Since ancient times, humans have marked special occasions with sweet baked goods, and the modern-day Christmas cookie dates back nine centuries to Medieval Europe, when western cooks began to spice their cakes with the newly discovered flavors of the East.  I’m not sure why we do this, but we do.  For ordinary occasions, we make solid, dependable, everyday cookies like chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin, but special occasions call for special cookies — cookies scented with cinnamon or ginger or citrus, cookies flecked with almond meal or filled with fruit, cookies cut or pressed into pretty holiday shapes — the kind of cookies we make because they’re special.

These Linzer cookies are exactly that sort of cookie.  I can’t tell you that they’re easy because they’re not, but they’re beautiful and delicious and well worth the effort.  The buttery almond dough bakes up tender and golden, yielding a sandy, nutty cookie with just a whisper of cinnamon.

Of course, what makes this special cookie so special is its festive jam filling.  Raspberry jam is traditional for both Linzer cookies and the Linzertorte from which they’re derived, but I used our new Cherry Raspberry Preserves for their irresistible sweet-tartness.

A dusting of powdered sugar cloaks these beauties in a soft sweetness, and the delicate, buttery crumb gives way to an intensely fruity filling for a delectable little cookie that’s every bit as special as the season it celebrates.

Linzer Cookies
(printable recipe)

1 cup almonds
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 jar American Spoon® Cherry Raspberry Preserves Add to Cart
or any flavor American Spoon® preserves
confectioners’ sugar

Place the almonds, cinnamon, and 1 Tbsp. of the sugar in the work bowl of a food processor and process until the nuts are finely ground.  Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg and mix until combined.  Beat in ground almond mixture.  Mix in flour, 1/2 cup at a time. Divide dough in half and shape into disks. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least two hours.

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Remove one disk of dough from refrigerator and roll dough out to 1/8″ thickness between two sheets of plastic wrap.  (The high butter content of this dough makes it somewhat difficult to roll out; rolling it between plastic eliminates the need for additional flour and prevents the dough from sticking.) Using a round fluted cookie cutter (1″ - 2″ diameter), cut as many cookies as possible. Roll out remaining dough and cut an equal number of round cookies, but in these, cut a small hole, or use a small shaped cookie cutter to cut out a shape.  Re-roll scraps and repeat.  Transfer cookies to parchment-lined baking sheets and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Bake cookies until pale golden, 8-10 minutes.  The edges of the cookies should be just barely beginning to brown.  Cool on rack for 20 minutes.

Dust cutout cookies with confectioners’ sugar.  Spread uncut cookies with about 1 tsp of preserves; place a cutout cookie on top to form a sandwich. Spoon an extra dab of preserves in the hole of each cutout, if desired.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.