Linzer tart cookies are perfect for any holiday, including Valentine's Day, Easter, and Christmas. They are fun, delicious, and made with a buttery almond dough and sweet jam filling.
Why You'll Love This Recipe for Linzer Tarts
- Beautiful and Festive Cookies: These sandwich-style cookies with cutouts and jam filling are perfect for any occasion.
- Customizable Flavors: While raspberry jam is a classic choice, you can use any jam or preserve to suit your taste or the holiday theme.
- Easy to Adapt for Any Holiday: You can change the shapes of cookie cutters to make cookies for different occasions like Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter, or any special event.
Holiday Customization Ideas
It's simple to make these cookies for different holidays and occasions. Use different shapes to cut out the cookies. Here are some ideas:
- Valentine's Day: Use heart-shaped cutters and fill them with strawberry or raspberry jam.
- Christmas: Raspberry Linzer Cookies are a great Christmas cookie! Choose a star or snowflake small cookie cutter to make them extra festive for the holiday season.
- Easter: Use egg-shaped cutters and either apricot jam or lemon curd for a bright flavor.
- Halloween: Try pumpkin or bat shapes with orange marmalade.
Ingredients in Linzer Tart Cookies
- almond flour
- all-purpose flour
- light brown sugar
- baking powder
- salt
- ground cinnamon
- unsalted butter, room temperature
- large egg
- vanilla extract
- powdered sugar for dusting
- raspberry jam or your favorite jam or preserves filling
See the recipe card for the full ingredients and directions.
How to Make Linzer Cookies
- In a large bowl, use a hand mixer or stand mixer to mix the softened butter and brown sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Beat the egg into the butter mixture, then stir in the vanilla extract until fully blended.
- Whisk together the almond flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a separate bowl.
- With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined, scraping the sides of the bowl to mix everything well.
- Divide the dough into two equal portions and shape each portion into a disc. Wrap the discs in parchment paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Roll out one disc of Linzer cookie dough on a lightly floured surface to about ⅛-inch thick. Use Linzer cookie cutters to make shapes for the bottom cookies and place them on the baking sheet.
- For the top cookies, cut the same shapes and then use a smaller cutter to cut out the centers. Dust the cutters with flour to prevent sticking.
- Place the cutout cookies on the lined baking sheets and chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to firm up.
- While the first set of cookies chills, roll out and cut the second disc using the same steps.
- Bake the bottom cookies for 8 minutes and the top cookies with cutouts for 5-6 minutes. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.
- Once the top cookies are cool, lightly sprinkle powdered sugar on the tops of the cookies using a fine mesh sieve or powdered sugar duster.
- Spread ½ to ¾ teaspoon of your favorite jam or preserves on the flat side of each bottom cookie.
- Place a powdered sugar-dusted top cookie on each jam-covered bottom and press gently to make a sandwich.
- Let the assembled cookies cool completely on a wire rack. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Tips for Perfect Linzer Cookies
- Keep Dough Chilled: The buttery dough softens quickly, so keep half in the fridge while working with the other half.
- Cookie Thickness: Use a rolling pin with adjustable rings for even thickness.
- Cookie Cutter Shapes: If you don't have Linzer cookie cutters, use a biscuit cutter or a round cookie cutter and a smaller cookie cutter for the center.
- Bake the Same Shapes Together: Tops bake faster, so bake them separately from the bases.
- Jam Options: Raspberry is classic, but apricot, strawberry, or seedless jams work wonderfully.
How to Store Linzer Cookies
- Room Temperature: Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: Freeze unassembled tops and bottoms for up to 3 months. Assemble with jam before serving for the best texture.
You can freeze these Linzer tart cookies after assembling them, but some people have mentioned that the cookies become too soft due to the jam filling.
More Valentine's Day Cookie Recipes to Try
If you're looking for more delicious cookies for your Valentine's Day celebration, here are two more fun cookies to try:
- Raspberry Cheesecake Cookies: These have a fruity flavor from tangy raspberries and smooth cheesecake flavoring.
- Peanut Butter Blossoms with Heart-Shaped Chocolates: This is a twist on a classic favorite! These chewy peanut butter cookies are topped with heart-shaped chocolates. They are both fun and a great Valentine's Day cookie.
📖 Recipe
Linzer Tart Cookies
Linzer tart cookies are perfect for any holiday, including Valentine's Day, Easter, and Christmas. They are fun, delicious, and made with a buttery almond dough and sweet jam filling.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter - room temperature
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup almond flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- powdered sugar for dusting
- raspberry preserves for filling
Instructions
- In a large bowl, use a hand mixer or stand mixer to mix the softened butter and brown sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Beat the egg into the butter mixture, then stir in the vanilla extract until combined.
- In another bowl, whisk together the almond flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
- With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined, scraping the sides of the bowl to mix everything well.
- Divide the dough into two equal portions and shape each portion into a disc. Wrap the discs in parchment paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out one disc of dough to about ⅛-inch thick. Use Linzer cookie cutters to make shapes for the bottom cookies and place them on the baking sheet.
- For the top cookies, cut the same shapes and then use a smaller cutter to cut out the centers. Dust the cutters with flour to prevent sticking.
- Place the cutout cookies on the lined baking sheets and chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to firm up.
- While the first set of cookies chills, roll out and cut the second disc using the same steps.
- Bake the bottom cookies for 8 minutes and the top cookies with cutouts for 5-6 minutes. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.
- Once the top cookies are cool, lightly sprinkle powdered sugar over them using a fine mesh sieve or powdered sugar duster.
- Spread ½ to ¾ teaspoon of your favorite jam or preserves on the flat side of each bottom cookie.
- Place a powdered sugar-dusted top cookie on each jam-covered bottom and press gently to make a sandwich.
- Let the assembled cookies cool completely on a wire rack. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Notes
Quick Tips:
- Keep Dough Chilled: The dough softens quickly, so keep half in the fridge while working with the other half.
- Cookie Thickness: Use a rolling pin with adjustable rings for even thickness.
- Cookie Cutter Shapes: If you don't have Linzer cookie cutters, use a biscuit cutter or a round cookie cutter and a smaller cookie cutter for the center.
- Bake the Same Shapes Together: Tops bake faster, so bake them separately from the bases.
- Jam Options: Raspberry is classic, but apricot, strawberry, or other seedless jams work wonderfully.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookieCalories: 183kcalCarbohydrates: 20gProtein: 3gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 28mgSodium: 42mgFiber: 1gSugar: 9g
Nutritional information is an estimate based on third-party calculations. Actual values may vary due to ingredients, measurements, and serving sizes.
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Dana is the lead recipe developer and photographer for PopularRecipes.com. With her 10+ years of experience creating, testing, and photographing recipes, she has become an artist in developing wholesome, family-friendly meals that are a hit with both kids and parents.
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