Raspberry Linzer Cookies — Linzer cookies are the ultimate sandwich cookies! A layer of raspberry jam is tucked in between two buttery, nutty cookies and dusted with powdered sugar! Great Christmas cookies that are perfect to serve at your holiday parties or to include in cookie exchanges!
Easy Christmas Linzer Cookies Recipe
Linzer cookies are a timeless holiday favorite. These snowflake linzer cookies are a twist on the classic jam-filled sandwich cookie typically made with almond flour.
Rather than using almond flour, I used finely crushed pecans to create soft, buttery, almost crumbly cookies that are filled with jam and sandwiched together.
A snowflake cutout on the top cookie showcases the raspberry jam below.
In keeping with tradition, my snowflake linzer cookies are dusted with powdered sugar. It’s almost like a sweet dusting of “snow” over these melt-in-your-mouth linzer cookies.
Even if you’ve never made linzer cookies, don’t worry. My easy, straightfoward recipe with lots of details spells it all out out for you.
For those linzer tart cookie pros here, feel free to scroll down all the way to the recipe card section and skip my tips, tricks, photos, and chatter.
Ingredients in Raspberry Linzer Cookies
As I mentioned above, I made these linzer cookies without almond flour. They still ave that same buttery, shortbread-esque flavor, but they require no special ingredients.
To make these Christmas linzer cookies, which hail from Austria traditionally, you’ll need the follow common fridge and pantry ingredients:
- Pecans
- Salted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Confectioners’ sugar, plus more for dusting
- Salt
- Large egg + yolk
- Vanilla bean paste OR vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Raspberry jam OR jam/jelly of choice
How to Make Raspberry Linzer Cookies
To make snowflake linzer cookie dough, follow my easy, straightforward steps:
Step 1: Place chopped pecans in a food processor and process until you have pecan flour.
Step 2: To the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter, both sugars, salt, and beat together.
Step 3: Add the eggs and beat together.
Step 4: Add the vanilla and beat together.
Step 5: Add the flour, pecan flour, and stir to incorporate.
Step 6: Turn dough out, place it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Rolling Out Linzer Cookie Dough
After you’ve chilled your snowflake linzer cookie dough, you’re ready to proceed with the following steps:
Step 1: Roll out the dough to rough ¼-inch thick rectangle.
Step 2: Using a 2 ½-inch scalloped edge cookie cutter, cut 32 cookies.
Step 3: Use a small snowflake cookie cutter to cut snowflakes out of the center of 16 cookies.
Tip: You can use another shape cutter like a circle or heart.
Step 4: Place the cookies onto prepared baking sheets, leaving at least 1 ½ inches of space between each cookie.
Step 5: Bake the cookies and then allow them to cool completely.
Step 6: Once the cookies have cooled, spoon 1 ½ to 2 teaspoons of jam onto the centers of the whole cookies.
Step 7: Place a snowflake cookie on top of the jam cookies and lightly press them all together.
Step 8: Dust with confectioners’ sugar and enjoy!
Can I Substitute Pecans for Another Type of Nut?
Most classic linzer cookie recipes call for almond flour as well as all-purpose flour. I used pecans. Specifically, chopped pecans (love Trader Joe’s for this).
Put 1 cup chopped pecans in your food processor and process until you have fine dust. Don’t over-process because you don’t want a paste which is essentially pecan butter.
However, 1 cup of hopped walnuts or shelled pistachios would be a great swap for pecans.
If you have a nut allergy or don’t want nuts in these cookies, unfortunately these aren’t the cookie for you because nuts of some variety are required.
What Kind of Jam or Jelly Is Best in Linzer Cookies?
Tradtionally, linzer tart cookies were made with black currant jam, which seems to have evolved to using raspberry jam.
However, you can use whatever flavor of jam you like. As I did with my Thumbprint Cookies, you can use a mixture of jams such as raspberry, strawberry, and peach or apricot.
