Soft & Buttery Linzer Cookies

I've only had a few linzer cookies in my life but for some reason they are never what I expect them to be. So, I decided to take matters in my own hands and make the linzer cookie of my dreams. I know this recipe isn't the most traditional since it doesn't have the almond flour but I am 100% okay with forgoing the taste for the texture.

When I bite into a linzer cookie I want them to be buttery, soft, and crumble apart in your mouth with ease. The cookie shouldn't be too sweet because it'll get a dusting of confectioners sugar over top and of course a nice dollop of the jam poking through the eye of the cookie. Traditionally, black currant jam is what is used to fill the cookie but I went with a cherry preserve instead. I think if I had apricot or a fresh raspberry jam I would use those too!

These cookies always taste better the next day because the cookie is able to absorb the moisture from the jam and jam becomes even jammier due to the loss of moisture. So if you can hold off on eating half of your cookie sandwiches and fend off your family and friends from eating them too I would totally recommend waiting until the next day. I didn't wait but I did save a few and they were even better the next day!

Soft & Buttery Linzer Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 stick or 113 grams of softened butter

• 1/2 cup or 60 grams of confectioners sugar

• 1 egg yolk

• pinch of salt

• 1/2 teaspoon or a splash of vanilla extract

• 1 2/3 cup or 200 grams of all purpose flour

• 1/4 cup or 80 grams of your favorite jam ( I went with cherry!)

• confectioner sugar, optional but highly recommended

Instructions:

1. In a kitchen aid mixer or large bowl beat together the butter and sugar on low until well combined. Add in your egg yolk, salt, and vanilla. Beat until well combined. Aprrox 2 minutes on medium speed.

2. Next, add in your flour and mix on low speed to avoid a flour shower all over your counter top. Beat until all the flour has been absorbed.

3. Dump the dough out onto your countertop/work surface and shape into a large disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30-45 mins. If your kitchen is really hot go for 45 minutes to harden it up a bit but if its on the colder side 30 minutes is good enough.

4. Once the dough has time to rest and chill, take it out of the fridge, and preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Dust your work surface and rolling pin with a light dusting of flour. Roll your cookie dough out until it has a thickness of 1/4 inch.

5. Grab a 4 inch fluted cookie cutter (or in my case a egg tart mold lol) and a 1 inch cookie cutter. Start stamping out 24 cookies using the 4 inch fluted cookie cutter. Re roll the dough as needed. Then using the 1 inch cookie cutter, stamp out a circle in the center of 12 cookies. These will be the tops of your cookie sandwich.

6. Place your cookies onto a parchment or silicone lined baking tray. They will not spread so you don't need to worry about spacing them out too far apart. Bake for 10 minutes. They will be pale in color but they will be fully cooked.

7. Once the cookies have cooled off, you can start spreading the jam on the cookies that do NOT have a hole in them. I like to use a little over 1/4 teaspoon per each cookie.

8. Take the cookie that with the hole/eye) and sprinkle over some confectioner sugar on top. I used a sieve/colander to get that snow like texture. Place the cookie with the powdered sugar on top of the cookie with the jam. Repeat with the rest of your cookies and enjoy the cookies with some tea!