Have you ever tried homemade Linzer cookies? These buttery cookies filled with raspberry jam last long so they can be easily made ahead. Perfect for gifting!
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These delicious cookies originated in the 17th century in Austria’s city called Linz. Nowadays they are popular in many countries and are widely baked around Christmas!
In my family, Linzer cookies are among the first cookies to bake (right after gingerbread cookies and walnut crescent cookies). The reason is simple – they can be kept for many days when stored in an airtight container.
How to make homemade Linzer cookies
To make the dough you don’t need a bowl at all. In fact, your worktop will work better.
Sift flour and sugar onto the worktop and mix. Add beaten egg and give it a mix again (use a fork or your hand).
Now add cold diced butter (the smaller the cubes the better) and work it into the flour, again using your hand.
You may feel like the ingredients don’t want to come together but this will change quickly and you will be able to form dough. The whole preparation should not take longer than 10 minutes.
The dough needs to rest in the fridge overnight. I like when your dough needs to rest.
This means I can prepare it in advance – the night before the actual baking. As for this dough – you can keep it in your fridge for several days. Isn’t it great?
The following day is the baking & filling day. It’s very important to know that this dough needs to be as cold as possible. This way it’s easier to work with.
Take only a half (or a third) of the dough out of the fridge and roll it out.
First, knead it slightly with your hands to soften it a bit (only a tiny bit). Then start rolling! Again: the colder the dough the easier to move it around and to cut out the cookies.
Use a silicone mat or baking parchment. These cookies should look pale when ready. Don’t leave them in the oven too long or don’t wait until they are brown. That is not the color you are looking for.
Check their bottom for doneness – if the bottoms are light brown, you can take them out from the oven.
These homemade Linzer cookies will not spread in the oven during baking so there is no need to leave large gaps in between them. Try to fit on one tray as many as possible.
Bear in mind:
- To make 1 cookie you will need 2 cookies + jam. This means that it’s better to roll the dough as thin as possible (my preferred thickness = 0.15 inch/4 mm).
- This homemade Linzer cookies recipe yields about 120 pieces which means 60 cookies. If you use a larger cookie cutter, you will get less cookies.
- They’ll be ready in 10 minutes or less (depending on your oven). They tend to burn fast so don’t leave your kitchen between the batches!
- Keep them in an air-tight container.
- Bake the bottoms (without a hole in the middle) and tops (with a hole in the middle) separately for even baking.
Tips for making homemade Linzer cookies
- Once you fill Linzer cookies with jam, they will turn softer. If you prefer your cookies crispier, fill them with jam right before serving.
- When they are stored properly (in an air-tight container in a fridge) they should last up to 2 weeks.
- You can choose any cookie cutter you like (any shape or size). Just note that the larger cookies might need a little more in the oven.
- This recipe can be easily doubled but I don’t recommend cutting it in half. It’s better to do it in two batches if you don’t feel like making all of them in one day.
- You can roll the dough right after you have taken it out from the fridge. In fact, it makes it easier to roll and does not stick so much. However, always dust your worktop and the dough with flour to prevent sticking.
- I personally think that raspberry jam works best here but you can also use other kinds (I have recipes for homemade strawberry jam and mixed berry jam on the blog).
- If you don’t have a small round cutter to cut the hole in the middle for the top cookies you can use the large end of a piping tip.
- You can pre-cut the cookies and place them on a floured chopping board or tray and keep them in the fridge while waiting for the first (or second) batch to finish baking.
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4.91 from 11 votes
Homemade Linzer Cookies
Have you ever tried homemade Linzer cookies? These buttery cookies filled with raspberry jam last long so they can be easily made ahead. Perfect for gifting!
Prep Time50 minutes mins
Cook Time8 minutes mins
Total Time58 minutes mins
Servings: 60 Cookies
Calories: 64
Author: Julia
Ingredients
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour (13 ounces/370 grams)
- ⅔ cups powdered sugar , loosely packed (100 grams)
- 1 egg , beaten (medium-size)
- 2¼ stick unsalted butter , chilled (8.8 ounces/250 grams)
- raspberry jam for filling
- 4 tablespoons powdered sugar for dusting (optional=
Instructions
Sift the flour and powdered sugar onto a clean worktop and mix. Make a well in the middle and pour the beaten egg in. Mix again either with your hand or a fork.
Now add butter, diced. With your hands break the butter and mix it with flour until the mixture looks like a crumble mix. Now start forming dough. Once the butter softens a bit, the dough will come together nicely.
Wrap the dough in cling film or place in a plastic/zip-loc bag and refrigerate overnight.
The following day, take out about a third of the dough. Knead it a few times to make it a bit softer. Dust your worktop and the dough with flour. Roll it out thin.
Cut out shapes of your choice (see note 7) and transfer them onto a baking tray lined with baking paper or a silicone mat. Bake them in a preheated oven at 340°F/170°C for 8-10 minutes. Keep an eye on them. They should be pale on the top but light brown underneath.
Make the second batch of cookies with a hole in the middle (these will be the top pieces).
For the rest of the dough: Repeat until you have used up the dough, making sure you have the same amount of full cookies as well as cookies with a hole in the middle.
Transfer the baked cookies onto a wire rack and let them cool down completely before filling them with a thin layer of jam and dusting them with powdered sugar.
Notes
- All-purpose flour (US) = Plain Flour (UK).
- Powdered sugar (US) = Icing sugar (UK).
- The overall time does not include the time when the dough rests in the fridge. The preparation time includes the time needed for making dough, rolling it out, cutting out the shapes and filling them with jam. Note: The larger the cookie cutter the quicker the prep time.
- Raspberry jam can be substituted with strawberry jam or other jam of your choice.
- Note that you might need to bake them in more than 2 batches. This will depend on how large your baking trays are and how many trays you can fit in your oven.
- You can pre-cut the cookies and place them on a floured chopping board or tray and keep them in the fridge while waiting for the first (or second) batch to finish baking.
- I used a small 2-inch/5-cm cookie cutter. You can use any cutter you have on hand (any shape or size). The larger the cutter the lower the amount of cookies you will get.
- For detailed explanations and baking tips read the full post.
- Storage – When stored in an air-tight container in a cool place they will keep for up to 2 weeks.
- If you find that the dough is way too soft to work with, pop it back in the fridge for a while.
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Austrian
Keyword: Linzer Cookies Recipe
Nutrition Facts
Homemade Linzer Cookies
Amount per Serving
Calories
64
% Daily Value*
Fat
3
g
5
%
Saturated Fat
2
g
13
%
Cholesterol
11
mg
4
%
Sodium
2
mg
%
Potassium
9
mg
%
Carbohydrates
7
g
2
%
Sugar
2
g
2
%
Vitamin A
110
IU
2
%
Vitamin C
0.2
mg
%
Calcium
3
mg
%
Iron
0.3
mg
2
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
** As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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