Austrian Linzer Cookies: Traditional Holiday Delights Recipe
Austrian Linzer Cookies are classic holiday treats featuring a tender buttery almond-flavored dough filled with sweet raspberry preserves and topped with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar. These traditionally shaped cookies have a distinct window in the top cookie that reveals the vibrant jam inside, making them a festive and delicious addition to any holiday cookie platter.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 57 minutes
- Yield: 24 cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Austrian
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 250g all-purpose flour
- 100g super fine almond flour
- 100g granulated sugar
- 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
Wet Ingredients
- 225g unsalted European butter, cold and cubed
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tsp vanilla paste
Filling & Topping
- 160g seedless raspberry preserves
- 20g confectioners’ sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a food processor, pulse together the all-purpose flour, almond flour, granulated sugar, ground cinnamon, and lemon zest until evenly mixed.
- Add Butter: Add the cold, cubed unsalted European butter to the processor and pulse until the mixture attains a coarse, sandy texture, indicating that the butter is cut into the flour.
- Add Egg and Vanilla: Incorporate the egg yolk and vanilla paste into the mixture, pulsing just until the dough starts to form moist clumps, avoiding overmixing to keep the dough tender.
- Chill Dough: Transfer the dough onto a work surface, form it into a flat disc, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours to let the dough hydrate and firm up for easier rolling. The dough can be kept refrigerated for up to 48 hours.
- Preheat Oven and Roll Dough: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Roll the chilled dough between two sheets of parchment paper evenly to about 1/8 inch thickness to ensure uniform baking.
- Cut Cookies: Using Linzer cookie cutters, cut out an equal number of solid cookie bases and windowed top cookies. Gather scraps, reroll, and cut additional cookies as needed.
- Bake Cookies: Place the cookies on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges begin to turn a very light golden color. Remove from oven and transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
- Assemble and Finish: Dust the windowed top cookies generously with confectioners’ sugar. Spread about 1 teaspoon of raspberry preserves onto each solid base cookie, then sandwich with a sugared window cookie on top to complete the Linzer cookie.
Notes
- Chilling the dough is essential to prevent spreading and to ease rolling and cutting.
- Use super fine almond flour for a smooth texture; regular almond meal may yield a grainier cookie.
- Seedless raspberry preserves provide the perfect balance of sweetness and smoothness for the filling.
- Store assembled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
- These cookies freeze well; freeze unfilled cookies in a single layer and fill after thawing.
Keywords: Linzer Cookies, Austrian Cookies, Holiday Cookies, Almond Cookies, Raspberry Jam Cookies, Traditional Linzer
