Linzer cookies are a classic holiday season staple, and deserve to be in every cookie swap! If you’ve never had a linzer before, they have a hint of cinnamon, butter, almond, and citrus flavor all wrapped into one. The colorful jam in the middle and dusting of confectioners’ sugar really sets them over the top! These cookies are quick to whip together and even quicker to disappear.
A little history
Linzer cookies are a traditional Austrian cookie, which originated in the city of Linz, Austria, and adapted from the Linzer Torte. It is of the oldest desserts in the world (1600s!) and still reigning in popularity today. They are now a top cookie recipe around the world, most commonly made around the holidays. The cookies contain the same ingredients as the original torte, except made as buttery sandwich cookies filled with jam. The traditional filling used was black currant preserves, but it can be difficult to find in most places, so raspberry has become the most commonly used jam today. That’s not to say you can’t use your favorite jam of choice! Below are some other great fillings to use:
- Apricot jam
- Nutella
- Black currant jam
- Lemon curd
- Strawberry jam
- Mixed fruit preserves
- Chocolate ganache
Tips and tricks
- Because these cookies have a high flour content, I choose to roll out my dough on a layer of parchment paper or silicone mat. Just make sure to lightly flour the rolling pin. My very first batch I rolled out on flour, and the dough became too dry and cracked all over.
- The dough must be cold, but don’t try to roll out when it’s rock hard straight out of the fridge (if left in the fridge longer than a couple hours). I take the dis of dough out and let it sit for about 30 minutes and start rolling by gently pressing down. Once it’s rolled out and you’ve cut out your cookies, gather the scraps of dough, roll it back into a disc, and place back in the refrigerator to cool it back down again. Since you will have two discs, I do this by alternating and using the 2nd disc when putting the first one back in the fridge.
- When creaming the butter and sugar together, make sure the butter is softened, but not melted. Once all the ingredients are incorporated together, the dough will seem a bit dry, and that’s normal. If it’s too dry, you can add a little bit of water. You can test it by pressing some between your fingers. If it presses together and combines without crumbling, the dough will not need any water added.
- For the cookie cutters, you can use linzer cutters or a regular 2 inch round cookie cutter with a smaller cookie cutter to press in the middle. The linzer cookie cutters are easy to find, though, and inexpensive. You can find them by clicking here.
- I like to use lemon juice, as opposed to zest. The reason being, is that it adds just the right amount of moisture to the dough.
- The almond extract in the recipe is optional, but I really do recommend it! It helps bring all the flavors together. Almond extract is very strong, though, so you only need a little bit.
How to make these linzer cookies
Ingredients:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temp
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp almond extract (optional but highly recommended!)
- 1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
- 1 cup almond flour (spooned and leveled)
- raspberry jam
- powdered sugar for dusting the top of cookies
Instructions:
- Cream the softened butter and powdered sugar together in a stand or hand mixer on medium speed until well blended.
- Add in the egg yolks, vanilla extract, almond extract, and lemon juice.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together, then add half to the butter mixture, mix until combined, then add the rest. Mix until ingredients are combined, but don’t overmix. When adding the flour mixture, I like to take a spatula around the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure all the batter is incorporated.
- Cut the dough in half and shape into two discs, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour (will keep in the fridge for two days if making ahead).
- Roll out onto parchment paper or very lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thick. Cut the shapes out with cookie cutter and place onto parchment lined baking sheet. The top cookies should have cut-out and bottom ones will be whole (see photo below). Gather the leftover dough and roll back into a disc and place into the fridge to cool again (dough should always be cold). Repeat with 2nd disc.
- Bake at 350 F for 8-9 minutes. The color should be lightly golden.
- Let the cookies cool completely, then sift powdered sugar onto the tops of the cookies (cut-out). Then spoon a little bit of jam onto the bottom layer cookie and add the top to each one.
Storing these linzer cookies
These cookies are best eaten the day of, but will keep for about two days at room temperature, in an airtight container. The cookies become softer the longer they are left out. You can freeze the dough or the cookies themselves (without jam) for up to 3 months.
Linzer Cookies
The perfect blend of buttery, nutty, fruity, and sweet. These linzer cookies are as perfect year round as they are around the holidays!
Equipment
- linzer cookie cutters
- stand/hand mixer
- Rolling Pin
Ingredients
- 1 Cup butter (2 sticks) room temp
- 1 Cup powdered sugar
- 2 Large egg yolks
- 1/2 Tsp salt
- 1 Tsp cinnamon
- 1 Tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 Tsp almond extract
- 1 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 2 1/2 Cups all purpose flour spooned and leveled
- 1 Cup almond flour spooned and leveled
- Raspberry jam
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Cream the softened butter and powdered sugar together in a stand or hand mixer on medium speed until well blended.
- Add in the egg yolks, vanilla extract, and lemon juice.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together, then add half to the butter mixture, mix, then add the rest. Beat on medium speed until ingredients are just combined, without over-mixing. When adding the dry ingredients, I like to take a spatula around the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl to make sure all the mixture is incorporated.
- Cut the dough in half and shape into two discs, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for an hour (will keep in the fridge for two days if making ahead).
- Roll out onto parchment paper or lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thick. Cut the shapes with the linzer cutters and place onto parchment lined baking sheet. The tops will have the cutouts and the bottom cookies will be whole. Gather the leftover dough and shape back into a disc then chill in the fridge. Repeat with second disc.
- Bake at 350 F for 8-9 minutes. The color should be lightly golden.
- Let the cookies cool completely, then sift powdered sugar onto the top layer cookies (cutouts), and spoon a little jam onto the bottom ones. Place the sugar dusted cookies on top, creating a sandwich cookie.
Notes
- These cookies are best eaten day of, but will keep for about two days at room temperature. They will get softer the longer they are left out. The dough or cookies themselves (without jam) will freeze for up to 3 months. When thawing out the dough, refrigerate overnight.
- The almond extract is optional, but highly recommended! It helps bring out all the flavors.
- You can use linzer cutters or a 2 inch cookie cutter with a smaller one for the cutouts. There’s a link in the post under the “Tips and tricks” section of the post for linzer cutters.
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