Classic Linzers

By ltrodrigu

Ingredients

• 2 sticks plus 5 tablespoons European-style unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 1/2 cups minus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups ground skin-on almonds
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• Zest of 2 lemons plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• Yolks from 4 hard-boiled eggs, plus 2 raw egg yolks
• 1 1/2 cups raspberry jam
• Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Details

Servings 20
Adapted from wsj.com

Preparation

Step 1

Combine butter, sugar, flour, almonds, cinnamon, cloves, salt, allspice, lemon zest and lemon juice in a large mixing bowl. Use a fork to press cooked yolks through a fine-mesh sieve into bowl. Add raw yolks to bowl. Using your fingers, quickly work ingredients together until you have a cohesive dough. Shape dough into a disk. Halve dough, then wrap each portion tightly in plastic wrap. Chill in refrigerator at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.

Remove dough from refrigerator and let sit a few minutes so it’s still cold but not so firm you can’t work with it. Roll each disk out between 2 pieces of parchment until 1/8-inch thick. Chill paper-covered dough in refrigerator until firm, up to 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Peel top layer of parchment off dough. Use a 3-inch biscuit or fluted circle cookie cutter to cut out dough. Use a smaller cutter to cut a window in half the cookies. Transfer to baking sheets. Place in oven and bake until edges are golden brown, about 11 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets 2 minutes before transferring to cooling racks. Let cool completely, then wrap in aluminum foil.

Gather dough scraps into a mound, place between parchment and roll out as above. Return to refrigerator to firm up. Cut out as many shapes as you can. Bake as above.

Once cookies have fully cooled, spread a thin layer of jam (about 1 tablespoon) on flat side of bottom circles. Sift confectioners’ sugar over circles to be placed on top. Place sugar-dusted tops on bottoms to form sandwiches. Transfer to an airtight container, separating layers with wax paper. Store in a cool place overnight. Best eaten the next day. Cookies will keep up to 5 days but are best assembled the day before or of serving.