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Linzer Cookies are a soft, tender almond cookie sandwiched with raspberry jam and topped with confectioners sugar. These traditional raspberry linzer cookies are fabulous for the holidays, and a beautiful cookie all year round!
These gorgeous almond cookies have a texture that is soft yet crunchy on the outside, with a little hint of sweetness from the confectioners sugar on top. Raspberries and almonds are a classic combination for a reason – they just work. Whole, toasted almonds and brown sugar are a wonderful backdrop for the raspberry preserves in these cookies.
Store-bought Linzer cookies misled me for much of my life. Historically, I could be caught eating gingerbread cookies, cherry pecan cookies or chocolate crackles before I’d reach for the Linzers! I was so wrong! Homemade Raspberry Linzer cookies are. my. jam. Since I first included them in the 12 Days of Christmas Cookies list in 2021, I have made tens of thousands of these cookies for Cookies for Kids Cancer, for giveaways at the restaurants, and for the Christmas Cookie Tins our bakery, Shop Pastry Creations, sells.
Since the cookies are not overly sweet themselves, the preserves and powdered sugar also tip them to the sweet side from savory. This balance makes these cookies a delightful addition to any cookie tray!
Table of Contents
Why you will love Linzer Cookies:
- Better than store-bought: If you’ve only had store-bought Linzer cookies, you’ve been missing out. The homemade ones are soooo much better. They have just the right amount of sweetness, and you control the quality and flavor of the preserves. Crucial.
- Holiday cheer: Colorful, powdered sugar delights in festive shapes! These balanced cookies are great for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, July 4th or any holiday! Just choose a fun cookie cutter!
- Excellent shipping cookies: Raspberry Linzer cookies are stable, and both the flavor and texture improve over time! Package them in a box or tin with parchment between the layers of cookies, and wrap the whole thing in your favorite wrapping paper.
What are linzer cookies?
Linzer cookies are a jam-filled, sandwich cookie based on the Viennese linzer tart. The dough is typically flavored with ground almonds or hazelnuts, and a raspberry jam filling is traditional though any jam is delightful!
Tips for the Best Linzer Cookies:
- Let your dough temp: You want your dough to come closer to room temperature, but not be soft. You still want it to be firm when you roll it out. While rolling out your dough, sometimes the top of the dough will be moving but not really the bottom. That is because the dough is still cold. You just want to work carefully, and gradually let the dough warm up with the friction from the rolling pin. If you force it, then it’s going to crack the edges and you’ll have to re-roll your dough before getting most of the cookies. Keep flouring your rolling pin, be gentle, and persevere!
- Don’t stress: If you have little cracks in your dough, it’s going to be ok. If the dough sticks you can lift the edges with an offset spatula and toss a little bench flour underneath.
This cookie dough is really forgiving, and it’s going to turn out beautifully.
- Allow the flavors to meld: The flavor and texture improve on the second day! Give the bottom cookies a nice thin layer of jam or preserves all the way to the edges. Harness your self control, and experience the jam softening and permeating the cookies over time. To die for!
Ingredients
- Almonds: I used blanched, whole almonds in this recipe but it is also good (and easier!) with almond meal. Whatever you have, that is what you should use!
- Light Brown Sugar: Using light brown sugar adds sweetness along with a little moisture. This will keep the cookies softer. And unlike granulated sugar, brown sugar also adds a nice rich molasses flavor.
- All-purpose flour: Be sure to measure your all-purpose flour by fluffing up the flour in the bag then spooning it into a measuring cup. Level it off with a knife. Not measuring correctly will lead to dry cookies.
- Baking Powder: Double acting baking powder will react instantly when it is mixed with an acid and then again when it is heated.
- Kosher Salt: Kosher salt is less salty than table salt and a teaspoon weighs less than other finer ground varieties. It heightens the flavor here and will keep your cookies from tasting dull or flat.
- Cinnamon: I use Saigon cinnamon but any cinnamon will do.
