These Linzer Cookies are made with light and tender almond shortbread sandwiched with your choice of jams, jellies, curds, or ganache. They're a perfect Christmas Cookie Recipe. They’re beautiful, festive, and oh-so-delicious.
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Best Linzer Cookie Recipe
Linzer Cookies are originally from Austria but have become a permanent fixture on Christmas cookie plates in the United States, too. Not only are they buttery, tender and beautiful to look at, they are also super fun to make.
Before you get started, pull out all of your favorite cookie cutters and choose some that are larger and some that are smaller. Next, you’ll need to figure out what filling you want to go with. Since the cookies themselves are not very sweet, it’s nice to go with a sweeter filling such as raspberry jam, apricot preserves or lemon curd.
From there, just follow the directions below and enjoy. These are great cookies to get te little ones involved with too. They will love using the cookie cutters, spreading the fillings and dusting the tops with powdered sugar.
Ingredients in Linzer Cookies
- Butter - you want the butter to be softened so either pull out at room temperature for a couple of hours beforehand or slowly warm in the microwave for about 10 seconds at a time just until soft.
- Sugar - this recipe calls for white granulated sugar.
- Egg Yolk - you only need the yolk so you can either reserve the egg white for another use or toss.
- Vanilla Extract - pure vanilla extract tastes best.
- Salt - sea salt works great.
- Flour - we use all-purpose flour for this recipe.
- Cinnamon - use your favorite type of ground cinnamon.
- Almond Flour - you can typically find this in the baking aisle at the grocery store.
How to Make Linzer Cookies
- Cream the butter and sugar. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar and cream together using the paddle attachment until light and fluffy.
- Mix the dough. Add the egg yolk then mix on low speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and salt and mix until combined, then add the flour, cinnamon and almond flour. Mix on low speed just until combined. Do not overmix!
- Divide and chill. Separate the dough into 2 flat disks, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes, or until chilled.
- Roll dough. When you are ready to roll out the dough, flour your counter and rolling pin well. Roll one disk at a time to ⅛", flouring more as needed so that it doesn't stick (the dough should be sticky).
- Cut cookies. Using a 2-2 ½" cookie cutter, stamp out shapes and then place onto parchment lined baking sheets. Take half of the cookies and use a smaller cookie cutter to cut out a shape in the center.
- Bake. Bake in a preheated oven for 7-9 minutes, or until lightly golden on the edges. Remove cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Finish cookies. Place the cookies with the hole in the center onto a tray and dust with powdered sugar. Take the remaining cookies and add 2 teaspoons of jelly, Nutella, or lemon curd, spreading it slightly. Cover with the cookie top.
- Serve. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Enjoy!
Possible Variations
- Add lemon zest. Before creaming together the butter and sugar, add the zest of 1 lemon to the sugar and mix using your fingers. From there, you can make the recipe as directed.
- Use different nuts. Even though Linzer Cookies are traditionally made with almond flour, no one is going to stop you from using hazelnut or pistachio flour instead.
- Make them gluten free. If you substitute the all-purpose flour for a gluten free flour mix these will be gluten free.
Today is Freaky Friday, Christmas Cookie Edition.
This is a fun event hosted by my friend Michaela from An Affair From The Heart, it's where a bunch of food bloggers get together and are secretly assigned someone else's blog and we all share the same day. It's so much fun seeing what someone else chose to make from my recipe collection and getting to know each other by digging through each other's recipes. It's fun to pick just the right one for my Carefree Kitchen readers. Go check out my past Freaky Friday Recipes after you print off this Linzer Cookie Recipe!
This round I was assigned my friend and the one and only Chef, Kathy. She is an incredible Chef and has worked with Wolfgang Puck and Bobby Flay! How amazing is that!?! She teaches cooking classes and has a gorgeous website, Lemon Blossoms, it's filled with all kinds of main dishes, appetizers, and more.
While her resume is quite impressive, her recipes are even better. I chose to make her recipe for homemade Linzer Cookies. I thought it would be the perfect recipe to make for the holidays and they'll fit right in with all the Christmas Cookies.
While you're looking around Kathy's site. Be sure to check out her incredible Flan Recipe and you won't want to miss her Bananas Foster French Toast because it is to die for. Be sure to check out her Butter Pecan Cake too because yes, it really is as good as it sounds.
Please take a look at Kathy's site, Lemon Blossoms, and find some great recipes for yourself. Along with all of these recipes from our Freaky Friday Bloggers...Christmas Cookie Edition.
Take a look at all of our 2021 Freaky Friday Holiday Cookie Exchange Recipes:
- An Affair from the Heart - Candy Cane Puppy Chow
- The Carefree Kitchen - Christmas Linzer Cookies
- Devour Dinner - Peppermint Meltaways
- Family Around the Table - Chocolate Overload Cookies
- The Foodie Affair - Easy Pecan Pie Crust Cookie Recipe
- Fresh April Flours - Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- The Fresh Cooky - White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
- Hostess at Heart - Crumbl Cookie Recipe
- House of Nash Eats - Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Kathryn's Kitchen Blog - Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
- Lemoine Family Kitchen - Lemon Thumbprint Cookies with Strawberry Jam
- Lemon Blossoms - Cranberry Orange Biscotti
- Life Currents - Chocolate Mint Rugelach
- Life, Love & Good Food - White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
- Soulfully Made - Polar Bear Paw Cookies
- The Speckled Palate - Saltine Cracker Toffee
- Sue Bee Homemaker - Jam Thumbprint Cookies
- Take Two Tapas - Sugar Cookie Truffles
Frequently Asked Questions about Linzer Cookies
That depends on what you decide to fill them with. If you go with Nutella, raspberry jam, or another preserve, you can store them at room temperature. However, if you fill them with something that is not shelf-stable like lemon curd you’ll want to refrigerate them.
