers at Il Fornaio, recipes for those who love to bake: For

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