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Hazelnut-Cherry Linzer Cookies

Linzer cookies, a traditional Austrian Christmas cookie, are one of my all-time favorite cookies. With their delicate nutty shortbread-style crust and jam filling, what’s not to love? Slightly more involved to make than the average drop or slice-and-bake cookie, I think that these are well worth the effort. They are lovely to look at and have an elegant feel which is perfect for the holiday season. Linzer cookies got their name from linzertorte, a pastry for which the city of Linz, Austria became famous.

A linzertorte is a tart made of a rich buttery dough accentuated by almonds, lemon zest, and cinnamon, traditionally filled with black currant preserves and topped with a lattice crust.  In the U.S., raspberry has replaced black currant as the jam of choice.  Linzer cookies employ the same recipe as the linzertorte but instead, the dough is cut into cookies and two of them form a sandwich around the preserves.  hazelnut-cherry Linzer cookies

While in Budapest this summer, I kept running into Linzer cookies at small bakeries around the city. I tried many but fell in love with one that I simply had to recreate.  These are my hazelnut cherry Linzer tart cookies and they don’t disappoint. The nutty flavor complements the cherry preserves perfectly and I think that these are a fantastic holiday cookie option.hazelnut-cherry Linzer cookies

Typically made with almond flour (or a combination of almond and all-purpose flour) and raspberry preserves, I mixed things up for this recipe.  I used all-purpose flour mixed with some hazelnut flour for a shortbread base that is not all that sweet and which holds up to the cherry preserves and confectioner sugar topping nicely.

hazelnut-cherry Linzer cookies

These lovely jam-filled sandwich cookies are fun to make (a perfect baking project for the kids to help with) and can be made in various sizes. Linzer cookies are well-known for their small cutout centers, known as “linzer eyes,” which expose the underlying jam and add to their visual appeal.  While the traditional cutout is circular, all sorts of shapes, such as hearts and flowers, are also popular so go simple or embrace your holiday creativity as you see fit, anything goes.

hazelnut-cherry Linzer cookies

About the Author

Andrea Potischman

I am a professionally trained NYC chef turned CA mom and food blogger. I post about real food, with doable ingredient lists that are family friendly.

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