Austrian Linzer Cookies (Linzer Plätzchen)
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A thoroughly authentic Linzer Cookies recipe from Austria! Made with almonds, these cookies have a delightfully delicate crumb with a fruit jam filling. They’re fun to make, look beautiful, and taste absolutely delicious!
You can never have too many kinds of Christmas cookies, especially when they’re as good as these ones. All the way from Austria, welcome the Linzer Kekse!
The origin of today’s recipe is Linz, Austria. Located in north-central part of the country, it’s Austria’s 3rd largest city. Founded by Romans, it served as an important trading point for many centuries. Linz is home to several notable individuals including Johannes Kepler who discovered the law of planetary motion, Anton Bruckner, the famous Austrian composer (the Brucknerhaus, a famous concert hall there, is named after him), and one of the most notorious villains in all of history – along with a couple of his cronies – considered Linz his hometown and envisioned it to become the main cultural centre of the Third Reich. Linz is also where the father of Fred Astaire is from – Frederic “Fritz” Austerlitz. On a side note, Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers are two of my all-time favorites.
Linz continues to be one of the main economic centers of Austria and has a flourishing music and arts scene. The Musiktheater (“music theater”) was opened just last year and is considered to be one of the most modern opera houses in all of Europe. Linz is home to roughly 270,000 people.
And then of course we have the famous Linzer Torte, the inspiration for the Linzer cookies which are a 19th century adaptation of the torte. Created in the 17th century, did you know that the Linzer Torte is the world’s oldest torte recipe? The distinguishing characteristic of tortes is that they use nuts rather than flour as the main ingredient.
The Linzer Torte, like the Linzer cookies, features an almond-based dough with preserves in the center. Black currant preserves are traditionally used in the Torte and raspberry preserves are most commonly used for the cookies. These nutty-buttery cookies are very popular throughout Austria and Germany. They have a fabulous texture and taste simply wonderful!
The color of the cookies – whether they’re light in color or darker and speckled – will depend on what kind of ground nuts you’re using. Blanched ground almonds will give you lighter colored cookies while ground hazelnuts and walnuts usually come only non-blanched and will give you darker, speckled cookies. It’s entirely a matter of personal preference and difference nuts will give you a different flavor.
Linzer Cookies Recipe
Let’s get started!
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the almonds or hazelnuts (you can use blanched or unblanched) out on a cookie sheet and toast them on the middle rack for 8-10 minutes or until light golden and fragrant. Let the almonds cool completely and then grind them in a food processor with 1/4 cup of the sugar. Set aside.
I highly recommend using whole nuts, toasting and grinding them. They have much more flavor than using already ground almond meal/flour.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until light pale in color.
Add the sugar and beat until fluffy.
Zest the lemon. Organic lemon is recommended since you’re using the rind.
Beat in the egg yolks, vanilla extract and lemon zest.
Sift together the flour, salt and cinnamon in a separate bowl.
Stir the ground nuts into the flour mixture.
Beat the flour/nut mixture in the butter mixture, adding it gradually.
You’ll have a fairly soft but malleable dough.
Form the dough into a log and divide it into four pieces.
Wrap each piece in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour or up to two days.
Place the chilled dough between two sheets of wax paper.
Roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thickness.
Cut out the desired shapes and place them on a cookie sheet. Reform the scraps of dough, roll them out again, and cut out more cookies. Refrigerate the dough first if necessary.
I use and LOVE cookie cutter/stencil set from Progressive International. They used to have a larger set that included the heart shape but it’s not available at the moment. But they have stars, circles, Christmas trees, gingerbread men and more and they come with the center cut outs that makes making these Linzer cookies a breeze.
Cut out the corresponding tops of the cookies (with holes in the center to expose the raspberry preserves you’ll spread on later) and place them on the cookie sheet as well.
*Important: You need to work fairly quickly so the dough stays chilled/firm. If the cut out cookies get too soft, place the cookie sheets in the fridge until the dough has firmed up again. This will prevent the cookie dough from spreading and will help them retain their shape.
