1) Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet, or line it with parchment.

2) Combine the sugar, butter, salt, and vanilla and almond extracts, beating till smooth.

3) Add the flour, again beating till smooth.

4) Drop the dough in 1" balls onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 1 1/2" between them; a teaspoon cookie scoop works well here.

5) Using the flat bottom of a glass or measuring cup, flatten the balls gently, to about 1/4" thick.

6) Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, till their edges are just starting to brown. While they're baking, find a flat bottle lid or other round, flat object about 1 1/4" in diameter, to press indentations into the baked cookies.

7) Remove the cookies from the oven, and working quickly, firmly press straight down into their centers, to make a shallow indentation about 1 1/4" across. We simply upended a bottle of vegetable oil and used the screwed-on cap to make the indentations.

8) Dollop 1 level measuring teaspoon of jam or preserves into the center of each cookie, spreading it to the edges of the indentation, if necessary.

9) Let the cookies cool completely right on the pan. Store any leftovers on a plate covered loosely with plastic wrap; or slide the plate into a bag, ballooning it up so the bag doesn't touch the jam. You can also store these cookies under a cake cover.

Yield: about 25 small (2") cookies.