3x Linzer Cookies

You may know and enjoy the traditional recipe. But have you tried Lizer cookies with nuts? Or the chocolate version?

Lizer Cookies:

Normal:

• 300 g or 0.7 lb fine wheat flour (wholemeal, white, or a mixture)
• 100 g or 0.2 lb powdered sugar
• 200 g or 0.5 lb butter
• filling: jam, chocolate filling, coffee filling…
• (optional: one egg yolk, a tablespoon of fresh lemon zest, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon…)

Linzer cookies with nuts:

• 200 g or 0.5 lb fine wheat flour (wholemeal, white, or a mixture)
• 100 g or 0.2 lb powdered sugar
• 100 g or 0.2 lb powdered nuts of your choice
• 150 g or 0.3 lb butter
• filling: jam, chocolate filling, coffee filling…
• (optional: one egg yolk, a tablespoon of fresh lemon zest, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon…)

Linzer cookies with cocoa:

• 300 g or 0.7 lb fine wheat flour (wholemeal, white, or a mixture)
• 100 g or 0.2 lb powdered sugar
• 200 g or 0.5 lb butter
• 40 g or 0.09 lb cocoa or carob powder (you may need to add a few spoons of milk to avoid dry dough)
• filling: jam, chocolate filling, coffee filling…
• (optional: one egg yolk, a tablespoon of fresh lemon zest, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon…)

Cool the ingredients in the fridge. The colder they are, the better. Especially the butter. Cold butter, when mixed into a dough, forms tiny butter flakes and these form tiny air pockets as the cookies bake. This way, you will get light and airy result.

Mix together everything except for the butter. Cut the butter into small cubes and toss them into the prepared mix. Now knead as quickly as possible and stop once the ingredients form a uniform dough ball without visible pieces of butter. The ball should be a bit cold. Instead of hands, you can also use a food processor with blades and buzz the mixture a few times.

Now allow the dough to rest in cold for a few hours. Or overnight. Divide the dough into about three pieces and roll them one by one. The cold dough will be stiff and you may need to let it warm up a bit again. But the flavors will be well-merged.

Preheat the oven to 170°C or 350°F. Prepare a flat baking tray with a baking paper sheet and cut the Linzer cookies. Bake them for about 10-20 minutes. It depends on your preferences. (See note below.)

Remove the baked cookies immediately and place them on a flat plate to cool. They are still rather soft and get crunchy as they cool. Hot ones can bend and stay disfigured. Move them gently, they are also brittle. Fill with your favorite filling. Sour jam is the most traditional but feel free to experiment.

Roll between the paper sheets

The dough can be a bit sticky. People often sprinkle it with more flour. This leads to changing the qualities of the dough. You stick together the dough remains after cutting out cookies. Sprinkle on more flour. And roll again. And again. And the dough contains more flour with each rolling.

You can avoid this and also minimize the kitchen mess. Instead of using flour, put the dough ball between two baking paper sheets, secure one corner of the sheets with your hip, and roll.

To caramelize or not to caramelize

Even the length of baking can significantly influence the outcome of this recipe. You can bake it just right so the cookies are done but still pale and tender. or you can even double the baking time and let the cookies get crispy on the edges and caramelize into a nice golden brown hue. The taste is going to be very different. The pale cookies are soft and light, while the caramelized ones have a heavier and stronger taste. Try for yourself which one you prefer!