- Butter: I use unsalted butter for baking, because you want to control the amount of salt you are adding. Every brand is different and it makes adjusting the recipe a challenge.
- Whole Egg: The egg is here to add leavening. Egg yolks add fat, while egg whites add moisture. Eggs also emulsify the batter and keep everything texturally perfect.
- Vanilla Extract: Vanilla extract adds a beautiful flavor itself but it also boosts the flavor of other ingredients around it, like brown sugar.
- Powdered Sugar: The powdered sugar coating adds a bit of additional sweetness and it helps keep the cookies moist during longer storage.
- Seedless Raspberry Preserves: I prefer to bake with seedless raspberry preserves but seeded also works.
Linzer Cookie Variations
- Different Fruit Preserves: I made these cookies with raspberry jam, but you can use any sort of jam or preserve that you like! I prefer seedless preserves, but you should go with your favorite.
- Different Shapes: It doesn’t matter what shape you cut your cookie, just be sure you flour your cookie cutter! It’s helpful to remember you can use a second, smaller cutter to cut the center of the top cookies.
Make different shapes for different occasions, and have fun with it! If you don’t have the right shape for the smaller cut out, just use the tip of a paring knife. This is easier with cold dough!
- Different Sizes: Traditionally, these cookies are a bit smaller than I baked them for the pictures. The number of cookies this recipe will yield varies, based on the size of your cookie cutter and how thin you roll your dough. The bake time will also vary based on size, so just be sure to take them out of the oven once the edges have turned golden brown and the centers are matte. If you want crispier cookies, you can bake them longer!
Substitutions
- Almonds: You can substitute the whole almonds in this recipe with almond meal. If opting to use almond meal, omit the toasting step and the food processing step. Instead, you can squeeze the almond meal with a ¼ cup of brown sugar in its own bowl. I do this in my video tutorial! If making a single batch of this recipe, you will need a little over 1 cup of almond meal, or 110 grams.
- Brown Sugar: If you don’t have light brown sugar on hand, you can absolutely substitute dark brown sugar in equal amounts. The flavor will just be a bit more robust, but you will still get all the benefits of the added moisture and caramel notes.
- Filling: While it might not be traditional, why not fill your cookies with some nutella? Your kitchen, your cookies. Let me know what filling you chose for your Linzer cookies in the comments below!
How to Make
Use these instructions to make the perfect raspberry linzer cookies every time! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below!
Toast almonds:
Omit this step if using almond meal (almond flour).
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Step 2: Spread the almonds out on a rimmed baking sheet and toast them in the preheated oven until lightly browned and fragrant. This will take about 6-10 minutes. They will continue to cook outside of the oven so make sure to take them out as soon as you can smell them!
Step 3: Let the toasted almonds cool.
Make cookie dough:
Step 4: While your almonds cool, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set this dry mixture aside.
Step 5: Process the cooled almonds and a ¼ cup of the brown sugar in a food processor, until they are finely ground. Be sure to pulse, so this does not make almond butter. If you are using almond meal, then just mix the meal with ¼ cup brown sugar.
Step 6: In a large bowl with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer, beat the butter and the remaining ¼ cup of brown sugar until light and fluffy, which will take about 2 to 3 minutes. This is called the creaming method!
It is helpful if the butter is already at room temperature for when you cream the butter and sugar. Do not expect it to get as intensely fluffy as it might for a cake batter. There is too much butter for that.
Step 7: Add the egg and vanilla, and beat to incorporate.
Step 8: Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the ground almond mixture. Next add the flour mixture in several additions. Mix until it is just-combined, and be careful not to over-mix. Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl so everything is incorporated!
Step 9: Divide the dough in half. Shape each half into disks and wrap each disk securely in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, which will take at least 2 hours, or overnight. You want it to be firm and set so you can get beautiful cookies that don’t shrink or spread.
