Buttery and tender, delicate yet festive. These perfect Linzer Cookies strike the right balance between the sweet but subtle almond-flavor and the tartness of the berry jam. A holiday favorite to enjoy year after year.
C is for cookie...
The cookies that make up these linzer cookie sandwiches are SOO good. Perfectly delicate and buttery. A hint of almond flavor balanced with vanilla and cinnamon (feel free to use a bit more almond extract than listed in the recipe if you want a more prominent almond flavor). It's worth noting that due to the butter ratio in the dough, it is ESSENTIAL to chill this dough really well. If at any point while you're rolling out and cutting the shapes you find that the dough is sticking to the counter and you're struggling to maintain the shapes well, please pop the dough back in the fridge for 15 minutes or so. Trust me, it's worth the wait.
What to watch for with the actual baking is that you take them out of the oven just before they start turning golden around the edges. Check them at 10 minutes and watch them closely so you can take them out at the first hint of browning. I also recommend you bake the top cookies separately from the bottom cookies. Since the tops will have a hole in them, they bake up a bit quicker than the bottoms, around the 10 minute mark they're usually ready.
Use good jam.
It probably goes without saying that the quality, consistency, and flavor of your jam is going to make or break your assembled Linzer Cookies. I recommend using a jam that isn't very runny, and has a good punch of bright fruit flavor. A few of my favorites are Bonne Maman Raspberry Preserves and Cherry Republic Cherry Jam. Nutella is a fun one too.
Linzer Cookies
Buttery and tender, delicate yet festive. These perfect Linzer Cookies strike the right balance between the sweet but subtle almond-flavor and the tartness of the berry jam. A holiday favorite to enjoy year after year.
- Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 24
- Total Time: 1 hour 54 minutes
- Yield: 18 sandwich cookies
Ingredients
1 ½ sticks (170g) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
1 large egg yolk
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon pure almond extract
1 ⅓ cups (185g) all-purpose flour
¾ cup (70g) almond flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
Jam, for filling (raspberry or cherry are my favorites)
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Instructions
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add yolk and extracts, mixing until combined.
In a medium bowl, whisk/sift the all-purpose flour, almond flour, cinnamon, and salt. Add to the butter mixture and mix until dough comes together.
Shape into 2 discs and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate dough for 1 hour.
Roll one disc of dough out on a well-floured surface. Using a round cookie cutter, cut out an even number of cookies. Arrange on a baking tray and chill for 30 minutes (or freeze for 15 minutes). The dough will get soft very quickly due to the butter, so be sure to chill additional time if needed to firm up the dough. These will become the bottom of the cookie sandwiches.
With the second disc of dough, cut out the same number of cookies as before, using a very small cookie cutter or the back of a piping tip to cut out a hole in the center of the cookies. Arrange on a baking sheet and chill at least 30 minutes or freeze for 15 minutes. These will become the tops of the cookie sandwich. For best results, bake the bottoms and the tops separately, as I find the tops to bake a bit more quickly than the tops.
While dough chills, preheat oven to 350°F. Bake one tray at a time, for 10-12 minutes until just barely beginning to turn golden on the edges. The cookies with the hole in the middle will likely be done at closer to 10 minutes, and the others will likely take 11-12 minutes.
Let cool completely. Spread about 1 teaspoon of jam on each of the bottom cookies. Dust all of the top cookies with confectioners’ sugar before placing the on top of the jam to form sandwiches.
Enjoy!
Keywords: linzer cookies, almond linzer cookies, Christmas cookies, cookie box recipes
Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you have an amazing holiday season and a very Merry Christmas!
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