So these are not actually Linzer Cookies. Some of them look like Linzer Cookies with their cutout tops revealing shining red raspberry preserves surrounded by a snowy border of powdered sugar. But what are those other ones with the crumbled almonds and granulated sugar on top? And no cinnamon or lemon in the dough? What kind of Linzer Cookies are these?
Better ones. These are a hybrid between Linzers and another cookie called the Viennese, which has an almond shortbread base but is typically dipped in chocolate. I’ve taken the best of each cookie and combined them to make my ideal Christmas almond cookie. So: ground almonds in the dough and raspberry preserves in the center, yes. But no distracting cinnamon – I’ve replaced that with a splash of almond extract to amp up the almond flavor. And the eggless dough bakes up so much more tender and delicate than the classic Linzer, for cookies that practically dissolve on your tongue.
As an alternative to topping the cookies with powdered sugar, I sometimes sprinkle the tops with finely chopped almonds and granulated sugar. For even more variety, I cut out more of the solid base cookies and top them with the almonds and sugar, skipping the preserves and sandwich treatment altogether. With no preserves to steal the show, the almond flavor takes center stage.
I usually mix it up and make some of each variety in every batch.
This dough is delicate and crumbly, and the top cookies with their cutout centers and thin edges are extremely fragile. The large snowflake shapes I made are dramatic and beautiful, but must be handed with care – if you’re going to use an intricate shape like this, bake more of the tops than bottoms to allow for breakage.
And whatever shape you choose to use, I do recommend you use relatively large cutters. If you use a small cutter, cutting out the centers of the top cookies will be a challenge, and the tops will be so fragile they’ll be too frustrating to work with.
Viennese cookies are often filled with other flavors of jam besides raspberry – apricot is traditional. Because it’s Christmas I wanted red for the centers, but there’s nothing stopping you from making these at other times of the year using apricot or any other flavor of preserves you like.
Making Linzer Cookies ahead and what to do with leftovers:
- Freshly baked, the cookies will be crisp, even shattery. Once they sit for a day, the raspberry jam softens the cookies, transforming them to a texture that’s more like a pastry than a cookie – in a really good way. If you’re making any plain ones without jam, they’ll retain more of a shortbread-like texture. Either way, the cookies will keep for 3 or 4 days in an airtight container at room temperature.
- The variation that’s topped with almonds and granulated sugar can be layered or stacked in a large, shallow airtight container. The ones topped with powdered sugar don’t stack well – the powdered sugar will smudge. If you don’t have enough storage to keep them in a single layer, and you’re not going to use them all at once, don’t assemble all the cookies at the same time. Store the top and bottom cookies carefully stacked in an airtight container, and fill and assemble them as needed. The plain, unfilled cookies will keep in the freezer for up to two months – but make sure to protect them so they don’t break.
Assembling a Christmas cookie platter? Add some or all of these:
- Old Fashioned Christmas Cookies (three recipes in one post including sugar cookies, shortbread, and molasses cookies)
- Peanut Blossom Cookies
- Chocolate Peppermint Blobs
- Chocolate Dipped Macaroons (not classic for Christmas but I often make them for the holidays and they’re beautiful on a platter)
Linzer Cookies
Make all the cookies with confectioner's sugar topping, all with almond-sugar topping, or some of each.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups ground almonds, made from 8 ounces (227 grams) blanched, slivered almonds processed in a food processor until finely ground
- 2½ cups (10 5/8 ounces or 300 grams) all-purpose flour, plus additional for the board
- 1¼ cups (20 tablespoons, or 2½ sticks) unsalted butter, preferably European style, at soft room temperature
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup seedless raspberry preserves
- ¾ cup confectioner’s sugar
- For the almond-sugar variation, replace the confectioner’s sugar with:
- 1 large egg white mixed with 1 teaspoon of water
- ¼ cup roasted, salted almonds, or just use additional blanched, slivered almonds
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
Directions
- Step 1 Combine the ground almonds with the 2½ cups of flour and set the mixture aside.
- Step 2 In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed, scraping down the bowl occasionally, until the mixture is light and fluffy, about a minute. Scrape down the bowl again, then beat in the almond extract. Add the ground almonds and flour and beat on the lowest speed just until blended. The dough will not come together in a ball, it will look very crumbly and dry.
- Step 3 Turn the dough out onto an un-floured board and quickly and firmly bring it together into a ball with your hands. Wrap the ball tightly with plastic wrap, and, once it’s wrapped, smush it down into a thick disk and squeeze and firm it through the plastic into a smooth shape. Chill the dough for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350.
- Step 4 Divide the ball of dough in half with a knife or a bench scraper and return one half to the refrigerator. Roll out the other half of the dough on a floured board, using a well-floured rolling pin. The dough will be both crumbly and sticky at first, but will get easier to roll as you work with it. Roll it out to between 1/8 and ¼-inch thick and cut out solid shapes for the bottom cookies. Carefully transfer the cookies to an ungreased sheet, placing the cookies 1 inch apart. Bake the cookies for 7 to 8 minutes, removing them before they get brown. Let the cookies cool on the sheet for 2 minutes, then carefully transfer them to a cooling rack.
- Step 5 For the next batch, make tops. Roll out the dough and cut out shapes with the same cutters used for the bottoms. Transfer the cookies to a baking sheet. Once the cookies are on the sheet, use a smaller cutter cut out the center of each cookie. Add the center scraps back to the dough on the board to re-roll for the next batch. The tops might take a little less time to bake, so watch closely during the last minute or two of baking. They’ll be extremely fragile after they’re cooked, so transfer them very gently to the cooling rack. Make more tops than bottoms to allow for breakage. Continue rolling out and baking, using the other half of the dough that’s been chilling.
- Step 6 Once all the cookies are baked and cooled, assemble them. Transfer the top cookies to waxed paper. Spoon some of the confectioner’s sugar into a small sieve and shake it over the cookies by tapping the sieve gently against your other palm, sprinkling a thin but solid layer of sugar over each cookie.
- Step 7 Stir the raspberry jam to loosen it and smooth it out. Take a bottom cookie and turn it over. Spread about 1½ teaspoons of jam on the bottom side of the cookie. Carefully fit a sugared top cookie on top of the jam to make a sandwich. Repeat with the remaining cookies.
- Step 8 For the almond-sugar variation, omit the confectioner’s sugar. While the dough is chilling, prepare the almond-sugar topping. Coarsely chop the almonds and put them in the bowl of a food processor along with the granulated sugar. Pulse the processor just until the almonds are very finely chopped, but not ground. Transfer the mixture to a bowl. When you’re ready to bake a batch of top cookies, first line the baking sheet with parchment for easier cleanup. Roll and cut out the cookies as described above. Carefully brush the raw top cookies with the egg wash, and sprinkle each cookie with some of the almonds and sugar. Bake, cool, then assemble by spreading a bottom cookie with jam and topping with a top cookie.
