These Linzer cookies are shortbread cookies sandwiched with jam on the inside. These cookies will be the prettiest cookies on your baking tray, and they melt in your mouth deliciously!
These cookies are made by making a simple buttery dough that is made with flour, almond flour, butter, lemon zest, sugar, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and some salt for balance.
You can fill these cookies with your favorite filling like raspberry jam, strawberry jam, Nutella, chocolate ganache, etc.
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Why this recipe works
- Extremely easy to make.
- Made with easy icing that is made with simple ingredients and still looks fabulous.
- A foolproof recipe (that we know we all need)
- Perfect for Christmas day and Christmas cookie parties.
- Easily satisfies your cookie craving.
- Made with simple ingredients!
What are Linzer cookies?
Linzer cookies originated from Austria, these cookies are based on "Linzer torte" which is a traditional pastry made with lattice and filled with jam. These cookies are a cookie version of the "Linzer torte".
These cookies are made with flour and nut flour, specifically, this recipe uses almond flour (or finely ground almonds). If you don't have almond flour or are allergic, you can use any type of nut flour for this recipe.
Ingredients
Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Butter- use unsalted butter for this recipe. Only butter will work for this recipe, no margarine, and no coconut oil. Margarine has a weird taste and can ruin the flavor of these delicious cookies.
Flour– we used all-purpose flour for this recipe. cake flour will work great as well.
Almond flour- we used almond flour in this recipe, but you can use oat flour or coconut flour. We used store-bought almond flour. The package should say “almond flour” or “fine almond meal”.
Lemon zest- we like adding a little touch of lemon zest for extra flavor and aroma, this step is optional. Use lemon zest from a fresh lemon. If you want you can replace the lemon zest with orange zest.
Granulated sugar– we like to use granulated sugar, also the most common sugar used in baking. Caster sugar will work great as well.
Egg yolks- you will need 1 large egg yolk for this recipe. The egg yolk will make this dough rich in flavor. Make sure that your egg yolk is at room temperature.
Vanilla extract- adds extra flavor.
Kosher salt- you will need about ½ teaspoon of kosher salt for this recipe.
Powder sugar- you will need powder sugar for this recipe. you don’t have to buy powder sugar, you can simply make it at home by blending granulated sugar in a blender or food processor.
Raspberry jam- we used raspberry jam for the filling but you can use any of your favorite jams. You can also replace the jam with Nutella, chocolate ganache, or dulce de leche!
Instructions
Into a big mixing bowl, or in a bowl of a stand mixer, add the room temperature butter, lemon zest, and sugar, and cream it for 2-3 minutes or until it’s creamy and light in color.
Add the egg yolk, kosher salt, and vanilla extract. Cream the butter until the mixture is creamy and light.
Add the flour and the almond flour. Mix until the mixture is just combined and you can't see pockets of flour.
Cover the cookie dough with plastic wrap and let the dough rest in the fridge for at least an hour. We let the dough rest in the fridge overnight but it’s not a must.
After letting the dough chill in the fridge for at least an hour, take one dough half out of the fridge. Start rolling the dough on a floured clean surface to about ¼ inch thick.
Using cookie cutters, cut as many cookies as you can, we use a heart shape one, a star one, and a circle one but you can use your favorite cookie cutters as well.
Then use small ½-inch cookie cutters like a heart-shaped circle and a star shape! Carefully transfer the cookies onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 10 minutes or until the edges are starting to turn golden.
Take the cookies out of the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes. Then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Dust the cookies with the holes with powder sugar and set them aside.
Place about ½ teaspoon of jam or your favorite filling on the center of each whole cookie and carefully top each cookie with the powdered sugar cookie and create a sandwich cookie.
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have moist and tender cookies and not dense and dry cookies.
- Let these cookies cool completely before you powder them with powdered sugar. If you will powder them with powder sugar when they are warm, the sugar will simply melt and you won't be able to see the pretty design of the powder sugar.
- Make sure that you are using fresh ingredients! One of the most common mistakes in baking and making cookies is not noticing that your baking powder or baking soda is expired. This can ruin your cookies and waste your time and money on the ingredients. So every time you bake anything, make sure that the ingredients are not expired.
