Linzer Cookies Recipe
Linzer cookies take two almond-flavored cookies and sandwiches them together with a layer of jam. Start with one cup of room temperature butter into a stand mixer and beat until the butter gets nicely creamy and smooth then add granulated sugar and beat again until fluffy. You will also need two large egg yolks at room temperature along with one teaspoon of pure vanilla extract and beat on medium speed. Next, add the ground almonds and mix that in on low speed. This is actually a very simple batter to make.
The last thing is the dry ingredients, in a separate bowl, add in all-purpose flour and a Linzer dough has a little spice, so you will add in half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon with half a teaspoon of salt. If you are using salted butter, you will leave out the salt in the dry ingredients, zest in one small lemon and whisk that together. You are not using any kind of rinsing agent because you don’t want the Linzer cookies to rise because they are to be sandwiched together and you dint want them too thick. Add the flour mixture to the batter and start the mixture on low speed and mix that in. The Linzer batter will need to be chilled because the batter has to be cut and the batter has to be cold enough to be cut. Flatten the batter then wrap it in a plastic wrap and let it chills in the fridge for half an hour.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line your baking sheet with a parchment paper. Using any shape of the cookie-cutter, cut the chilled cookies and line them on the baking sheet and bake them for about 12 to 14 minutes then let them chill before transferring them to a wire rack. For the filling, you can use any kind of flavor you want. If you want to make your won, you can follow this recipe. If really thick you can pop it in the microwave to soften it a little bit before spreading o the cookies.
Ingredients;
- 1 cup (150 grams) whole almonds
- 2 cups (260 grams) all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon (1 gram) ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) salt
- Zest (outer yellow skin) of one small lemon
- 1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar, divided
- 1 teaspoon (5 grams) pure vanilla extract
- 2 large (40 grams) egg yolks
Topping;
- 1/2 cup (60 grams) confectioners’ (Icing or Powdered) Sugar
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) Raspberry or Black Currant Jam, well stirred
Instructions;
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) with the oven rack in the center of the oven.
- Place the almonds on a baking sheet and bake about 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned and fragrant.
- Remove from oven and once the nuts have cooled, place in a food processor, along with 1/4 cup (50 grams) white sugar, and process until finely ground.
- In a separate bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, cinnamon, salt, and lemon zest.
- In the bowl of your electric mixe, beat the butter and remaining 1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the vanilla extract and egg yolks. Finally, beat in the ground almonds and then the flour mixture.
- Divide the dough in half, cover each half with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove one ball of dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough until it is about 1/4 inch (.5 cm) thick.
- Using a 3 inch (7.5 cm) cookie cutter (round, square, heart, etc.) cut out the cookies.
- Place the cookies about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart on the prepared baking sheet. Use a smaller cookie cutter to cut out the centers of half of the cookies on the baking sheet.
- Reroll any scraps and cut out the remaining cookies. Repeat with the second ball of dough.
- Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
Assemble Cookies;
- Place the cut out cookies on a baking sheet and lightly dust the tops with powdered sugar.
- Spread a thin layer of jam on the bottom surface of the full cookie .
- Place the cut-out cookie on top and gently sandwich them together.
- Using a small spoon or a piping bag, fill the cut-out with a little more jam.
- The filled cookies will soften when stored. If you want the cookies to stay crisp, assemble the day of serving.
- The assembled cookies can be stored in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, for several days.