These buttery Linzer cookies are made with both almond flour and all-purpose flour, which keeps them soft & chewy for nearly a week without completely crumbling apart or cracking, so they're great to make-ahead and share at a holiday cookie exchange.
Featured Review
"I remember having these in Germany, this recipe is just as good!" -Shannon
Almond Flour and Raspberry Linzer Cookies
Growing up in Germany, we ate Austrian Linzer cookies all the time, and I was hooked on the fruity jam center and the buttery, delicate cookie around it. Every now and then we'd get the packaged version from IKEA, but I'll never back down from the fact that homemade Linzer raspberry cookies are far better. And after testing different methods, to recreate them in my American home as an adult, I finally landed on a recipe that tastes like the ones I remember from childhood, only more buttery and more tender.
My version of Linzer raspberry cookies take as much inspiration as possible from classic Linzer torte. Almond flour in the cookie dough captures the crispy, nutty flavor of the torte's almond crust, tart raspberry jam mimics the cake's raspberry filling, and the cut-out "windows" from the top cookies are an homage to the traditional version's lattice top. But the texture of these cookies is what makes them truly special. The edges are crisp on day one, then the cookies soften as they sit with the jam and melt in your mouth even more, rather than turning dry and crunchy.
I tested blanched almond flour, whole almond meal, and freshly ground almonds, and blanched almond flour wins. It gives the smoothest texture and the lightest color, so these cookies look like they came straight from a European bakery window, while the other two made them darker. I also designed the recipe with two chills in the fridge after testing different methods. A chill after mixing and again after rolling and cutting out the cookies keeps the butter cold, so these bake up buttery & soft and hold their shape in the oven without spreading.
Craving another roll-and-cut European cookie with a jam window? Try my Swiss Spitzbuben next, which also uses a blend of almond flour and all-purpose flour. Or if rolling and cutting sounds a bit too fussy, my German jam thumbprint cookies are made by indenting the dough & dolloping jam on top.
How to Make Linzer Cookies!
My Baking Tips for Jam-Filled Cut-Out Cookies
- Your dough should look dry and crumbly after mixing, which is on purpose. These Linzer cookies bake up tender like a biscuit, and too much moisture would make them tough. Your dough is ready if it holds together when squeezed in your palm. The first chill gives the flour time to hydrate, so it rolls out as a smooth, cohesive dough.
- Go easy on the jam, about one heaping tablespoon per cookie, or else it will ooze out the sides when you bite in. And choose a thick jam too (chunky jam is actually my favorite). A runny one leaks & soaks into the cookies which turns them soggy instead of soft.
- Dust the cut-out cookies with powdered sugar before setting them on the jam. Sugar sifted over the filling turns it cloudy and takes away that jewel-bright look.
- If your kitchen runs warm, chill a baking sheet in the freezer, then roll and cut right on it so the butter stays cold. If the dough is too hard to roll, give it 15 minutes at room temp. And if it turns sticky after cutting, slide a thin spatula or bench scraper under the shapes to move them to the baking sheet.
Linzer Raspberry Cookies
developed & tested by:
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature (2 sticks)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt (use table salt or fine sea salt)
- 2½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup blanched almond flour
- ½ cup raspberry jam
- ½ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, use an hand mixer to beat the softened butter until it's light and fluffy, after about 1 minute.
- Add the granulated sugar and beat again until it's fluffy and pale yellow, after about 1 minute.
- Add the egg and almond extract and beat again for 1 minute until it's combined.
- Add the salt, all purpose flour, and almond flour and mix on low speed until it forms a crumbly dough.
- Separate the dough in half and form them into discs. Wrap each individually in plastic cling wrap, and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour, or up to 3 days.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Working in two batches to bake the cookies, take one dough disc out of the fridge, and unwrap it from the plastic wrap. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to â…› inch thickness.
- Use a 2-inch round cookie cutter to cut circles. Use a smaller circle cookie cutter, a paring knife, or the wide end of a piping nozzle to cut out a small circle in the center of half of the circles of dough. Scrape the cookies off your counter with a thin spatula and place them on the prepared baking sheet spread out at least ½ inch apart.
- Chill the cookies for about 20 minutes, to ensure the butter is cold and firm before they go in the oven.
- Bake the cookies just until the edges turn golden, for about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool to room temperature. While the first batch of cookies bakes, roll out and cut circles of the other disc of dough and chill them. Bake them once the first batch of cookies comes out of the oven.
- Dust the cooled cookies with the centers cut-out with powdered sugar.Spread about one tablespoon of raspberry jam on each of the cookies without the center cut out. Gently press the powdered sugar-covered cookies with the center cut out on top of the jam to form cookie sandwiches. Enjoy!!
Notes
- No cookie cutters? No problem. Use the rim of a drinking glass to cut the large circles, then cut the little windows in the top cookies with the wide end of a piping tip or a small bottle cap.
- Storing: To prevent the powdered sugar topping from getting messed up, place a piece of parchment paper in between each layer of stacked cookies. Store assembled cookies in an airtight container at room temp for up to 1 week.Â
- Make-Ahead: Allow the cookies to cool completely and store them in the freezer in an airtight container or freezer safe bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature, then add the jam filling and assemble.
- Jam Filling: Don't add too much jam filling, just about a heaping tablespoon spread out is good. Otherwise when you take a bite, the jam will ooze out of the sides.
Nutrition
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Shanon says
I remember having these in Germany, this recipe is just as good!
Carissa Erzen says
Thank you! These are one of my faves! 🙂