- This cookie dough can be made in advance! So you can make this dough ahead of time and either freeze it in an airtight freezer-friendly container or store it in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days!
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Line your sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat! This step helps the cookies to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your cookies release easily from the pan.
- Chill the dough! This step is crucial and prevents the cookies to spread out too much. After making the cookie dough, cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean towel, and chill the dough in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
- If your dough is starting to get soft, cover it with plastic wrap and freeze it for 15 minutes to let it firm up. We repeat this step until we are out of dough and we baked all the cookies.
Faq's
Yes! you can replace the almond flour with any nut flour that you like most. we like making our almond or nut flour at home.
You will need to simply roast the nuts in the oven or on the stovetop to release the delicious flavors of the nuts, and blend them after they are cooled in a blender or food processor.
We use all-purpose flour for these cookies. Cake flour will work great as well. you can also use gluten-free flour for this recipe if needed.
If your dough is too sticky, there are a few possible reasons for that, you may have used butter that is too warm when making the cookie dough. Your butter should be at room temperature and it should be soft to the touch.
We used regular unsalted butter for this recipe. If you want to use salted butter in this recipe, simply skip the salt and make the recipe as written.
Storing
It’s okay to store these cookies at room temperature. Make sure that you store them in an airtight container.
Freezing
We love freezing cookie dough, and we do it all the time. Simply, follow the instructions as written and make the dough, then cover the dough with plastic wrap and place it into a freezer-friendly airtight ziplock bag, and freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months.
When ready to make these cookies, thaw them in the fridge overnight and follow the instructions as written.
Substitutions
Dairy-free - If you are dairy-free, replace the butter with vegan butter or plant-based butter. Do not use margarine. It will change the flavor of these cookies and leave a weird taste.
Variations
Jam- we used raspberry jam for these. You can use your favorite flavor of a jam like strawberry jam, blueberry jam, apricot jam, plum jam, blackberry jam, etc.
Spread- We like switching up the filling in our Linzer cookies and adding Nutella or dulce de leche as the filling. Another popular filling for these cookies is caramel, or salted caramel and chocolate ganache. So good!
Tools
- Mixing bowl (set of 3)
- Whisk Set (pack of 3) to whisk the ingredients together
- Baking sheet and rack set (our fave)
- Cookie-cutter set (24 pieces!)
More cookie recipes
- Kinder bueno cookies
- Kolachy cookies
- Ferrero rocher cookies
- Almond flour peanut butter cookies
- Biscoff butter cookies
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📖 Recipe
Best Linzer Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup Flour
- ½ cup Almond flour
- ⅓ cup Granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1 Egg yolk
- 115 g Butter soft
- ½ teaspoon Lemon zest
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 8 teaspoon Raspberry jam
Instructions
- Into a big mixing bowl, or in a bowl of a stand mixer, add the room temperature butter, lemon zest, and the sugar, and cream it for 2-3 minutes or until it’s creamy and light in color.
- Add the egg yolk, kosher salt, and vanilla extract. Cream the butter until the mixture is creamy and light.
- Add the flour and the almond flour. Mix until the mixture is just combined and you can’t see pockets of flour.
- Cover the Linzer cookies dough with plastic wrap and let the dough rest in the fridge for at least an hour. We let the dough rest in the fridge overnight but it’s not a must.
- After letting the dough chill in the fridge for at least an hour, take one dough half out of the fridge. Start rolling the dough on a floured clean surface to about ¼ inch thick.
- Using cookie cutters, cut as many cookies as you can, we use a heart shape one, star one, and a circle one but you can use your favorite cookie cutters as well.
- Then use small ½ inch cookie cutters like heart shape, circle, and a star shape! Carefully transfer the cookies onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 10 minutes or until the edges are starting to turn golden.
- Take the cookies out of the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes. Then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Dust the cookies with the holes with powder sugar and set them aside. Place about ½ teaspoon of jam or your favorite filling on the center of each whole cookie and carefully top each cookie with the powdered sugar cookie and create a sandwich cookie.
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