These festive cookies are inspired by the Linzer torte, a famous lattice-topped Austrian pastry made with a rich, buttery nut crust and jam filling. The secret to this cookie’s deep, earthy flavor begins with toasting the hazelnuts. This step intensifies the nuts’ flavor and is an essential characteristic of a Linzer-inspired cookie. Along with the hazelnuts, this lightly sweetened, buttery dough is laced with cinnamon along with a dash of ground cloves. While the cookies are delicious on their own, sandwiching them with raspberry jelly adds a jewel-toned sparkle as well as a bright, fresh flavor. They are pretty enough for holiday giving but are so delicious they will likely become a year-round favorite—heart-shaped cutters and strawberry or red currant jelly make them Valentine’s Day ready!
—Abigail Johnson Dodge
Recipe by Abigial Johnson Dodge from The Everyday Baker, published by The Taunton Press, 2015.
• ON-DEMAND: Listen to Faith and Abby talk about this cookie (as well as others from the book.) •
Read our book review and get recipes for Bittersweet Chocolate Peppermint Thumbprints and Rosemary Cornmeal Shortbread.
- Have ready several sheets of parchment and a cookie sheet. Whisk the flour, ground hazelnuts, cinnamon, salt, and cloves in a medium bowl until well blended.
- Put the butter and confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl using an electric handheld mixer fitted with wire beaters). Beat on medium speed until creamy and lighter in color, about 4 minutes. Add the vanilla and beat on medium until blended and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until the dough forms moist clumps.
- Scrape the dough onto the work surface and divide into two approximately equal piles. Put one pile of the dough in the center of a sheet of parchment. Cover with another piece of parchment and press down on the dough to flatten. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough between the parchment to a 3⁄16-inch (4.8 mm) thickness, turning, lifting, and repositioning the parchment and lightly flouring throughout the rolling. Slide the dough and parchment onto a cookie sheet and refrigerate. Repeat with more parchment and the remaining dough, stack on top of the other one, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.
Flavor swap
Milk chocolate ganache filling: Omit the cloves from the dough and bake as directed. For the filling, omit the raspberry jelly and put 8 oz. (227 g) chopped milk chocolate (11⁄3 cups) and 1⁄3 cup (80 ml) heavy cream in a small, heatproof bowl. Heat in a microwave until almost melted or set the bowl over a saucepan filled with barely simmering water. Stir until melted and smooth. Set aside until the mixture is thick enough to hold its shape, then fill and sandwich the cookies. Let the cookies sit at room temperature or, for faster cooling, in the fridge until the chocolate is firm.
Almond–Apricot Sandwich Cookies: Instead of the hazelnuts, use 3⁄4 cup (3 oz./85 g) finely ground blanched and toasted almonds in the dough. Instead of the raspberry jelly, purée 1 cup (11 oz./312 g) apricot jam in a food processor with 1⁄8 tsp. almond extract for the filling.
Re-size it
Change the shape: Instead of rounds, cut the dough into stars, hearts, or triangles, and make smaller cutouts of the same shape in the center.
Baker’s Wisdom
Hazelnuts
Also known as filberts, hazelnuts are a tree nut with a strong, earthly flavor. Not only are they used in many desserts like these cookies, but they are also the central flavor for Frangelico® liqueur and a popular flavor added to brewed coffee. Like all nuts, hazelnuts can go rancid if stored for long periods of time, so keep them tightly wrapped in a heavy-duty zip-top freezer bag in the freezer for up to 6 months. Always taste several nuts from the batch before you use them.
Essential Technique
Rolling the dough and making cutouts
Roll the dough between two pieces of parchment to 3⁄16 inch (4.8 mm) thick. Turn and flip the dough and lift the parchment as you go, flouring as needed.
Use a 2-inch (5 cm) fluted cookie cutter to cut out rounds from the chilled dough. Using a small offset spatula, arrange the rounds about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
To create windows in the sandwich tops, use a 3⁄4-inch (2 cm) round cutter to remove the centers on half of the cookies.
When the cookies are baked and cooled, dust the tops (with the window cutout) with confectioners’ sugar.
Arrange the remaining cookies bottom side up and put 1 tsp. raspberry jelly in the center of each.
Cover the jelly-filled cookie bottom with a cut-out top (hold by the edges) and press down gently to spread the jelly just to the edges.
