Linzer Cookies: Not Just For Christmas Anymore

By ctozzi

Ingredients

• 5 ounces slivered almonds without skins (1 cup)
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• Powdered sugar, for dusting
• 2/3 cup fruit jam of your liking (I used strawberry)

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from eattessaeat.com

Preparation

Step 1

1.Place almonds in a food processor, and process until finely ground. Set aside.
2.In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg, and beat until smooth, about 3 minutes. Beat in vanilla.
3.Whisk together ground almonds, 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, wrap each with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
4.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Have ready two baking sheets lined with Silpats or parchment paper. Also have ready one 2 1/2-inch round fluted cookie cutter and one 3/4-inch cookie cutter. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out half the dough to a 1/4-inch thickness. Using the 3-inch fluted cutter, cut out cookies. With a wide spatula, transfer cookies to the prepared baking sheets. Using the smaller cutter, cut the centers out of half of the cookies. Repeat rolling and cutting with the other half of the dough. *Combine the scraps from both batches, reroll and cut.
5.Bake until the edges are golden, 12 to 16 minutes, rotating halfway through. Remove from oven; place on wire racks until completely cool.
6.Lightly sift powdered sugar over the cut-out tops; set aside. Spread a s tablespoon of jam on the bottoms of each cookie, and sandwich with the sugar-dusted tops.



*Notes: If you notice that your dough is getting sticky while you are cutting out the cookies, form it back into a disk and place in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes. I kept the second disk of dough in the fridge and alternated between doughs when I rerolled the dough scraps. You will also need to reflour your workspace and rolling pin often.