Linzer cookie recipes tend to call more for jam more often than jelly, but really either are fine.
Another classic filling is lemon curd. If you’re a lemon dessert lover, you can also make or buy lemon curd and fill your snowflake linzer cookies with it.
How to Store Linzer Cookies
I prefer to store my raspberry linzer cookies airtight at room temp for up to 1 week. You can also store them in the fridge, although I find the storing baked goods in the fridge tends to dry them out unnecessarily.
For lemon curd-filled linzer cookies, you should store them airtight in the fridge for up to 1 week. You can get away with longer, they just may not taste quite as fresh.
Can Linzer Cookies Be Frozen?
Linzer cookies will also keep airtight in the freezer for up to 4 months. However, you will need to dust them with confectioners’ sugar after thawing otherwise it will tend to “disappear” because it will just melt into the cookies as they thaw.
Tips for the Best Linzer Cookies
For anyone who is excited to get ready and make these snowflake linzer cookies that are perfect Christmas cookies, here are some extra tips to help you out:
- When measuring the pecans (or almonds, walnuts, or pistachios if using), add 1 cup rough, small-chopped nuts into your food process, process them, and what you end up with is the amount of nut flour you should use. Likely is will be about 3/4 to 7/8 of a cup, but not quite 1 cup since you won’t get 1 cup of nut flour ever, from just 1 cup of nuts.
- These cookies are best baked cold, so when waiting to rotate pans through the oven, place them into the fridge to keep the cookies from spreading when baking.
- If the jam is too thick to spread easily when filling, pop it into the microwave for 15 seconds to make spreadability slightly easier.
- Use a toothpick to spread it to the points of the snowflakes once the cookies are sandwiched together if desired.
- Do not worry about covering up the jam with powdered sugar as you’re dusting it on. The powdered sugar melts into the jam after a few minutes, revealing the snowflake shape.
- This cookie dough freezes well. Wrap it well with plastic wrap or place it in a freezer baggie and freeze it for up to 4 months. When you are ready to bake it, let it set at room temperature for 1 hour before rolling it out.
Enjoy!
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Snowflake Linzer Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for dusting
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg + 1 yolk
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup raspberry jam, divided; or as needed (or your favorite jam or lemon curd* See Notes)
Instructions
- 1. To the canister of a large food processor, add the pecans, and pulse a few times until the pecans have reduced to a fine powder, or pecan flour, taking care not to over-process and turn them into a paste!** (See Notes)
- Tp the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or large mixing bowl and handheld electric mixer, add the butter, sugar, confectioner's sugar, salt, and cream (beat) together on high speed for 1 minute.
- Add the eggs and continue beating for 30 seconds.
- Add the flour, pecan flour, and stir to incorporate.
- Turn the dough out into a disc-like shape, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and place it in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
- Once the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
- Unwrap the dough and place it on a well floured surface like a clean countertop.
- Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a rough rectangle, about ¼-inch thick.
- Using a 2 ½-inch scalloped edge cookie cutter, cut 32 cookies. Ball up dough, re-roll it, and cut, as necessary.
- Use a small snowflake cookie cutter to cut snowflakes out of the center of 16 cookies. Tip - You can use another shaped cutter like a small circle or a heart if desired.
- Place the cookies onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving at least 1 ½-inches of space between each cookie.
- Bake for approximately 12 minutes, or until cookies are set and done (start checking at 10 minutes), taking care not to overbake them. Tip - Bake one sheet of cookies at a time, on the center rack, rotating pan once midway through baking for optimal results.
- Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets momentarily before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once the cookies have cooled, spoon 1 ½ to 2 teaspoons of jam onto the center of each whole cookie.
- Place a snowflake cookie on top of each of the jam-topped cookies, and lightly press together to seal. Tip - Use a toothpick to spread the jam to the points of the snowflakes if desired. Repeat the process until all cookies have been sandwiched together.
- Evenly dust the cookies with confectioners' sugar.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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