Warmly spiced hazelnut cookies sandwich around wine infused jams in these elegant & timeless Hazelnut Linzer Cookies.
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Linzers are the Queen of Christmas cookies
If Christmas is the king of holidays, these pretty little cookies are queen of holiday cookies. There is something so elegant about the delicate shapes and soft fallen-snow finish of these Linzer Cookies. Simple yet timeless, they are easily the belle of the the holiday ball. With their fancy pointillism style frosting, my Vanilla Sugar Cookie Trees with Cream Cheese Frosting are next in line for the crown.
With that said, I am still continuing my spirt(s) of the season series by spiking some of my favorite holiday treats. The classic Linzer Cookie gets a taste of my most beloved drinking pal, wine. Sometimes I find jams to be too sweet and sugary, so a wine infused jam mellows out the sweetness while adding luxurious depth.
Key ingredients set these apart from basic Linzer Cookies
- Hazelnuts replace almonds in this twist on a classic Linzer Cookie, traditionally made with almonds.
- Cinnamon and nutmeg spice up the Hazelnut Linzer Cookies, bringing a comforting warmth to these holiday cookies.
- Vanilla and almond extract are paired together to add more dimension to the cookie base. The almond has a naturally earthy and sweet flavor that works to boost the vanilla flavor.
- Wine infused jam rounds out the sweetness of traditional jams. Adding flavor depth and intrigue. This small change transforms the Hazelnut Linzer Cookies into a more complex, grown up version of the classic. However, any jam works here. You've got options!
Linzer Cookies are sandwich cookies with a classic windowpane design that let's the jam filling shine through
While each of those key ingredients is simple, they work together to define these stand-out holiday cookies. The wine infused jam tastes divine with the nuttiness of the hazelnut. For the record, the wine infused jam is also delicious on a simple slice of toast.
Toasted, ground hazelnuts add dimension & texture
- First, the hazelnuts are toasted to coax out their natural nuttiness with toasty depth.
- Then, once the hazelnuts have cooled, the skins need to be removed. I generally rub handfuls of hazelnuts together in a clean kitchen towel to remove the skins. Don't worry if you don't get all of the skin off here. The remaining bits add color and character to the Hazelnut Linzer Cookie dough.
- Finally, the hazelnuts get ground into a sort of coarse hazelnut flour that's mixed into the cookie dough. Adding nutty warmth to the cookies.
Mixing the Hazelnut Cookie dough
This is a simple cookie mixture that starts by creaming the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Then the eggs and extracts are blended in. Finally the dry ingredients get stirred in, until the dough just comes together. Simple.
This holiday cookie recipe is fairly easy yet the results are stunning. Bake a batch of Hazelnut Linzer Cookies to gift to friends and family at the holidays. It's an elegant yet easy gesture.
Rolling & cutting Linzer Cookies
If you plan on making these Hazelnut Linzer Cookies year after year, using a linzer cookie cutter set might be a good investment. Once you taste these cookie queens, you will definitely plan to make them again. And again. However, if you don't have the cookie cutter set, you can get creative with whatever cookie cutters you do have! I generally use round, square or fluted bases in the 1 ½" - 2" range. Then use small cookie cutters to make little windows for the jam.
- Roll out the hazelnut cookie dough until it is about ¼" thick.
- Cut cookies using a linzer cookie cutter set or use various shaped cookie cutters to cut out linzer shapes. You can get creative with sizes and shapes. But remember to account for the size and shapes when baking. Since these are sandwich cookies, each simple base needs a windowpane top partner to pair up with.
- Chill the cut dough closely on a lined baking sheet in either the freezer or refrigerator. This will help the cookies maintain their shape nicely when baking. They can be stored in the freezer up to 3 months when tightly sealed.
Baking the linzer cookies
Once you have chilled the Linzer Hazelnut Cookie dough sufficiently, the cookies are ready to bake. Since these cookies don't spread too much, they only need about 1" spacing between them on the lined baking sheet. Sometimes I bake the center cutouts instead of re-rolling the dough for little bonus cookie bites.
These cute cookies bake up in less than 15 in a 350°F oven
Decorate the Hazelnut Linzer Cookies
Decorating Linzers is easy. I like to use a couple of different wine infused jams to fill my Hazelnut Linzers, giving them variation in color in flavor. To decorate, you simply add a small dollop of the jam to the bottom cookies. Making sure to leave a rim around the edge. That way the jam doesn't squish out the sides when you sandwich on the top cookies.
Sift powdered sugar over the top windowpane cookies. Then nestle them on top of the jam topped cookie bottoms. That's it!
* A little tip, after making these cookies for years. I've learned you can just sift the powdered sugar right over the assembled cookie sandwiches. The jam will absorb the powdered sugar, so no need to worry about the sugar covering the jewel toned jams.
Recipe
Hazelnut Linzer Cookies
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 16
Description
Warmly spiced hazelnut cookies sandwich around wine infused jam in these elegant & timeless Hazelnut Linzer Cookies.
Ingredients
- 1 cup hazelnuts
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cupgranulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract, you can omit the almond and use 1 teaspoon of vanilla instead
- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- ⅔ cup wine infused jam, or other preferred jam
Instructions
Prepare the hazelnuts
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Place hazelnuts on a baking sheet, and toast in the oven for 8-10 minutes.
- Remove from oven, and immediately transfer nuts to a clean towel. Vigorously rub the nuts in the towel to remove as much of the skins as possible. Don't worry too much about leaving some skin on the nuts, it adds a nice texture and color to the cookies. Set nuts aside until completely cool.
- Place the hazelnuts and a couple of the teaspoons from the the measured flour in a food processor. Pulse the nuts in the processor until finely ground. Set aside. (Hint: the flour will absorb the oils from the nuts and will prevent a nut butter from forming in the food processor.)
Make the Hazelnut Linzer Cookies
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Add egg, vanilla and almond extract. Beat until smooth, about 3 minutes.
- Whisk together reserved hazelnuts, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add to butter mixture; beat on low until combined, about 2 minutes.
- Form dough into two flattened disks and wrap each with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Line two baking sheets lined with Silpat mats or parchment paper. Have cookie cutters at the ready. I used a 2 ½- inch round fluted round cookie cutter, 2 ½-inch round cutter, and a couple of 1-inch smaller holiday shaped cookie cutters. You can get creative with sizes and shapes but just remember to account for the size and shapes when baking.
- On a lightly floured work surface, roll out half the dough to ¼-inch thickness. Using the larger cookie cutters, cut out cookies. With a wide and thin spatula, gently transfer cookies to the prepared baking sheets. Using the smaller cutter, cut the centers out of half of the cookies.
- Combine scraps and re-roll to cut more cookies. You can either add the center cutouts to the scraps or bake up some small decorative shaped cookies like I did.
- Repeat rolling and cutting with the other half of the dough.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes until the edges are golden, rotating the pans halfway through. Remove from oven; place on wire racks until completely cool. FYI, I made various shapes and sizes. If you do the same, be sure to bake the cookies of similar size together, as smaller cookies will bake quicker than the larger cookies.
Decorate the Hazelnut Linzer Cookies
- Lightly sift the powdered sugar sugar over the decorative tops; set aside.
- Spread a small spoonful of jam on the cookie bases. Leaving a little rim around the edges to prevent the jam from squishing out the sides when sandwiched.
- Sandwich the cookie bases with the sugar-dusted, windowpane tops.
Notes
This recipe can alternatively be made into Thumbprint Cookies by simply rolling small cookie dough balls and pressing them with a thumbprint. Then filling the thumbprint with jam after they have baked.
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart's Linzer Sandwiches Recipe.
- Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Cookies
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