Delicate ginger-almond shortbread shines in these charming and tasty sandwich cookies. Christmas Linzer Cookies pictured with Pistachio & Cranberry White Chocolate Fudge.
Christmas Linzer Cookies
Serves: approximately 12
Sprinkle top halves with a little confectioners’ sugar before filling with raspberry jam or with the fruit spread of your choosing, or for a bit of festive flair, garnish with snowflake sprinkles just before serving.
Ingredients
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ cup blanched almonds
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoons ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
- ¼ cup seedless raspberry jam, divided
- Garnish: snowflake sprinkles
Instructions
- In the work bowl of a food processor, pulse together flour, almonds, sugar, ginger, and salt until almonds are finely ground. Add cold butter and vanilla extract, pulsing until mixture comes together and a dough begins to form, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead gently until dough comes together. Shape dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 325°. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Unwrap dough and place between 2 parchment paper sheets. Using a rolling pin, roll out dough to a ⅛-inch thickness. Freeze dough for 15 minutes.
- Remove top sheet of parchment paper. Using a 1½-inch fluted round cutter, cut 24 cookies from dough. Using a ¾-inch fluted round cutter, punch out centers from 12 cookies. (You should have 12 whole cookies and 12 wreath-shaped cookies.) Place cookies 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Freeze cookies for 15 minutes so they will keep their shape during baking.
- Bake until cookies are golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool completely.
- Place desired amount of confectioners’s sugar in a small sifter, and dust wreath-shaped cookies with confectioners’ sugar.
- Spread a scant ½ teaspoon raspberry jam onto flat side of all solid cookies. Place wreath-shaped cookies, sugar side up, on top of jam. Fill cutouts with remaining jam. Serve within an hour.
- Just before serving, garnish with snowflake sprinkles, if desired.
Notes
Make-Ahead Tip: Cookie dough can be prepared up to a month in advance, wrapped tightly, and frozen. Let soften slightly before using. Cookies can be baked several weeks in advance, cooled, placed in an airtight container, and frozen. Let come to room temperature before dusting with confectioners’ sugar and filling.
