Elegant sandwiched shortbread cookies with a golden hazelnut dough, a cut-out window revealing jewel-red raspberry jam, and a drift of icing sugar, one of the most beautiful cookies in the European baking tradition.
About This Recipe
Linzer cookies are the portable, individual-serving version of the Linzer torte, Austria’s most celebrated pastry, reduced to a pair of almond and hazelnut shortbread cookies sandwiched with raspberry jam and dusted with icing sugar. The window cut out of the top cookie to reveal the jam beneath transforms a simple sandwich cookie into something genuinely beautiful, the red jam visible through the geometric opening like a stained glass window in miniature.
The dough is richer than a standard shortbread, incorporating ground hazelnuts or almonds that add a nuttiness and a slightly sandy, crumbly texture. It is more delicate than a standard cookie dough and benefits from careful handling, rolled cold, cut quickly, and baked at moderate temperature until just set without colouring. The distinctive flavour of the finished cookie comes from the combination of the nut-enriched pastry, the sharp raspberry jam, and the fine sugar coating.
The window cut-out is made with any small cutter, a circle, a star, a heart, and the cut-out pieces are baked separately as small cookies in their own right, dusted with icing sugar and eaten as a bonus alongside the assembled sandwich cookies. Nothing is wasted, and the small cut-out cookies are particularly popular with children helping in the kitchen.
History & Origins
The Linzer torte is documented in recipe collections as far back as 1653, making it one of the oldest named cakes in the world. It takes its name from the Austrian city of Linz, where it has been made in its current form since at least the 18th century. The miniaturised cookie version, Linzer cookies or Linzer Augen (Linzer eyes), became popular in Austrian pastry shops as individual portions and were subsequently adopted across Central Europe and, through Austrian and German immigration, in the United States in the 19th century.
Why It’s Easy To Make
Standard pastry technique. Any small cutter works for the window. Dramatic visual result from simple technique.
Raspberry Linzer Cookies
Course: Baking, Cookies16
servings30
minutes20
minutes2880
kcalIngredients
•t200g unsalted butter, softened
•t120g icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
•t1 large egg
•t1 tsp vanilla extract
•t0.5 tsp cinnamon
•t220g plain flour
•t100g ground hazelnuts or almonds
•t0.5 tsp salt
•t200g good quality raspberry jam
Directions
- Beat butter and icing sugar until fluffy. Add egg, vanilla and cinnamon.
- Mix in flour, ground nuts and salt until a smooth dough forms.
- Divide into two discs. Wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 175°C. Line trays with baking paper.
- Roll dough on a lightly floured surface to 4mm thickness.
- Cut an even number of rounds with a 6cm cutter. Cut a small window from half of the rounds.
- Transfer carefully to trays. Refrigerate 15 minutes before baking.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until just set with no browning.
- Cool completely. Dust the windowed tops generously with icing sugar.
- Spread jam on solid base cookies. Gently press windowed tops over the jam.
- Notes
Notes
- Handle the dough gently and keep it cold throughout, warm dough tears when cut and the cookies lose their sharp edges.
Refrigerate the cut cookies before baking to ensure clean edges after baking.
Dust the top cookies with icing sugar before sandwiching, dusting after sandwiching coats the jam in the window.
These are fragile. Transfer with a spatula rather than by hand to avoid breaking.
Make Ahead Tips
Dough keeps refrigerated for 3 days or frozen for 3 months. Baked unsandwiched cookies keep for 1 week. Sandwich just before serving or up to 24 hours ahead as the jam slowly softens the bottom cookie over time.
Storage & Serving
Store sandwiched cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days. After 3 days the jam begins to soften the bottom cookie noticeably. Unsandwiched cookies keep for 1 week. For the crispest result, sandwich on the day of serving. These are among the most beautiful cookies for gifting, pack in a single layer in a box lined with tissue paper. The red and white colour combination makes them particularly suitable for Christmas and Valentine’s Day.
Variations & Substitutions
Replace raspberry jam with apricot, blackcurrant, or cherry jam. Add a teaspoon of lemon zest to the dough. Use a round window for a classic look or a small heart cutter for Valentine’s Day. Replace half the ground hazelnuts with ground almonds for a slightly different, more marzipan-like flavour.
