Easy Linzer Cookies (2024)

Linzer cookie dough

• ▢ 1 cup all-purpose flour (125g)
• ▢ ½ cup almond flour (60g)
• ▢ ⅔ cup powdered sugar (85g)
• ▢ 5 tablespoon cornstarch (50g)
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
• ▢ 1½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 10 tablespoon butter (130g) room temperature, cut in ¼ inch cubes
• ▢ 1 large egg beaten

Filling/garnish

• ▢ ½ cup raspberry jam or any other jam
• ▢ ½ cup powdered sugar

Make the dough

• Whisk dry ingredients together in a stand mixer before fitting it with the paddle attachment.

• Add butter and mix on low until a sandy texture forms. Dough should remain in a clump when grabbed.

• With the mixer running on low, add vanilla. Add half of the egg. If the dough comes together and looks like cookie dough it is ready. If it is still too dry, add the rest of the egg.

• Wrap in plastic and flatten into a disc. Refrigerate overnight or at least two hours.

Roll out the dough

• Roll out on a floured surface or between two sheets of plastic (I cut up plastic from random stuff like packing material or cereal bags and wash them) until ¼-inch thick.

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.

• Pop the dough in the freezer for 5-10 minutes to make it easier to peel away the plastic (if using) and punch out the circles. You can use any size cutter you like, but I used a 2-inch cutter and then the back of a small piping tip to punch out the hole that reveals the jam inside. Make half of the cookies a whole circle (the bottoms) and half a circle with the center punched out (the tops).

• I recommend punching out all of the tops of the cookies the first time you roll out the dough, and then punch out the bottom cookies when you reroll the scraps. Each time you reroll the dough, you are working the gluten more, which means the cookies will be less tender. So I prefer a more tender top of the cookie and then a less tender bottom cookie that is sturdier for holding the jam.

• Place the cookies on a sheet tray lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Place in the freezer for at least 10 minutes before baking.

• Bake for 6-7 minutes. Do not overbake or let the cookies take on too much color. They should be very light in color.

• Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Assemble the cookies

• Pipe jam on the undersides of the whole cookies. Place the cookies with the hole punched out on top. Dust with powdered sugar.

These are most crisp the day of. They will soften as they sit in an airtight container and keep for 2-3 days.

To make ahead of time, you can bake off the cookies and wait to sandwich them with jam until you need them.

Do not skip chilling the dough or the punched out cookies. The dough and cookies will be much easier to work with after chilling and will spread less in the oven when baked from cold.