Raspberry Linzer Cookies

Ingredients

Yield:

2 dozen

• Linzer Cookies

  • 1-1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup ground almond flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 sticks (8oz) butter (cut into small cubes)
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup quality raspberry jam
  • powdered sugar for garnish

Preparation

Difficulty:

Medium

Total Time:

2 Hours

 

1. Preparation

   1. With the use of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, add together the flour, almond flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt
   2. Add the small chunks of butter and mix on low speed for 2 minutes.
   3. Add the sugar and mix still on slow speed until the butter forms lumps the size of a pea. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until dough just comes together, do not overmix
   4. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours so that it may rest. The dough can be kept at this stage refrigerated up to 4 days or frozen up to 2 months.
   5. To make the dough cohesive and smooth, it is essentially crushed with palm of the hand in small amounts Do not knead too much as this will make the linzer dough harden and become elastic loosing its crumbly texture after being baked.
   6. Form the dough into a ball or rectangle and using a rolling pin roll out to a thickness of 1/8th of an inch. Use just enough flour to keep it from sticking to the surface.
   7. Using a fluted round cutter around 2-1/2” in diameter, cut out cookies and place on a non stick baking pan
   8. To make the classic linzer cookie, there is a one base cookie and another top cookie that has a smaller round cutout from the center. Cut out a circle with a plain 1” diameter round cutter the middle of half the amount of cookies to resemble a donut.
   9. Rest the cut cookies for at least 20 minutes
   10. Bake the cookies in a preheated 325F oven just until the edges start to brown. Remove from the oven and let cool completely
   11. Sift a fine layer of powdered sugar over the top cookies with the “donut hole”. Spoon a teaspoon or so of a quality raspberry jam on top of the cookies with out the hole
   12. Place the top “donut hole” cookie over the bottom cookies with the jam.
   13. Linzer cookies will keep well at room temperature for 2 days or frozen up to a week.