Linzer Cookies
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Buttery, nutty, and filled with jewel-toned jam, Linzer cookies are as delicious as they are beautiful—a festive treat that’s perfect for the holidays or any special occasion!
Linzer cookies are buttery, jam-filled sandwich cookies based on the classic Viennese Linzer torte. The cookies have a shortbread-like texture and nutty flavor that comes from finely ground almonds and almond extract in the dough. They are typically filled with raspberry or apricot jam and finished with a dusting of powdered sugar. But what makes these cookies truly special is the cut-out on top, which creates a glistening stained-glass-window effect.
To make the prettiest Linzer cookies, a fluted-edge cookie cutter is ideal, though any shape will work. For the cut-out, hearts are classic (and perfect for Valentine’s Day), but circles, flowers, stars, and snowflakes are all beautiful options! You can even use tiny cookie cutters to create several cut-outs in each cookie.
“Very pretty and very yummy!”
What You’ll Need To Make Linzer Cookies
- Confectioners’ Sugar: Sweetens the dough while creating a smooth, melt-in-your-mouth texture. Confectioners’ sugar is also dusted on top of the cookies for a pretty finish.
- Slivered Almonds: Ground into the dough, these add a nutty flavor and a slightly crumbly texture that’s characteristic of Linzer cookies.
- All-Purpose Flour: Provides structure to the cookies, helping them hold their shape when rolled and cut. To ensure accuracy, measure the flour by spooning it into the measuring cup and leveling it off.
- Salt: Balances the sweetness and enhances the flavor of the almonds.
- Butter: Adds richness and a tender, flaky texture to the dough, ideal for a delicate cookie. Keep the butter in the fridge right up until when you need it. Cold butter keeps the dough from becoming overly soft, helping the cookies retain a crisp, flaky texture.
- Large Egg Yolks: Bind the dough while enriching its flavor, giving the cookies a tender, crumbly consistency.
- Vanilla Extract: Adds a hint of warmth and depth that complements the almonds and jam.
- Almond Extract: Enhances the almond flavor, adding a unique and slightly sweet aroma to the dough.
- Raspberry or Apricot Jam: Brings fruity sweetness and a vibrant color to the cookies, creating a classic Linzer filling.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
In the bowl of a food processor, combine the sugar and slivered almonds.
Process until the almonds are finely ground and the mixture is powdery, about 1 minute.
Add the flour, salt, and butter.
Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, about twenty 1-second pulses, then add the egg yolks, vanilla, and almond extract.
Process until dough forms a crumbly, clumpy mass, 20 to 25 seconds. 
Transfer the dough to a clean work surface.
Knead the dough into a smooth ball, then divide in half and form two disks, wrap each disk tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 4 days.
Adjust the oven racks to the upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 375°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Remove one disk of dough from the refrigerator and knead with your hands until just soft and malleable enough to roll.
Liberally dust a clean work surface with flour, and roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Using a 2.5-inch round cookie cutter, cut out circles. After creating the circles, use a 1-inch round (or any-shaped) cookie cutter to cut out the centers from half of the circles (these will be the top halves of the cookies).
Using a metal spatula, transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheets, spacing about 1 inch apart.
Bake until the edges are lightly browned, about 8 minutes, rotating the cookie sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
If using the second disc of dough immediately, remove from the refrigerator and repeat the process.
Lightly sift confectioners’ sugar over the cookie tops, and spread about 1 teaspoon jam on each of the bottom halves, leaving about 1/4-inch border.
The cookies will last nicely, stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 4 days; freeze for longer storage.
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Linzer Cookies
Buttery, nutty, and filled with jewel-toned jam, Linzer cookies are as delicious as they are beautiful—a festive treat that’s perfect for the holidays or any special occasion!
Ingredients
- 1⅓ cups Confectioners' sugar
- 1 cup slivered almonds
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 14 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch slices
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- About 1 cup raspberry or apricot jam
Instructions
- In the bowl of a food processor, process the sugar and almonds until the almonds are finely ground and the mixture is powdery, about 1 minute. Add the flour, salt, and butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, about twenty 1-second pulses. Add the egg yolks, vanilla, and almond extract and process until dough forms a crumbly, clumpy mass, 20 to 25 seconds. Transfer the dough to a clean work surface and knead it into a smooth ball. Divide the dough in half and form two disks, wrap each disk tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 4 days.
