I finally made Linzer Cookies for the first time ever and they turned out great (thanks Rachel of Sweet Tea and Sprinkles)! They were a lot easier than I thought but I definitely recommend making the dough in advance. I made it yesterday and refrigerated it overnight. The dough was really easy to work with and they taste absolutely amazing! The toasted almonds really stand out. I also added almond extract for even more almond flavor. This recipe is a 10!
LINZER COOKIES (by Sweet Tea and Sprinkles #sweetteaandsprinkles)
Ingredients
½ cup raw whole almonds
1 cup flour
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup salted butter softened
½ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract (I also added 1/2 teaspoon almond extract)
½ cup raspberry preserves (I used Bonne Maman)
½ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the raw nuts (blanched or unblanched) on a baking sheet. Toast them on the middle rack until lightly browned (it will take 5 to 10 minutes). Once they have cooled completely, pulse them in a food processor. Once this mixture is finely ground, pulse in the flour, cinnamon, and salt. Set this aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until it is creamy. Then beat in the sugar until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Beat in the egg. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl so everything is mixed well. Beat in vanilla.
Mix the dry ingredients (flour mixture) into the butter mixture. Beat on low speed until just mixed. Do not over-mix.
Form the dough into 2 disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and place it into the refrigerator. Allow this to chill for at least 2 hours.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Remove one disk at a time from the fridge. Place it on a well-floured surface. Allow it to sit for 1 or 2 minutes before rolling. Roll it out to about ¼ inch thick. You will need to be generous with the flour.
Use a 2 ½ inch cookie cutter to cut out as many cookies from this dough as you are able to. Use a smaller cookie cutter to cut out a shape from the middle of half of the cookies. (like a little window) Roll scraps into a disk, wrap, and allow to chill. Then you can roll this out again to make more cookies.
Place the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 12- 15 minutes. They should be just starting to turn golden on the edges.
Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool slightly. Then remove them to a wire cooling rack and allow them to cool completely.
Once the cookies are completely cooled, spread a heaping ½ teaspoon of jam onto the bottom side cookies. Dust the top cookies (with the cut out) with powdered sugar. (Make sure to dust the top cookies with powdered sugar before placing them on the jam cookies otherwise the jam center will not show as well.) Place the cookie with the cut-out on top of the jam cookie.
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