In an oven preheated to 350 degrees, bake the cookies for about 12 minutes or until just starting to turn light golden on the edges. Allow the cookies to cool a few minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Once cooled, spread the bottom halves of each cookie with raspberry preserves, leaving a small border around each cookie.
Dust the tops of each cookie with sifted powdered sugar.
Place the tops of the cookies on each bottom. Use a spoon or piping bag to fill the open centers of the cookies with some more of the preserves. Keep stored in an airtight container for up to several days.
Enjoy!
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Linzer Cookies (Linzerkekse)
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole almonds or hazelnuts blanched or unblanched
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 3/4 cup sugar divided
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large egg yolks
- Zest of one small lemon
- 1/2 cup raspberry jam
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- To toast the almonds: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the nuts out on a cookie sheet, place them on the middle rack and toast for about 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned and fragrant. Let the nuts cool completely and grind them in a food processor along with 1/4 cup of the sugar until finely ground.
- In a separate bowl, sift the flour, salt, and cinnamon. Stir in the ground almonds.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until pale in color, add the sugar and beat until fluffy, and then add and beat the egg yolks, vanilla extract and lemon zest. Gradually beat the flour/nut mixture into the butter mixture. Divide the dough into quarters, wrap each piece with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour or up to 2 days.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove one piece of dough from the refrigerator at a time. Place the dough between two sheets of wax paper and roll it out to 1/4 inch thickness. Use 3-inch cookie cutters (round, stars, heart-shaped are the most traditional) to cut out the cookies and place them on a lined or non-stick cookie sheet. Cut out a top for each cookie, using a smaller cookie cutter to cut out the center so the raspberry preserves will be exposed. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.Gather up any scraps of dough, let them chill a few minutes, and cut out the remaining cookies. Note: It's important that the cookies remain firm so that they retain their shape. If the dough becomes soft, place the cookie sheet in the fridge for a few minutes to chill before baking.
- Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes or until just starting to turn golden around the edges. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes until transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.Once cooled, spread the bottom half of each cookie with some raspberry preserves, leaving a thin border around each cookie. Place the top of each cookie on its corresponding bottom half. Use a spoon or piping bag to fill the cut out center with a little more of the preserves.Store in an airtight container for up to several days.This makes about 36 cookies.
Adapted from Joy of Baking
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet December 23, 2014
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
This is hands down the best Linzer cookie recipe! I made two small changes. Because I used freshly shelled almonds, I cut back to a heaping cup. (Truthfully got tired of cracking) Still plenty of almond flavor. No problem with the dough being crumbly, but I beat the butter & sugar well. I used cutters instead of stencils & had a little trouble getting the cut out (top) layers to release. A very light dusting of flour fixed the problem. These were melt in your mouth delicious & got raves. Thank you!!
I’m thrilled to hear that, Jami, thank you so much for the feedback!
Hello,
I was wondering if pre-grounded almonds (almond flour) would work for this recipe in place of grinding the almonds myself?
Please let me know!
Thanks,
Quinn
Hi Quinn, I haven’t weighed it but online sources say that 1 cup of whole almonds is 5 ounces so you will need to measure out 5 ounces of almond flour.
Hi Daring Gourmet! I just tried this recipe and the cookies are phenomenal (if I do say so myself!). Thank you for the recipe. The QUESTION is this: I learned 3/4 of my kids’ teachers are gluten free and I’m wondering if you or anyone you know has ever tried to make this using a gluten-free flour substitute? If so, which is the best gluten-free flour substitute and any tips? Is it 1:1 ratio?
Thanks for the help from you or anyone on this feed! Happy baking! :)
Thank you! I haven’t tried this with GF flour but perhaps some of our readers have and can chime in.
Can you use almond flour instead of grinding the almonds? I saw that question asked but didn’t see an answer. Thanks!
