Description
Linzer cookies bring pure Austrian charm straight to your holiday dessert table with buttery almond-rich dough and sweet raspberry jam centers. These delicate sandwich cookies look elegant yet taste wonderfully simple, perfect for sharing with friends and family during festive gatherings.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients:
- 2.5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 0.5 cup granulated sugar
Supporting Ingredients:
- 0.25 cup almond flour
- 0.75 cup seedless raspberry jam
Finishing Ingredients:
- 1 large egg yolk
- 0.5 teaspoon baking powder
- 0.25 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Zest of 0.5 lemon
- Confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- Combine 2 cups all-purpose flour, ¼ cup almond flour, ½ tsp baking powder, and ¼ tsp salt in a medium bowl. Whisk thoroughly to eliminate any potential lumps.
- In a stand mixer, beat 1 cup cold butter with ½ cup granulated sugar for 3-4 minutes until the mixture becomes pale and fluffy.
- Add 1 egg yolk, 1 tsp vanilla extract, and optional lemon zest to the butter mixture. Mix until ingredients are just incorporated.
- Slowly incorporate dry ingredients into the wet mixture on low speed. Mix until a shaggy dough forms, being careful not to overmix.
- Divide dough into two equal portions. Shape each into a 1-inch thick disk. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for 1-2 hours to firm up.
- Heat your oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Dust your work surface with flour. Roll out one chilled dough disk to ⅛-inch thickness using a floured rolling pin.
- Cut 2-2½ inch circles from the rolled dough. Transfer half of these to baking sheets as cookie bottoms.
- Use a small cutter to remove centers from the remaining circles, creating cookie tops with decorative openings.
- Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes until edges turn light golden. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes.
- Transfer cookies to a wire rack. Allow them to cool completely for about 20 minutes.
- Warm ¾ cup raspberry jam slightly if it seems thick. Dust cookie tops with confectioners’ sugar.
- Spread ½-1 tsp jam on the flat side of each bottom cookie. Carefully place a dusted top cookie over the jam.
- Let assembled cookies rest for 30-60 minutes, allowing flavors to meld and jam to set slightly before serving.
Notes
- Chilling the dough is crucial for maintaining the cookie’s shape and preventing spreading during baking.
- Use high-quality raspberry jam with a thick consistency to prevent seeping through the cookie.
- Rolling the dough to exactly ⅛-inch thickness ensures uniform baking and a delicate, crisp texture.
- For gluten-free adaptation, replace all-purpose flour with a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend and use almond flour as directed.
- Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10-12 minutes
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Austrian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 12
- Calories: 236 kcal
- Sugar: 13 g
- Sodium: 69 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 25 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 37 mg