Linzer Cookies

Yield: about 3 dozen 2” sandwich cookies 

​Ingredients:
​
8 oz. unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. almond extract
3/4 tsp. salt
1 egg, room temperature
​1 cup almond meal (I use Trader Joe’s. If you can’t find this in your store, grind roasted almonds in a food processor until finely ground.)
3 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup jam, or filling of choice

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350° with rack at center of oven. Line baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, sugar, almond extract and salt. scrape down paddle and sides of bowl. Blend in egg. Mix in almond meal.
3. With mixer set at lowest speed, add flour in ½ cup increments. Flour amount might vary a bit depending on the humidity of your kitchen. Add a touch more, or less, until dough is no longer sticky, but still holds together well. It should fall away from sides of bowl and paddle when nudged gently with a silicone spatula. Do not over mix.
4. Roll out dough between two sheets of wax paper. You can also roll out dough on a lightly floured surface, but I find the wax paper technique keeps the workplace neat and makes it super easy to remove cookie cutouts. Plus there’s no need to flour the paper, which means no danger of adding too much flour.
5. Smooth wax paper as it wrinkles: Remove top piece of paper, smooth and replace, flip and continue to roll dough to 1/4” thickness.
6. At this point, only if your kitchen is super warm, you could chill rolled out dough in the fridge for 20-30 minutes. But this step is totally optional.
7. Remove top piece of wax paper one last time, replace, and flip. Remove top piece of paper and set aside.
8. Cut out cookies, making a second, smaller cutout on the cookies that will serve as the top part of the sandwich. place 1/2” apart on baking sheet.
9. Make sure to cut out an even number of tops and bottoms. If using an asymmetrical cutter,  flip cutter for half of cookies.
10. Have a “dough scrap bowl” handy to collect the scraps as you cut out the cookies. Re-roll the scraps until all dough is used up.
11. Bake for 8-10 minutes, and be sure to rotate pan halfway through baking. Bake until cookies are a light golden brown. Take care not to over bake.
12. Let cool on sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer to cooling rack.

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Assembly:
I personally like linzer cookies 1-2 days after assembly, when the jam has had a chance to meld with the cookie, resulting in a softer cookie. If you prefer your cookies crisp, assemble the day you plan to serve them.
The powdered sugar topping smudges easily, and after a few days, eventually soaks into the cookie in spots, resulting in a splotchy, not-so-attractive look. So you may want to assemble the day you're serving if you're using powdered sugar.

1. place the cookies with the inner cutouts (sandwich tops) on a flat surface lined with wax paper or parchment. Dust the tops with powdered sugar using a strainer or, if you have one, a shaker with a mesh or perforated top. Note: this step is optional. If you prefer your cookies less sweet, you make want to skip the powdered sugar.
2. The non-cutout cookies will serve as sandwich bottoms. spread a thin layer of jam on the bottom surface of cookie (the side that was touching the pan).
3. Holding the sugar-dusted top cookie by the edges so you don’t smudge the sugar, gently place it on top of the jammed cookie. Make sure not to press them together. If you press, all the jam will squish out at the sides, which makes for messy and jam-less cookies. 

Storage:

• You can store the unassembled cookies airtight at room temperature for up to two weeks. 
• Assembled cookies can be stored airtight at room temperature for up to one week.  
• If using powdered sugar, I recommend storing them single layer, or skipping the powdered sugar, especially if you’re shipping them.