Linzer Cookies

These cookies are beautiful! A linzer cookie is a sandwich cookie traditionally filled with raspberry or strawberry jams, then dusted with a layer of icing sugar to give them the powdery white top. Their origin is German where they are called Linzer Augen which means Linzer eyes.

Often these cookies are made with a nut flour such as almond flour, I decided to use a traditional white cookie dough with all purpose flour and corn flour. You can purchase a linzer cookie press on Amazon that comes with several cute cut outs for the center of your cookies, because of the time of year I thought a tree and snowman would be perfect. It was super easy to use and made the cookie process much faster.

When it comes to picking your jam filling you can choose anything you like, I remember eating these as a kid with raspberry jam so the nostalgia made my decision for me. And if you are feeling very ambitious you can make some homemade jam for the filling, I just used store bought.

Linzer Cookies

Ingredients:

- 1 cup butter @ room temperature

- 1 cup white sugar

- 2 large eggs

- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

- 1/3 cup corn flour

- 3 cups all purpose flour

- 1/4 cup flour for rolling ( Dough can be soft so you may need more flour)

- 3 tablespoons icing sugar for dusting

- 1/2 cup raspberry jam

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line to cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment combine butter and sugar for about 2 minutes until smooth and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, scrapping down the bowls edges between each egg. Mix in vanilla, sea salt and corn flour.

3. Add flour slowly while mixing on low speed until all flour has been incorporated. Dough can feel a little sticky.

4. Roll dough out onto a floured surface and roll to about 1/4 -3/8 inch thickness. Using your linzer cookie press without the center cut out in it press out your cookie shapes. Once half the dough has been cut into cookie rounds you can then insert your cut out shape and finish cutting out the rest of the dough into the cookies to top your sandwiches.

5. Transfer cookies to prepared baking sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are just barely golden.

6. Let cookies cool completely on a wire rack. Spread about 1/2-3/4 of a tablespoon of jam on each bottom cookie. Take each cookie top and dust them with icing sugar, once they are all dusted top each jam topped cookie with a icing sugar dusted one.

Of course I never let dough go to waste so I cookie up the cookie insert pieces and decorated them with some sprinkles.

And there you have a beautiful and classic Christmas cookie that will have everyone thinking you are a pro. A link for the cookie press if below.

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B06ZYS4CLC?ie=UTF8&tag=kaylie0e-20&camp=15121&linkCode=xm2&creativeASIN=B06ZYS4CLC

Enjoy!

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