Description

These classic Linzer Cookies are delicate sandwich cookies filled with sweet raspberry preserves and dusted with powdered sugar. Featuring a tender almond-infused buttery dough with a hint of orange zest, they offer a perfect balance of nutty flavor and fruity sweetness. Toasted slivered almonds add a subtle crunch, while the scalloped cutouts reveal a charming jam window, making these cookies as beautiful as they are delicious.

Ingredients

Nut Mixture

1/3 cup slivered almonds

Dough

1 ½ cups salted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange extract
1 large orange, zested (about 1 Tablespoon)
1 large egg
3 cups all-purpose flour

Filling and Topping

⅔ cup raspberry preserves
Powdered sugar, for dusting

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Instructions

Toast Almonds: Place the slivered almonds in a dry skillet over low heat. Toast them carefully, stirring frequently, until they turn a light golden brown and become fragrant, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Once cooled, pulse the toasted almonds in a food processor until coarsely ground. Set aside.
Mix Butter and Sugar: In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the softened butter and granulated sugar together until just combined and creamy, about 1 minute.
Add Flavors and Egg: Mix in the vanilla extract, orange extract, orange zest, and egg to the butter-sugar mixture. Beat for another 30 seconds to combine thoroughly.
Combine Flour and Nuts: Gradually add the all-purpose flour to the wet mixture, stirring until just combined. Gently fold in the ground toasted almonds without overmixing to keep the dough tender.
Divide and Roll Dough: Split the dough into two equal portions. Roll each portion between two sheets of parchment paper lightly dusted with flour until about ¼ inch thick.
Chill Dough: Transfer the rolled dough sheets onto baking trays and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. You can stack the parchment sheets with dough to save space.
Preheat Oven and Prepare Baking Sheet: Once chilled, remove the dough from the fridge and parchment paper. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Cut Bottom Cookies: Using a scalloped circle cookie cutter, cut out as many whole circles as possible from the first half of the dough. These will be the solid bottom halves of your Linzer cookies. Arrange them about an inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.
Cut Top Cookies with Windows: With the second half of the dough, use the same cutter to cut out cookie shapes. Then, use a smaller cutter to cut shapes out of the center, creating a window to showcase the jam. Transfer these to a separate baking sheet. Save leftover dough pieces for re-rolling or to bake as mini cookies.
Bake Cookies: Bake both sheets for 12-14 minutes, or until the edges just begin to brown. Remove from oven and cool cookies completely on wire racks.
Re-roll Scraps: Gather scraps from cookie cutouts, roll out again on parchment paper, chill briefly if necessary, and cut additional cookies as before to maximize yield.
Assemble Cookies: Spread about ½ teaspoon of raspberry preserves on each bottom cookie. Dust the top cookies (with the windows) generously with powdered sugar, then gently press them on top of the raspberry-covered bottoms to form a sandwich.

Notes

Ensure not to overmix the dough after adding flour to keep cookies tender and delicate.
Use parchment paper when rolling the dough to prevent sticking and to make transferring easier.
Chilling the dough is crucial to prevent spreading during baking and to maintain cookie shape.
The window cutouts allow the raspberry preserves to peek through, so be generous with the jam but avoid overfilling to prevent leakage.
Toasted almonds can be substituted with hazelnuts for a slightly different flavor.
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
For best results, use fresh, high-quality raspberry preserves for a bright, authentic flavor.