Name: Linzer Cookies
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 1 h 42 min
Yield: 10
Ingredients: about 1/3 cup jam (raspberry, blackcurrant); Icing sugar, for dusting; 1/2 cup (50g) almond flour; 1/2 cup (75g) all purpose flour; 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup/ 57g) salted butter, room temperature; 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar; 1 large egg yolk; 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

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Welcome to Day 7 of

The Twelve Days of Holiday Treats!

Once again, this year, from December 1st-12th I’ll post a new holiday treat recipe every day – inspiration for your holiday entertaining!

The recipes I’m sharing are small-er batch (perfect for this year when many of us will still be attending/ hosting smaller gatherings) – each recipe makes 1-dozen or a few more smaller-sized treats that are simple to prepare and that use everyday ingredients and equipment so hopefully you’ll be able to whip up any of these on a whim. Check out the treats from 2019 and 2020 at the bottom of this post too for more inspiration!

I don’t know why I have never made Linzer Cookies before – they seem so festive with their little peek-a-boo cutout filled with jam – almost like Christmas tree ornaments. I figured this was a good year to include them in my holiday cookie lineup and they should be part of yours too – they are actually pretty easy to make, they just require a little chill time (the dough, that is!) and some patience to roll the dough thin enough.

What are Linzer Cookies?

Maybe one of the reasons I love the idea of Linzer Cookies is because they are basically a MINIFIED version of a Linzertorte – an Austrian dessert that takes its name from the town of Linz. Linzertorte is made from a sweet shortbread almond pastry flavoured with lemon and spices, filled with a berry jam and topped with a lattice crust. The cookie version uses the almond shortbread dough, is topped with berry jam and then a second cookie with a little cutout so you can see the jam. So pretty and so festive! The cookie version is also known as “Linzer Augen (Eyes)” as a nod to the “peek-a-boo” cutout part.

I’ve chosen to make my dough plain, but if you want yours extra Christmassy, feel free to add a touch of cinnamon to this dough.

Yield: 10-12 sandwich cookies

Linzer Cookies

Buttery almond shortbread cookies sandwiched with raspberry jam. So festive!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Chill Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 42 minutes

Ingredients

for the cookies:

1/2 cup (50g) almond flour
1/2 cup (75g) all purpose flour
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup/ 57g) salted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

to assemble:

about 1/3 cup jam (raspberry, blackcurrant)
Icing sugar, for dusting

Instructions

Make the cookie dough:

In a small bowl, whisk together the almond-flour and all purpose flour.
In a medium bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy using electric hand beaters (about 2 minutes). Add the sugar and beat until smooth and creamy and pale in colour (1-2 minutes)
Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat until combined.
With the beater on low speed, add the dry ingredients and beat until they are just combined. This will be a soft, sticky dough.
On a liberally-floured surface or parchment paper, turn out the dough and bring it together gently with your hands. Add as much flour as you need to help the dough come together into a soft ball.
Roll the dough until it’s *quite* thin (3mm/ 1/8 inch). You should be able to measure out about 20-24 cookies using a 2 1/2 inch (5cm) round cookie cutter. Just lightly press the cutter on the dough to "measure", without cutting through completely.
Slide the dough onto a baking tray, cover with a second piece of parchment and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Cut and bake the cookies:

Preheat oven to 375°F/190˚C and line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.
Remove the dough from the fridge, peel away the top piece of parchment and use the 2 1/2 inch (5cm) round cookie cutter to cut out 20-24 cookies. If you need to, gather the dough scraps and re-roll (work quickly so the dough doesn’t get too soft and feel free to put it back in the fridge ).
Use the end of a piping tip to cut out the centres of half of the cookies.
Place the cookies on the baking trays and bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are golden.
Remove from the oven and cool the cookies completely on a wire cooling rack.

Assemble the cookies:

When the cookies are completely cool, dust the cutout cookies with icing sugar.
Place about 2 teaspoons of jam in the centre of the remaining cookies and smooth to the edges with the back of a small spoon.
Place the icing sugar-dusted cookies on top of the jam and gently press to secure the tops of the cookies on the jam.

Notes

Cookies will initially be crisp but once they are filled and stored in the fridge, they will soften slightly and be easier to eat.

Store the cookies in an airtight container in the fridge (layer parchment or wax paper between layers) for a few days and bring to room temperature for about 10 minutes before you serve them.

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2 thoughts on “12 Days of Holiday Treats: Linzer Cookies”

Mr. Neil

December 7, 2021 at 07:27

These are, to put it succinctly, SUPERB.

Had never heard the name Linzer cookies – so neat to read the derivation. These made me think of an elevated Peak Freens from my youth. 🙂
Geoff

December 8, 2021 at 03:13

Love the little history/background lessons that come with many of these recipes. Lovely post, Mardi.