Happy Valentine’s Day, dear friends! I’m excited today to share with you my very first attempt at Linzer Cookies themed perfectly for the holiday. One of my personal goals for this year was to spend more time baking and now that things are beginning to settle down around here, this seemed like the perfect time to dive in.
I was looking through an old Martha Stewart Cookbook last week and found her version of Linzer cookies. B loves sandwich cookies, so with Valentine’s day coming, I decided to make these with a festive twist.
Jump to Recipe
What are Linzer Cookies?
Honestly, I didn’t know so I had to do some digging to find out. Basically, Linzer cookies are a buttery, shortbread-like cookie with a nutty flavor that are filled with jam and layered like a sandwich. They originated in Austria and are an adaptation, or smaller version, of a Linzer Torte that’s more like a large pastry.
Most of the recipes I looked at online call for almonds or almond flour but Martha’s recipe called for hazelnuts. I’ve adapted that a bit for ease in my version. I love the flavor and consistency of these cookies with the mix of mild nuttiness with the sweet berries and can’t wait to try this recipe using different combinations of nuts and berries!
What you will need to make Linzer Cookies
- Stand Mixer or Handheld Electric Mixer
- Mixing Bowl(s)
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Plastic Wrap
- Parchment Paper or Baking Mats
- Cookie Sheet(s)
- Cookie Cutters – 2 sizes of the same shape (I used these)
Raspberry Hazelnut Linzer Hearts – A twist on classic Linzer Cookies
2 C All Purpose Flour, plus more for dusting
1 tsp Baking Powder
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp Salt
3/4C Hazelnut Flour (here)
2 Sticks Unsalted Butter
2/3C Granulated Sugar
2 Lg Egg Yolks
½ tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
½ tsp Freshly Grated LEmon Zest
½ C Raspberry Jam, for filling
1/4C Confectioners’ Sugar for dusting
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt and hazelnut flour.
In a separate large bowl, or bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. (2-3 minutes on medium-high speed) Add the egg yolks, vanilla and lemon zest, beat to combine, scraping the sides to make sure all is mixed. With the mixer on low speed, add hazelnut-flour mixture and beat until just combined – 10 – 15 seconds.
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface, divide in half and shape into flattened discs. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.
Remove 1 disc from fridge and let stand until softened slightly so that dough doesn’t crack. On a large piece of parchment paper lightly dusted with flour, roll dough to ⅛” thickness. To prevent sticking while rolling, occasionally run a large offset spatula under dough and add more flour to the top or bottom of dough. Transfer parchment paper and dough to a baking sheet; freeze until firm.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove one sheet of dough and parchment from the frig; working quickly, cut into heart shapes using a 3” heart shape cutter. Cut out the center from half the shapes with a 1.5 – 2 inch cutter. If the dough softens too much, put it back in the fridge for a few minutes.
Using a wide metal spatula, transfer open hearts to prepared baking sheets about ⅕ inches apart. chill until firm.
Bake, rotating sheets halfway through until cookies are crisp and lightly golden all over -about 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Spread the flat sides of the whole heart with about ⅕ teaspoons of jam. Sift confectioner’s sugar over the open hearts. Just before serving, add the open hearts to the whole heart sides and serve.
Raspberry Hazelnut Linzer Hearts
A fresh twist on traditional Linzer Cookies perfect for a sweet Valentine's Day Treat!
Ingredients
- 2 C All purpose Flour plus some extra for dusting
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- ½ tsp Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ¾ C Hazelnut Flour
- 2 sticks Unsalted Butter
- ⅔ C Granulated Sugar
- 2 Lg Egg Yolks
- ½ tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- ½ tsp Freshly Grated Lemon Zest
- ½ C Raspberry Jam for filling
- ¼ C Confectioners' Sugar for dusting
Instructions
-
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and hazelnut flour.
-
In a separate large bowl, or bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Medium-high speed for approximately 2-3 minutes. Add egg yolks, vanilla and lemon zest and beat to combine making sure to use a spatula to clean edges of bowl.
-
With the mixer on low speed, add the flour – hazelnut mixture and blend until just combined, 15 – 20 seconds.
-
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface, divide in half and shape into flattened discs. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.
-
When ready to bake, remove 1 disc from refrigerator and let stand for 5-10 minutes or until lightly softened. This keeps dough from cracking.
-
One a large piece of parchment paper, lightly dust with flour and roll to approximately ⅛" thick. To help prevent sticking, you may need to lightly flour your rolling pin and under the double as you work. Once rolled, transfer parchment with rolled dough onto a cookie sheet and refrigerate for 15-20 minutes or until firm. Repeat with second disc.
-
Preheat oven to 325 °F
-
Line two baking sheets with parchment. Remove one sheet of parchment with your rolled dough from the refrigerator and place on your work surface. Working quickly so dough stays firm, using a 3" heart shaped cookie cutter, cut out as many hearts as you can from your rolled dough. Using a 1.5" – 2" heart shaped cookie cutter, cut a smaller heart out of the center of half your 3" hearts. Using a spatula, place approximately 1.5" apart on your cookie sheets.
-
Bake for 12 – 15 minutes turning your sheets half way through. They are done with the hearts have turned a nice golden brown all the way around. Once done, transfer to a cooling rack until completely cool.
-
Once cool, spread the full heart pieces with approximately ½ tbsp of jam or enough to cover in a light layer. Dust the open heart sizes with confectioners' sugar.
-
When ready to serve, place open heart pieces onto jam covered full heart pieces.
Leave a Reply