Linzer Cookies

Linzer cookies might look like another pretty sandwich cookie, but these sweet-tart cookies have a rich, tender crumb, thanks to a nearly invisible ingredient.

Almonds turned into almond flour make an everyday sugar cookie dough a tender, melt-in-your-mouth treat, fragrant with the warm notes of toasted nuts. Two cookies serve as the bookends to the sweet and sticky jam of your choice to transform into a holiday cookie made for customization. Here’s how to make them.

• They’re perfect for the holidays. Your family will love these homemade cookies on Christmas (or any time of the year).
• Customize them with your favorite jams. You can fill these Linzer cookies with any jam or preserves you have on hand.

This is the cookie version of the Austrian dessert Linzertorte. Born in the City of Linz, the tart consists of a crust made from flour and ground nuts — traditionally almonds — filled with black currant preserves and topped with a lattice crust. Linzer cookies mimic the torte with their almond flour dough and fruit jam filling.

• Almonds: Whole, skin-on almonds are toasted, then turned into a fine meal in a food processor.
• All-purpose flour: You’ll need 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour.
• Butter: Use unsalted butter, at room temperature.
• Sugar: You’ll need 1 cup of granulated sugar.
• Jam: We call for seedless raspberry jam here, but feel free to use your favorite jams or preserves.
• Powdered sugar: Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with powdered sugar just before serving.

1. Toast the almonds. Toast the whole almonds in a small frying pan over medium heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant. Transfer to a food processor and let sit until cooled completely.
2. Make almond flour mixture. Add 1/2 cup of the all-purpose flour to the food processor. Process into a fine meal. Add the remaining all-purpose flour and kosher salt, and pulse just until combined.
3. Cream the butter and sugar. Beat the unsalted butter and granulated sugar with the paddle attachment in a stand mixer on medium speed until fluffy and lightened in color.
4. Add the egg and vanilla. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a flexible spatula. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract on medium speed until combined.
5. .Add the flour mixture. Scrape down the bowl again. Beat in the flour mixture on the lowest speed until just incorporated.
6. Divide the dough. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Give the dough a few stirs with a flexible spatula, scraping the bottom of the bowl, to ensure that all of the ingredients are evenly incorporated. Divide the dough into 2 portions (about 15 ounces each).
7. Chill the dough. Shape each portion into a rough 5×7-inch rectangle. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm.
8. Roll the dough. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, remove the dough from the refrigerator and unwrap. Sandwich the dough between 2 more sheets of parchment paper and roll out until a little less than 1/4-inch thick.
9. Cut the cookie bottoms. Use a 2-inch regular or fluted round cutter to cut out as many rounds as you can. Transfer the rounds to one of the baking sheets. (Refrigerate the dough if it becomes too soft to get a clean cut.) Roll and cut rounds out of the second piece of dough until each baking sheet has 12 rounds, spacing them evenly apart. These rounds will be the bottoms of the cookies. 
10. Chill the cookie bottoms. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, arrange 2 racks to divide the oven into thirds and heat the oven to 350°F. Gather the dough scraps, reroll between parchment, and refrigerate again until firm enough to get a clean cut. 
11. Bake and cool. Bake until the cookie bottoms are lightly golden-brown, 15 to 17 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks and let cool completely.
12. Cut the cookie tops. Repeat cutting (and gathering scraps and rerolling) until you have 24 more cookie dough rounds. Use a 1-inch cutter to cut out a hole in the center of each of these rounds. Remove the center rounds (bake separately if desired) and transfer the rings to the cooled baking sheets (you can reuse the parchment), spacing them evenly apart. These will be the tops of the cookies. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. 
13. Bake and cool. Bake until the cookie tops are lightly golden-brown, 14 to 15 minutes total. Let cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks and let cool completely.
14. Fill the cookies. Spread 1 teaspoon of the raspberry jam on each cookie bottom. Place 3 tablespoons powdered sugar in a fine-mesh strainer and dust generously over the cookie tops. Place a cookie top on each cookie bottom and sandwich together.

• Sliced almonds: You can use sliced almonds for this dough, as long as you adhere to the weight below. Toasting the nuts first adds a magnitude of flavor to the finished cookies, so don’t skip this step.
• Almond flour: In a pinch, you can substitute almond flour for the whole almonds, again using weight and not volume. Try to buy fresh almond flour that hasn’t been sitting on the shelf too long.

• Red or black currant jam: This is the traditional filling and very tasty
• Raspberry jam: Raspberry jam, which is what we use here, is a great way to add tartness
• Homemade preserves: These are one of my favorite cookies to give friends who have gifted me homemade preserves, using their gifted jams as the filling.

• Chill the dough: Almonds add fat to the Linzer cookie dough, which is a good thing for taste and texture, but makes the dough harder to roll. Chilling the dough for an hour in the fridge makes it less sticky and easier to roll. Dividing the dough into two pieces also makes rolling and cutting easier. Once rolled and cut, chill the cookie dough again before baking to ensure the cookies retain their shape.
• Cookie cutters: You don’t need specific Linzer cookie cutters to make these cookies; you can use any shape of nesting cutters. My daughter is a big fan of making the punched-out shape a heart, regardless of the cookie’s shape. If you do want to buy a set, however, this one is great.
• Bake the tops and bottoms separately: Bake the tops (the cookies with their center cut out) and the bottoms on their own sheet pans, as the tops tend to bake just a little faster.
• For crisper cookies: The cookies will get a little softer after they sit with the filling, so if you prefer a crisp cookie, assemble the sandwiches at the last minute.

• Freezing unassembled: Bake the tops and bottoms of the cookies as instructed, cool completely, and then freeze in an airtight container for up to 1 month. When ready to serve, bring the cookies to room temperature before filling and dusting with powdered sugar.
• Freezing assembled: The assembled cookies can also be frozen. Thaw at room temperature before dusting with powdered sugar. Just note that the jam will not freeze solid, so be sure to separate the assembled cookies with a layer of parchment paper in the storage container. Apply powdered sugar after thawing, as the cookies will absorb it as it thaws.
• Storage: The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

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