Absolutely! It’s best to either freeze the dough before baking, or the baked cookies before they have been filled. Either way, wrap them in plastic, or put them into an airtight container or freezer bag, and store frozen for up to 2 months.
If you can’t find almond flour, you can make your own with regular unsalted almonds. Put about 1 cup at a time into a food processor and pulse until most of the larger pieces are ground down. Sift and return the large pieces back to the food processor along with another handful of almonds. Repeat until you have what you need.
Storing and Freezing
- Room Temperature: you can store Linzer Cookies sandwiched with shelf stable fillings (such as jam) in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Refrigerator: store Linzer Cookies sandwiched with all other fillings (such as curds) in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Freezer: store baked and unfilled Linzer Cookies in airtight containers or freezer bags for up to 2 months in the freezer.
- Dough: unbaked dough can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 week or the freezer for up to 2 months.
Linzer Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- ¾ cup Butter room temperature
- ½ cup Sugar
- 1 large Egg Yolk room temperature
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 1 ⅓ cup All-Purpose Flour
- ¼ teaspoon Cinnamon
- ¾ cup Almond Flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar and cream together using the paddle attachment until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg yolk then mix on low speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and salt and mix until combined, then add the flour, cinnamon and almond flour. Mix on low speed just until combined. Do not overmix!
- Separate the dough into 2 flat disks, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes, or until chilled.
- When you are ready to roll out the dough, flour your counter and rolling pin well. Roll one disk at a time to ⅛", flouring more as needed so that it doesn't stick.
- Using a 2-2 ½" cookie cutter, stamp out shapes and then place onto parchment lined baking sheets. Take half of the cookies and use a smaller cookie cutter to cut out a shape in the center.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 7-9 minutes, or until lightly golden on the edges.
- Remove cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Place the cookies with the hole in the center onto a tray and dust with powdered sugar. Take the remaining cookies and add 2 teaspoons of jelly, Nutella, or lemon curd, spreading it slightly. Cover with the cookie top.
- Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Here are more of our favorite Christmas cookie recipes:
- Lemon Cooler Cookies
- Heath Toffee Cookies
- Snickerdoodles
- Eggnog Cookies with Eggnog Buttercream Frosting
- Soft Molasses Cookies
- Mint Chocolate Dipped Oreos
- More Best Cookie Recipes
- More Holiday Recipes
- More Cookie Bar Recipes
If you’ve tried this recipe, please rate it and leave a comment on this post. I love hearing feedback from you helps me and other readers too! If you love Pinterest, feel free to leave a comment and photo there too. Also, if you like to share, use the hashtag #thecarefreekitchen on Instagram and tag me @thecarefreekitchen so I can find you and give your post some love. You can also find me on Facebook at The Carefree Kitchen. Thank you!!
These Linzer Cookies are buttery, tender, beautiful, and delicious. Filled with your favorite jams, jellies, and curds, they make the best holiday cookies to add to your cookie plate or bring to your next get together.
Amy
These are absolutely delicious! And that tiny bit of cinnamon gives such a wonderful warmth. My kids had so much fun cutting out the shapes!
Rebecca
You made this recipe so easy to make with such great directions and video. They are delicious and so fun to make!
Nikki Lee
Gorgeous!
Jennifer
I can't get over how beautiful they are! I made a double batch for the school and they went nuts for them!
Lynn @ Fresh April Flours
I have always wanted to make Linzers but never have! They are SO pretty. Thanks to you (and Kathy!) for making them look so easy!
Sandra Shaffer
Such a pretty cookie and what a fun way to change up the flavors by using different fillings. I think the Nutella may be my favorite! Adding these to our cookie tray this year.
Erin
Gosh, these Linzers are simply perfect! I love the flavor combination, and these are sure to be a crowd-pleaser, no matter what you're serving them for this season.
Angela
These are just stunning!! I am printing the recipe now, cant wait to make these! I don't think they'll last long on the cookie tray. YUM!
Kathryn
These cookies are so beautiful! I love the different centers and your photos are amazing!
Sue Ringsdorf
Wow, did I look like a superstar when I made these Linzer cookies recently! So pretty and delicious too, which is win/win. Thanks for sharing this recipe, Jill!
Debi
My mom used to make these when I was a kid. I've always loved them. Such a classic cookie.
Kathleen Pope
I've always admired Linzer cookies, they look like little stained glass windows!
Ellen
Such a classic cookie for the holidays. I love you used different shapes and different fillings. I'll take the Nutella, please!
Kathy
Thank you for such kind words, Jill! Your cookies look AMAZING! You did a great job as always
Michaela Kenkel
Jill, these are stunning!! You did such an amazing job. Thank you for sharing your talents with all of us! Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Sheila Thigpen
These cookies are absolutely gorgeous!