Gingerbread Linzers

By ltrodrigu

Ingredients

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup molasses
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1 cup coarsely ground toasted pistachios or hazelnuts
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 9-ounce jar lemon marmalade
• 1/4 cup chopped candied ginger

Details

Servings 18
Adapted from wsj.com

Preparation

Step 1

Use an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment to cream butter, sugar and molasses. Add egg and mix 1 minute on low speed. Add spices and lemon zest, and mix 1 minute. Add nuts, flour, baking powder and salt, and mix on low speed until no dry bits of flour remain. Remove dough from mixer and wrap in plastic. Chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.

Remove dough from refrigerator and split into 2 equal portions. If necessary, wait a few minutes for dough to soften just enough to be rolled out. Roll each dough half out between two sheets of parchment dusted with flour until 1/8-inch thick. Chill paper-covered dough in refrigerator until firm, at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove dough from refrigerator. Peel top layer of parchment off one piece of dough. Use a 3-inch gingerbread person cookie cutter or an equal-size cutter in the shape of your choice to cut out dough. Use a smaller heart-shaped or round cookie cutter, if you like, to cut a window in half the cookies. Transfer to lined baking sheets.

Bake until center of cookie is set and edges just begin to color, about 15 minutes. Let cookies cool on baking sheets 2 minutes before transferring to cooling racks.

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.

While final set of cookies is cooling, mix jam and ginger in a blender or food processor until smooth.

Once all cookies have cooled, spread about 2 teaspoons of jam on flat side of bottom cookies, then place tops on bottoms. Transfer to an airtight container, separating layers with wax paper, and store in a cool place overnight. Best eaten the next day but will keep up to 5 days.