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Linzer Cookie Recipe

5 from 3 votes
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Chilling Time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Yield 24 sandwich cookies
Category Cookie, Dessert
Author Lauren Grant

Description

There is nothing quite as festive or elegant as this Linzer Cookie recipe! The cookies are made from a browned butter dough and filled with a zesty currant jelly. They’re easy to make ahead of time for the holidays and are the perfect dessert or gift.

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Ingredients

  • 3 sticks (340 g) unsalted butter softened and divided (24 tablespoons)
  • 1 cup (135g) hazelnuts, toasted and skinned
  • 1 ⅓ cups (152g) confectioners’ sugar
  • 2 large egg yolks (40g)
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon minced lemon zest
  • 3 ¼ cups (420g) all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1 (10.5 oz.) jar red currant jelly
  • 3 tablespoons Crème de Cassis liqueur or Chambord
  • 1 ½ teaspoon minced lemon zest

Instructions

  • For cookies, melt 2 sticks (1 cup) butter in a saucepan over medium heat and cook, swirling pan, until brown specks appear, 5–8 minutes. Transfer brown butter to a bowl and cool until nearly solidified.
  • Pulse 1 cup hazelnuts in a food processor until coarsely ground. Add 1⅓ cups confectioners’ sugar and process until it reaches a texture of a fine meal, about 30 seconds. Transfer hazelnut mixture to a bowl with remaining 1 stick (½ cup) softened butter; beat with a hand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy (you can also use a stand mixer here).
  • Beat in brown butter until combined, then beat in 2 egg yolks, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and ½ teaspoon lemon zest until combined.
  • Whisk together 3 ¼ cups flour, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon nutmeg; gradually beat into butter mixture just until blended.
  • Divide dough in half; shape each into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill, 1 hour, or up to 4 days.
  • Preheat oven to 325°F with racks set in upper-middle and lower-middle positions. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Roll each dough half between two sheets of parchment paper to ⅛-inch thick (if the dough is too firm, let it sit out for 20 minutes before rolling).
  • Cut dough with a 3-inch cookie cutter, then cut out centers of half with a 1½-inch cutter. Transfer cookies to prepared baking sheets, and chill until firm, 10 minutes.
  • Bake cookies until golden, 12–13 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on baking sheets, 2–3 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
  • Reroll scraps and repeat cutting, chilling and baking until all of the dough is used.
  • For filling, melt jelly with crème de cassis and zest in a saucepan over medium heat; let cool.
  • Sprinkle hollow cookies with powdered sugar.
  • Spread a heaping ½ teaspoon filling on solid cookies; top with hollow cookies, then fill centers with ¼ teaspoon more filling.

Equipment

stand mixer
mini food processor
parchment paper
food scale
saucepan
fine mesh sieve

Notes

This dough is crumbly! It’s annoying, but it’s also key to creating a very short, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth cookie. To make rolling out the dough easier, roll it out between two sheets of parchment paper.
If your dough is far too crumbly to work with/roll out, you likely measured a bit too much flour. Add the dough back to the mixing bowl and add 1 more egg yolk and mix to combine.
If you want to prep these in advance you can make the dough up to 4 days ahead of time, or you can bake the cookies and the un-filled cookies in the freezer up to 1 month ahead of time. When ready to serve, allow the cookies to thaw for a few hours at room temperature before filling and serving.
I originally developed this recipe for Cuisine at Home magazine when I was an Assistant Editor there.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 cookieCalories: 300kcalCarbohydrates: 27gProtein: 5gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 133mgSodium: 875mgFiber: 3gSugar: 16g
Like this? Leave a comment below!I love hearing from you and I want to hear how it went with this recipe! Leave a comment and rating below, then share on social media @zestfulkitchen and #zestfulkitchen!