Roll, Cut, and Bake:
Step 10: If you left the dough in the refrigerator overnight, allow the disks to warm up on the counter until they are still firm but not soft. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Step 11: Dust your counter with bench flour. Roll out each piece of dough to as close to an ⅛ inch thickness as you can. In the pictures, I rolled it to a little less than ¼ inch, but I ended up with slightly chubbier cookies. This dough is a little sticky, so you might have to re-flour your counter.
Step 12: Cut the dough with your cookie cutter of choice, and place on a prepared baking sheet. Space the cut pieces of dough one inch apart. Use a smaller cookie cutter, or paring knife, to cut out the centers of half the pieces. Keep your scraps, because you can (and should) re-roll them!
Step 13 optional: Once all your dough is cut, you can opt to chill your cookies again before you bake them. Chill them until they are firm to the touch, which will take about 20-25 minutes. I recommend this step, but it is technically optional.
Bake the bottoms (pieces without holes) and the tops (the ones with the holes) on separate cookie sheets. The tops and the bottoms will bake at different rates. You don’t want to have burnt edges on the tops or under-baked centers on the bottoms.
Step 14: While baking, rotate the cookie sheets halfway through. You want to bake until the edges begin to brown, which for me was 8-10 minutes for the bottoms and 6-8 minutes for the tops.
Step 15: Cool slightly on the cookie sheet and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Assemble and enjoy:
Step 16: When the tops (the ones with holes) have partially cooled, dust them generously with powdered sugar. Spread about ¾ teaspoon of preserves on each bottom (the cookies without holes). You can use a little more if you like, but I didn’t want the raspberry flavor to overpower the almond flavor. Spread the preserves until they reach the edges!
Step 17: Place a powdered top on each bottom and press gently to stick them together. You can begin enjoying them immediately, but they do get better as the days go on! Waiting will give the flavors an opportunity to meld together and the cookies to soften slightly.
Chef Lindsey’s Recipe Tip
I like these cookies the first day but I absolutely LOVE them on day two, three, and even day ten! The flavors meld together and the preserves partially sink into the softened almond cookies creating a unified flavor. They are ideal for cookie trays and shipping!
Frequently Asked Questions
Keep these cookies in a sealed storage container at room temperature for up to 7 days. Store your Linzer cookies between layers of parchment paper. After 6 days, they might begin to dry out.
For perfect cut-out Linzer cookies, I always chill the dough prior to baking. This helps ensure sharp edges and the best shape!
You can make the cookie dough up to 2 weeks in advance if stored in the refrigerator. It can be stored in the freezer as dough for 2 months. Cutting the cookies before freezing will be easiest when it comes time to bake. You can also thaw the dough in the refrigerator or at room temperature and then follow the instructions for baking.
I have tested this linzer cookie recipe in a professional commercial bakery setting for my shop, Pastry Creations. You are only limited by the capacity of your particular mixer. I would strongly suggest measuring by weight when multiplying recipes!
They will last several weeks in the refrigerator but the texture and flavor will not be ideal.
I prefer to freeze the dough so that the cookies are as fresh as possible. Freeze cut-out cookies in a single layer on parchment paper lined baking sheets, then, once frozen, place in airtight containers or zip-top bags. Bake as needed. If you do choose to freeze them after baking, they will last about 2 months.
You can bake these cookies directly from frozen. They will keep their shape even better! Just bake until you see small cracks on the surface and they are slightly puffed in the center.
These cookies ship wonderfully. Package them well with tissue paper as padding so they don’t crash about in the tin. Just be aware that powdered sugar does not travel nicely no matter what precautions you take! I have tested it both ways and the powdered sugar adds to the flavor, so I would just let it do what it does in the box. No will mind.
Linzer cookies are cookies made with nut flour, typically almond or hazelnut, and sandwiched together with raspberry jam.
The dough can be crumbly because it is too cold to roll or because the incorrect amount of flour and/or almond meal was used. You can try adding egg yolks to the dough to save it.
Use just a thin layer of jam between the cookies and store them at room temperature. They will pull moisture from the refrigerator or freezer. Also be sure to bake them long enough. The perfect linzer cookie starts out slightly crisp, so that it softens just enough when assembled.
