Valentine Linzer Cookies Recipe

Name: Valentine Linzer Cookies
Yield: 24
Ingredients: 3/4 cups butter (1 1/2 sticks), room temperature; 1/2 cup sugar; 1 egg; 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest; 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 1/2 cups finely ground blanched almonds or hazelnuts; 2 1/4 cups cake flour (can sub all purpose flour); 1/2 teaspoon baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon; 6 ounces raspberry jam, or other red preserve (I used quince jelly); Powdered sugar

Happy Valentine's Day!

Why should chocolate have all the fun? Here are some Austrian Linzer cookies with a red preserve filling that seem perfectly suited for the occasion. Enjoy. :-)

Valentine Linzer Cookies

Total Time 0 mins

Servings 12 to 24 cookies

Recipe adapted from The Food Network's Sweet Dreams show by Gale Grand.

3/4 cups butter (1 1/2 sticks), room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups finely ground blanched almonds or hazelnuts
2 1/4 cups cake flour (can sub all purpose flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
6 ounces raspberry jam, or other red preserve (I used quince jelly)
Powdered sugar

Stand mixer
Cookie cutters of choice

Beat butter, sugar, egg mixture:

Beat the butter in a standing electric mixer until fluffy. Add sugar and continue beating. Beat in the egg, lemon zest, and vanilla extract.
Make dough:

Whisk together the flour, ground nuts, baking powder, and cinnamon. Add to butter sugar egg mixture a third at a time, beating well after each addition.
Chill dough:

Form the dough into disks, wrap with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
Roll out dough:

between two sheets of parchment paper to 1/8-inch thickness. Put rolled dough (still between parchment paper) in the freezer for 5-10 minutes to firm up before cutting.

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Preheat oven to 350°F
Cut out base and center cookie shapes:

Cut out the base cookie shapes. Cut out the centers of half the disks with a smaller cookie cutter shape. Re-roll scraps and repeat.

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Bake:

for 12 minutes at 350°F or until edges turn golden. Cool on a wire rack.

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Heat the jam or jelly:

and spread the solid disks with a layer of the hot preserves. Place the top layer cookie over the bottom, pressing down lightly.

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Sprinkle with powdered sugar:

then fill the holes with more preserves. Let set slightly before serving.

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