Butter Cookie and Cream Stacks with Raspberries

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a food processor, finely chop the sliced almonds. Add the flour, 1 1/4 cups of confectioners' sugar and the salt and process to blend. Add the butter, egg and vanilla and pulse until a soft dough forms. Transfer the dough to a work surface and knead it very gently until smooth. Press the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, about 1 1/2 hours.

Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough into a round about 1/4 inch thick. Using a 2 1/2-inch round biscuit cutter, stamp out 12 rounds and transfer them to the prepared baking sheet. Bake for about 14 minutes, or until the cookies are firm but pale. Transfer to a rack and let cool on the sheet.

In a small bowl, mix the crème fraîche with the granulated sugar. To assemble the stacks, center 1 cookie on a plate and spread it with 1 tablespoon of the crème fraîche. Arrange 5 raspberries in a circle on the cookie. Set another cookie on top and repeat with the crème fraîche and raspberries. Top with a third cookie and top with a raspberry. Dust with confectioners' sugar and garnish with a mint sprig. Repeat with the remaining cookies, crème fraîche, raspberries and mint sprigs and serve.

Raspberry sauce.