Linzer Torte Cookies

Back in November, I bought a Linzer torte cookie cutter in hope of using it during the Holiday Season. But even though I did quite a lot of baking during the holidays, I didn’t get to try my new cookie cutter.

A few days ago, I finally got to use it. The cookies came out wonderfully! I loved this recipe, which originally is from Joy of Baking.



1 cup sliced almonds

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup granulated white sugar, divided

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 large egg yolks

Zest of 1 lemon (outer yellow skin of lemon)

Confectioner’s sugar for dusting

1/2 cup Raspberry or Black Currant Preserves or Jam

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and place rack in the center of the oven. Place the almonds on a baking sheet and bake for about 8-10 minutes (or until lightly browned and fragrant). Once the nuts have cooled, place in a food processor and process with 1/4 cup of the sugar from the recipe until finely ground.

In a separate bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, cinnamon, and salt.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and remaining sugar until light and fluffy (approximately 3 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract, egg yolks, and lemon zest. Beat in the ground nuts. Add the flour mixture beating just until incorporated. Divide the dough in half and shape into two rectangles about 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) thick. Wrap the two rectangles of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm (at least one hour and up to several days).

Remove one rectangle of dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough until it is about 1/4 inch thick. Using a 2 to 3 inch cookie cutter (round, square, heart, etc.) cut out the dough. Place the cookies about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Use a smaller cookie cutter (3/4 - 1 inch) to cut out the centers of half of the cookies on the baking sheet. (You will be sandwiching two cookies together and there will be a small 'window or cut out' in the top cookie so you can see the jam underneath.)

Reroll any scraps and cut out the cookies. Remove the other half of the dough from the refrigerator and roll and cut out the rest of the cookies. Bake the cookies for 12 - 14 minutes or until they are very lightly browned. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
To Assemble Cookies: Place the cookies with the cut-outs on a wire rack and lightly dust the tops with the confectioner’s sugar.

On the bottom surface of the full cookie (top of cookie will face out) spread with about a 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of jam. Place the cut-out cookie on top and gently sandwich them together, making sure not to smug the confectioner’s sugar. Using a small spoon, fill the cut-out with a little more jam if needed.

Note: You can store the unassembled cookies in the refrigerator for several days in an airtight container. It is best, though, to assemble the cookies the same day as serving in order to keep the cookies crisp.

Makes about 20 - 2 inch sandwiched cookies.

I'm linking this recipe to Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum.