Linzer Cookies are a classic Christmas cookie recipe! Buttery almond cookies with raspberry preserves and sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar for a gorgeous finish.
Jam and cookies just belong together! Have you tried our Jam Thumbprint Cookies yet? Or give our peanut butter and jelly cookies a try next!
What are Linzer Cookies
Linzer Tart Cookies are a traditional Austrian cookie based upon the classic Linzer Torte. Picture shortbread cookies with a flaky, buttery texture and a cut-out “window” that shows raspberry preserves inside.
With their snow-dusted tops and pop of bright red color, Linzer Cookies look just as amazing as they taste.
- Nutty almond flavored cookies (with a hint of orange)
- Melt in your mouth texture (like shortbread)
- Fun and festive shapes for any time of year
For the BEST Christmas cookie to give as gifts, try this Linzer Tart Cookie Recipe! We think they’re impressive enough to deserve the spotlight all year long.
Don’t forget to add my Lebkuchen (soft German gingerbread cookies) to your baking list this year! Or give my gingerbread cupcakes, Black Forest Cake, and rugelach recipe a try next.
Ingredient Notes
Be sure to scroll down for the full recipe card so you can make these raspberry linzer cookies at home.
- Slivered almonds – The nuts are toasted, then ground into coarse crumbs to give the cookies a fine, sandy crumb. We find this gives better flavor than using almond flour.
- Salted butter – I usually use unsalted butter for baking. However, to make the best linzer cookie recipe, I use salted butter. It omits the need to add any kosher salt to the cookie dough too.
- Orange zest – Along with the orange extract, orange zest gives the cookies a slight citrus taste. Use my guide on how to zest a lemon for directions.
- Raspberry preserves – Raspberry jam is the classic filling to linzer heart cookies. Try my homemade strawberry jam for Valentine’s Day or Christmas too.
TOOLS: I use this Wilton Linzer Cookie Cutter Set (under $15 on Amazon). The fun shapes make it perfect to use for Valentine’s Day or 4th of July too! You could use a small biscuit cutter (and a small canoli tube for the center) to cut your cookies out.
How to Make Linzer Tart Cookies
Toast the almonds:
Start by heating slivered almonds in a dry skillet over low heat until golden. Then pulse the toasted almonds in a food processor until they form coarse crumbs.
Make the cookie dough:
Combine butter, sugar, egg and orange extract with your mixer. Add the flour and ground almonds. Mix the ingredients until combined completely.
Roll out the dough:
Divide the dough in half. Use a rolling pin to roll each half out between sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap. Chill the rolled dough for 30 minutes.
Cut out and bake:
Use a Linzer Cookie cutter or a round cookie cutter to cut one half of the dough into circles. These will be the bottom of the jam filled cookies.
Cut the other half of the dough into circles. Use a smaller round cookie cutter to cut out a “window” in the center of each one.
Bake cookies until the edges are golden brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Fill with jam:
Once the cookies are cooled, spread a small amount of preserves on the bottom cookies. Sprinkle the “window” cookies with powdered sugar. Press the sugared cookies on to the cookies with jam.
Tips and Tricks
- Do not over process the almonds. They will begin to turn into nut butter if you pulse them for too long!
- Press and seal plastic wrap works great for rolling out Linzer Cookie dough!
- Roll evenly. Uneven thickness of cookies will mean that some cook faster than others! Linzer cookie dough is easier to work with when dough is chilled AFTER rolling it out.
- How to store linzer cookies. If you won’t be eating all the cookies withing 3 days, wait to add the jam. Store them unfilled at room temperature for up to one week or freeze for later.
- Freeze Cookies. Use my tips on how to freeze cookie dough for later. You can freeze linzer cookie dough with or without the filling.
- Chewy Filling. For a chewy filling, refrigerate the filled cookies.
- Substitions. Use my homemade lemon curd for the filling instead of preserves. Or try these Nutella Linzer Cookies instead!
