Finely grind the almonds with 3 tablespoon of flour.

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the lemon rind and vanilla extract. Add the ground almonds and remaining flour and mix to form dough. Gather it into a ball, wrap it in waxed paper and chill for at least one hour.

Preheat the oven to 325F. Line two baking sheets with waxed paper.

Divide the dough into four sections. Roll out on lightly floured surface to ⅛ inch thickness. With a floured 2 ½ inch cutter, stamp out the rounds. Then from half of them, cut out the centre. Make sure that there are equal rings and rounds. Place them ½ inches apart on the prepared baking tray.

Bake for 12-15 mins, until lightly browned. Cool for 2-3 mins and then transfer them to wire racks.

In a saucepan, heat the jam with the lemon juice until it melts and comes to a simmer. This step could be omitted if using homemade jam.

Brush the jam over the cookie rounds and sandwich them with the rings.

Once cooled completely, store them in an airtight container layered between waxed paper.