Hi Gale, I haven’t substituted it myself but online sources say that a cup of whole almonds is equal to 5 ounces of almond flour.
Thanks!! I may try to grind them. Really want them to be “authentic”! :o)
I’m making these for the first time and I’m concerned that the dough seems a little grainy & not coming together easily. I ground the almonds in my Cuisinart as fine as I can get them. Will chilling them helped bind the dough together? Any suggestions? Thank you!
Hi Jean, I would try adding some additional egg yolk.
Hi there, fantastic recipe. Could I freeze the dough? I am making it now, double batch and need to bake tomorrow then again on Tuesday. I am seeing if I can avoid making more dough? Thanks in advance!!!
Thank you, Lesha! I haven’t tried freezing this particular dough but other sources say that it freezes well and recommend cutting out the shapes in advance and freezing the uncooked shapes.
I just made these for holiday gift giving as 1 of 5 types. After researching, I chose this recipe b/c it seemed to be most like the original Austrian version with the lemon zest and the cinnamon. And they just look so festive! I used a tiny bit of flour on my bench to make the dough more workable. These came out so beautifully and they taste amazing! I wish I could post a pic here but I posted on my instagram foodequalshappiness2018 if you want to check it out. I followed the recipe as posted including grinding the almonds. Made such a gorgeous unique biscuit. Thank you.
That’s wonderful, Maura, I’m so happy you enjoyed them and they look beautiful indeed! Merry Christmas!
Thank you for sharing this recipe! My cookies turned out perfectly! Instead of using wax paper to roll them out I just floured a wooden cutting board and the rolling pin and I found that was much easier. The dough didn’t fall apart or stick to anything. I think next time I’ll try making this with homemade jam.
I’m so glad, Maddy, thank you!
Unfortunately, there is no metric version posted by you on this recipe. That’s what I would’ve preferred and am used to.
Shall try and add an extra yolk to the dough and save it. We all followed the recipe to the dot and all of us are facing the same problem. :(
Anyway, thanks for the tip.
Hi Kimberly,
I’ve tried many of your recipes and they’ve all turned out well. But this one of the “Linzer Cookies” has got 5 of us across continents in a sweat.😭
My 4 friends (in Canada, India, New Zealand) and I in Germany have the same problem. The dough is too crumbly. Not manageable to roll out and the cookies with the hole won’t lift without breaking. We’ve all made our own almond meal as recommended. How can we save the dough and still make cookies out of them? Any tips will be welcome.
Hi Lovie, that’s really strange, something definitely went wrong. Did you convert the ingredients to metric? You can save the dough by adding a little extra egg yolk. Start with less and you can always add more.
I’m excited to try this recipe for the first time this holiday season! It’s always been one of my favorite cookies to buy at my local bakery. I’m wondering if I can bake the cookies a day in advance and then fill and decorate them the next day? Thank you!
You can absolutely do that, Emily! Happy baking!
Is it possible to have this recipe by weight? Thank you.
We use weighing scales in Europe, not cups.😄
I have been making linzer cookies for decades, using the same recipe. I tried these for the first time this year and will never look back. They truly are tasty. I use a Swedish nut grinder rather than putting the nuts in a processor or blender. But, three recommendations will make the prep much easier. First, get a really good zester for the lemons. Mine looks like a long cheese grater and the zest just sort-of falls like snow. Second, use a Silpat mat. Roll out your dough on the mat, cut your shapes, remove the scraps and you don’t have to transfer the cookies to a baking sheet, only the mat, which lifts easily. Third, putting the whole thing in the freezer makes scrap removal quick and neat, with no rough edges around the dough. I have to make dozens and dozens of these for the holidays. Everybody who has tried them loves them.
I’m so happy you enjoyed them, Vicky, and thanks also for sharing your tips!
hi
i was just wondeeing can i use almond flour instead of grinding my own almonds
Can you use almond powder, instead of crushing the nuts? If so, how much?
Thanks!