More Easy Cookie Recipes
- Cake Mix Cookies
- Butter Cookies
- Sugar Cookie Cut Outs
- Ricotta Cookies
- Jack O Lantern Cookies
- Whipped Shortbread Cookies
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Linzer Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup slivered almonds
- 1 ½ cups salted butter room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon orange extract
- 1 large orange zested (about 1 Tablespoon)
- 1 large egg
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup raspberry preserves
- powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Toast the slivered almonds on the stovetop in a dry skillet, over low heat until light golden brown, watching carefully so they do not burn. This should take about 5-7 minutes. Cool, then pulse in a food processor into coarse crumbs. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and sugar with an electric mixer, until just combined, about a minute.
- Add the vanilla extract, orange extract, orange zest, and the egg to the butter mixture. Continue beating for about 30 more seconds.
- Add flour, incorporating into the butter mixture until just combined. Fold in ground nuts just until combined. Careful not to overmix, so the dough stays tender.
- Divide the dough in half, roll the dough out between 2 pieces of parchment sprinkled with flour to about ¼” thickness.
- Transfer the dough to a large baking sheet. Roll out the other half of the dough in the same fashion. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. (You can stack the sheets of rolled dough on top of each other, while rolled out in the parchment paper).
- After chilling, remove the dough from the refrigerator and remove the parchment paper.
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Working with the first half of the chilled dough, cut out as many circles as possible with a scalloped circle cookie cutter or linzer cookie cutter. This will be the solid “bottom” part of the cookie sandwich. Transfer those cookies to the baking sheet, spacing them about an inch apart.
- With the second half of the dough, cut out the “tops” of the cookies, using the same size cookie cutter and then a smaller shape to create a “window” where the fruit preserves will peek through. Transfer to a baking sheet. Be sure to cut the same amount of tops and bottoms (so that they will pair up nicely). With the pieces of cookie that were cut out of the window, you could either bake them for cute tiny cookies, or add to the "scraps" pile to reroll.
- Bake cookies for approximately 12-14 minutes, or until edges are just starting to turn brown. Remove and cool on a wire rack.
- While baking cookies, re-roll the remaining scraps, chill on parchment paper, and cut more cookies as directed above.
- When cookies are cooled, spread about 1/2 teaspoon of raspberry preserves on the middle of a cookie (one of the full bottom cookies).
- To the window cookies (the ones with the shape cut out), sprinkle with powdered sugar. Place these gently on the cookie with preserves, pressing lightly.
Notes
- Don’t over food process the almonds – they will start to turn into butter. Pulse in the food processor for about a minute or about 30 pulses. I used slivered or sliced almonds instead of whole almonds because they are easier to toast and grind!
- Dough may also be rolled out between 2 pieces of plastic wrap, instead of parchment paper. The press and seal works great for this!
- TOOLS: I use this Wilton Linzer Cookie Cutter Set (under $15 on Amazon). The fun shapes make it perfect to use for Valentine’s Day or 4th of July too! You could use a small biscuit cutter (and a small canoli tube for the center) to cut your cookies out.
- Cookies will last in an airtight container, with parchment paper placed between the layers of cookies, at room temperature for about one week.
- Freeze unfilled cookies in airtight container for about a month. Let them defrost at room temperature before filling.
- Can I chill the dough first and then roll it out? You can. We tried it both ways and found that both the rolling and cutting was easier when it was rolled out prior to chilling. However, if you want to chill the dough first, roll the chilled dough between 2 sheets of floured parchment, fixing any cracks in the dough by pressing it together with your fingers. Depending on how quickly the dough warms, you may have to chill it again before transferring the cut cookies to the baking sheet.
- Can I use a different flavor preserve? Yes! Apricot or strawberry are good as well. You can also try lemon curd or even a hazelnut spread.
Nutrition
Linzer Cookies steal the show every Christmas! Make them for everyone on your gift list. . . or go ahead and keep them all to yourself. They’re just that good!
Hi there, Newbie to your website. Pinning several recipes! Your Linzer cookies look sooo good! Beautiful photos! Going to make them for Valentine’s Day! Thanks for sharing!🙂
These linzer cookies were so delicious! My whole family just loved them.
I love that these cookies look fancy but they really are easy to make! We love them.
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe! Will surely have this again!