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Linzer Cookies
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup almonds whole blanched
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar for dusting
- 12 ounces seedless raspberry preserves
Instructions
Toast almonds:
- Omit this step if using almond meal (almond flour).
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the almonds out on a rimmed baking sheet and toast them in the preheated oven until lightly browned and fragrant. This will take about 6-10 minutes. They will continue to cook outside of the oven so make sure to take them out as soon as you can smell them!
- Let the toasted almonds cool.
Make cookie dough:
- While your almonds cool, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set this dry mixture aside.
- Process the cooled almonds and a ¼ cup of the brown sugar in a food processor, until they are finely ground. Be sure to pulse, so this does not make almond butter. If you are using almond meal, then just mix the meal with ¼ cup brown sugar.
- In a large bowl with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer, beat the butter and the remaining ¼ cup of brown sugar until light and fluffy, which will take about 2 to 3 minutes. This is called the creaming method! It is helpful if the butter is already at room temperature for when you cream the butter and sugar. Do not expect it to get as intensely fluffy as it might for a cake batter. There is too much butter for that.
- Add the egg and vanilla, and beat to incorporate.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the ground almond mixture. Next add the flour mixture in several additions. Mix until it is just-combined, and be careful not to over-mix. Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl so everything is incorporated!
- Divide the dough in half. Shape each half into disks and wrap each disk securely in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, which will take at least 2 hours, or overnight. You want it to be firm and set so you can get beautiful cookies that don’t shrink or spread.
Roll, Cut, and Bake:
- If you left the dough in the refrigerator overnight, allow the disks to warm up on the counter until they are still firm but not soft. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Dust your counter with bench flour. Roll out each piece of dough to as close to an ⅛ inch thickness as you can. In the pictures, I rolled it to a little less than ¼ inch, but I ended up with slightly chubbier cookies. This dough is a little sticky, so you might have to re-flour your counter.
- Cut the dough with your cookie cutter of choice, and place on a prepared baking sheet. Space the cut pieces of dough one inch apart. Use a smaller cookie cutter, or paring knife, to cut out the centers of half the pieces. Keep your scraps, because you can (and should) re-roll them!
- Once all your dough is cut, you can opt to chill your cookies again before you bake them. Chill them until they are firm to the touch, which will take about 20-25 minutes. I recommend this step, but it is technically optional.
- While baking, rotate the cookie sheets halfway through. You want to bake until the edges begin to brown, which for me was 8-10 minutes for the bottoms and 6-8 minutes for the tops.
- Cool slightly on the cookie sheet and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Assemble and enjoy:
- When the tops (the ones with holes) have partially cooled, dust them generously with powdered sugar. Spread about ¾ teaspoon of preserves on each bottom (the cookies without holes). You can use a little more if you like, but I didn’t want the raspberry flavor to overpower the almond flavor. Spread the preserves until they reach the edges!
- Place a powdered top on each bottom and press gently to stick them together. You can begin enjoying them immediately, but they do get better as the days go on! Waiting will give the flavors an opportunity to meld together and the cookies to soften slightly.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Before You Go!
I hope you enjoyed this professional chef tested recipe. Check out our other delicious, chef-developed cookie recipes!
This recipe turned out fantastic! I had tried a few other Linzer recipes, but struggled with dryness. This one had a great nutty flavor and texture without being dry. And easy to follow. We also made these as thumbprint linzers…by not chilling and just rolling into balls and using a tsp to press in the center…and turned out great as well! Glad I found you take on traditional Linzer Cookies!
Hi Lisa! These are great as thumbprint linzers, I’m happy they turned out so perfectly for you, and that the recipe was easy to follow!
Just a thought, instead of the fresh almonds can almond paste be used?
Hi Gina, That is a good thought but, unfortunately not without changing the texture. You can use almond flour instead of grinding your own fresh though! That is what I do every time now 🙂 You could also add a touch of almond extract to mimic the flavor of almond paste!