- Adjust the oven racks to the upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 375°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove one disk of dough from the refrigerator and knead with your hands until just soft and malleable enough to roll. (The longer the dough is refrigerated, the more you will have to knead it; just be careful not to overwork it – it should still feel cool.) Liberally dust a clean work surface with flour, and roll out the dough to ⅛-inch thickness. Using a 2.5-inch round cookie cutter, cut out circles. After creating the circles, use a 1-inch round, heart, or any-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the centers from half of the circles (these will be the top halves of the cookies).
- Using a metal spatula, transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheets, spacing about 1 inch apart.
- Gather up the scraps, knead into a flat disc, roll, and repeat (if too warm, pop back in the fridge for a bit).
- Bake until the edges are lightly browned, about 8 minutes, rotating the cookie sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. If using the second disc of dough immediately, remove from the refrigerator and repeat the process.
- Lightly sift confectioners' sugar over the cookie tops. Spread about 1 teaspoon jam on each of the bottom halves, leaving about ¼-inch border, and sandwich both halves together. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The dough can be wrapped in plastic wrap and a layer of foil and frozen for up to three months. When ready to bake, remove the dough from the freezer, thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature until pliable, and then proceed with the recipe. The assembled cookies can also be frozen in an airtight container for up to 1 month. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (30 servings)
- Serving size: 1 sandwich cookie
- Calories: 154
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated fat: 4 g
- Carbohydrates: 20 g
- Sugar: 11 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Sodium: 44 mg
- Cholesterol: 27 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I made this recipe using hazelnut meal.
They turned out well but next time I will try almond meal.
My suggestion is it would be good if the metric measurements were given in brackets for those of us who used this. Also, I had to work out how many grams 14 tablespoons of butter was as I couldn’t guarantee this to be accurate.
Hi Mary, sorry you liked but didn’t love them. Regarding the measurements, The great majority of my recipes (including this one) include conversions to metric/weight measurements. To view them, scroll down to the recipe, and immediately under the recipe title on the right side, you’ll see a little toggle. If you move it from “cup measures” to metric, you’ll see measurements that will work for you. Hope that helps!
Hi! I’d like to try these but I do not have a full 1 c. of slivered almonds at the moment – just have 1/2 c. Will that work? Should I add 1/2 c. flour to compensate or would it be OK just with the 1/2 c. and following the rest of the recipe as-is? Thanks!
Hi Amy, I’d add flour in place of the almonds – should work well.
Can I make these gluten free using all Almond Flour?
Hi Lynn, I wouldn’t recommend using all almond flour, but you can replace the all-purpose with an all-purpose gluten-free flour like King Arthur’s or Cup4Cup.
I made these cookies and they are so delicious and pretty! Thank you for the recipe!
I roll my batter on the parchment I put on my large cookie pan. From there I do the cutouts and discard the dough around the cookie. The batter I discarded is to be used again.
It is easier this way because the dough becomes soft so quickly that my shaped cookies break before I can transfer them to the cookie sheet pan.
I am not sure how big your chickens’ eggs are, but after adding the 2 egg yolks, I could sense the dough I made was going to be too delicate/crumbly. My split decision to add a 3rd egg yolk was my proud baking moment (as I am not a regular baker, but I am a scientist- does that count?) – the dough was workable and they turned out delicious with that minor alteration. After studying other recipes, I also make the decision to use part granulated sugar and part confectioners sugar to equal the 1 and 1/3 cups required for the dough. This will now be my new Linzer cookie recipe (made them before from a recipe with hazelnuts, but the almonds are more to my taste) with a hand-written note to check if a 3rd yolk is needed and to split the sugar types. I also would recommend using raspberry amaretto jam and ended up skipping the almond extract because I didn’t have any. The experience was a nice holiday activity for me and my husband!
Did you have any trouble rolling them out! I have just used another recipe and it was very difficult to get the cut outs out of cutters and I made a mess! Any tips?
Just made them – they turned out great! Very pretty and very yummy!