Delicious Linzer Cookies

I have always loved Linzer Cookies, but never made them.  I thought they were too time consuming, and not worth the effort.  Well, let me tell you they are! These cookies are so good, and will be the star of your cookie trays this holiday season.  They are not only tasty, but flaky, fruity and not too sweet.  I was also pleasantly surprised because the dough was so easy to roll out. It was soft, but not sticky, and didn't break apart making for very pretty cookies.  If you have never tried baking these, please do, you will get some rave reviews.  Recipe is below.

I started buy purchasing this 2 1/4 inch Linzer Cookie Cutter.  It has the cutter as well as a variety of center cut out designs - circle, diamond, triangle, heart, star and flower cutters.

 Roll the dough out and cut with the cookie cutter first. That will be the bottom of your cookie.  Then cut your tops.  Make sure you have even amounts of tops and bottoms, so you can put them together later with the filling.

 Baked bottoms and tops.

 This is the fruit filling I use for all my fruit filled cookies.  I have found it's the best, as far as consistency and texture, and the flavor is so rich.  Turn the bottom half of the cookies over (so the pretty side is on the outside and the part that was laying on the baking sheet is the inside.  Fill with about a teaspoon of filling on each cookie bottom and spread it out a little, then place the cutout cookie on top of the filling.  Dust with confectioner's sugar by using a sifter, so they look pretty.

 Dusted with confectioner's sugar, I used a cooling rack so the sugar does not buildup all over the cookies.  Plated up and ready to eat with a cup of  my favorite tea.

Delicious Linzer Cookies

Ingredients

2 cups of unbleached flour

1/2 cup of finely ground almonds

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup of butter (2 sticks)

2/3 cup of white granulated sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Raspberry, Strawberry or fruit filling of your choice.  I used Raspberry for traditional Linzer Cookies.

Confectioner's Sugar for dusting

Directions

In a medium size bowl, whisk together the flour, almonds, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.  In the bowl of a mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.  Add the flour mixture and mix just until incorporated.  Divide the dough onto two pieces of plastic wrap and flatten each into a disc about 1 inch thick.  Refrigerate for 2 - 3 hours or overnight.  Take out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before rolling to soften a little.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside. Dust your rolling surface with flour, then roll out 1 disc at a time to 1/8 inch thickness. One disc will be for the bottom of the cookies and one will be for the tops of the cookies. For the tops, you will cut the centers out. Start cutting the bottoms of the cookie and place on the baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. When that dough is done, roll and cut the tops from the other disc, and then cut the center with the small cutters that attach to the Linzer cutter. Place on baking sheet and bake the tops.  After they are done baking, remove to a cooling rack lined with paper towels.  When all are cooled, line them up and fill each with about 1 teaspoon of fruit filling, place the cutout tops on, then dust with confectioner's sugar.  Store in an airtight container.  Makes about 40 cookies.

TIP:  I had some difficulty using the center cut designs with the Linzer cutter, so I just didn't attach it and hand pressed the centers myself using the center cut designs.