Easy Linzer Tart Cookies with Raspberry Filling

Easy Linzer Tart Cookies with Raspberry Filling

Why You Should Give This Recipe a Try

Linzer Tart cookies – or in this case, Linzer cookies – have been my absolute favorite for as long as I can remember. As a kid, I only had these cookies occasionally during a special trip to a bakery. As an adult, I have managed to develop a recipe that emulates the delicate buttery, almond crumb that I love. Sandwich two of these delicious cookies, fill them with raspberry jam, powder generously with confectioners sugar and voila, Easy Linzer Cookies with Raspberry Filling to rival anything you’d find at the bakery. Adjust the size and shape as you see fit, from the traditional large round cookie to more bite-sized treats. Any way you slice them, they are a delicious accompaniment to a cup of coffee or tea. They are also a great addition to your Christmas cookie boxes or your holiday dessert table. The only disadvantage to being able to make these bakery quality treats at home is that you will be tempted to eat them all – or is that just me?

Some of the best features of this recipe:

A delicious buttery cookie with notes of almond

A slightly tart raspberry filling that you can change to suit your tastes. Try making half with raspberry preserves and half with apricot. I’ve even filled them with blueberry!

Change the size and shape. Traditional Linzer cookies are large and a scalloped edge, but I like using star and heart shapes for the holidays.

As with all my recipes, Easy Linzer Cookies with Raspberry Filling are simple to make with no difficult techniques, no hard-to-find equipment, and with ingredients you can find in any grocery store.

Try these Easy Linzer Tart Cookies with Raspberry Filling alongside some of these other simple and delicious cookies:

Soft Ginger Cookies with Cinnamon Marshmallow Buttercream

Easy Spicy German Pfeffernusse Cookies

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Chocolate Dipped Orange Shortbread 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe Ingredients

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour (plus extra for dusting your work surface)

3/4 cup almond flour

3/4 cup butter (softened to room temperature)

1/2 cup granulated sugar (white sugar)

1 large egg (room temperature)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

Raspberry jam for filling

Confectioners sugar for sprinkling over the cookies

Helpful Tools

• Large bowl 
• Large fine mesh sieve
• Whisk
• Measuring cups (for dry ingredients)
• Measuring spoons
• Stand mixer with paddle attachment/electric hand mixer
• Rubber spatula
• Rolling pin
• Ruler
• Parchment paper
• Plastic wrap
• Baking sheet 
• Silicone mats 
• Cookie cutters
• Pastry bag tip (any pattern) or very small circular cookie cutter
• Nonstick cooking spray
• Toothpicks

Ingredient Notes

Be sure to use almond flour and not almond meal. Almond meal is grainier and contains the skin of the almonds, so it will not produce the fine texture that is ideal for these cookies.

Change up your fillings! Traditional Linzer tart cookies are filled with raspberry jam, but don’t let that stop you. You can use a variety of different fillings including apricot jam, lemon curd, red currant jam, or even Nutella.

​Feel free to choose seedless raspberry jam. I do use raspberry preserves with the seeds, but it is up to you.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Sift the almond flour. You can do this by placing a fine mesh sieve over a large bowl. Place the almond flour in the sieve and push it through to the bowl. I generally do this by swirling with the back of a spoon.

2. Add the all purpose flour to the almond flour and lightly whisk together. Set aside.

3. Cut the softened butter into tablespoon size pieces. It does not have to be exact. Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

4. Add the granulated sugar to the butter and beat on low speed until combined, about 2 minutes.

5. Add the egg and mix until combined. The mixture may look curdled, but that is fine. It will come together with the dry ingredients.

6. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add in the vanilla and almond extracts. Mix to combine.

7. Gently add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix on low speed until combined. Be sure that you scrape down the sides and up from the bottom one final time to incorporate all of the ingredients.

8. Place a piece of plastic wrap on your work surace and place the dough in the center. Wrap up and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

9. Line two baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.

10. At the end of the 30 minutes, place a piece of parchment paper on your work surface. Lightly flour the parchment paper.

11. Lightly flour a rolling pin.

12. Roll out your dough to 1/4 inch thickness.

13. Spray your cookie cutter with non-stick cooking spray. You can dip it in flour if you don’t have spray available, but it does not work as well.

14. Cut out your shapes, placing the cookies on the prepared trays. Leave about one inch between cutouts. Because these are sandwich cookies, I try to lay them out in pairs.

15. Use the top of a piping tip (the part without the design) to cut a circle in the middle of half of the cookies.

16. Place the cookies on the baking sheets in the fridge for 30 minutes.

17. Shortly before the cookies are done chilling, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

18. Bake the cookies for 9 to 10 minutes until they are firm and the bottoms are lightly golden.

20. Let the cookies cool on the tray for a few minutes, then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.

21. Place about 1 tsp of raspberry jam onto the center of the cookie without the hole. Top with the cookie with the hole and gently squeeze. Clean up the edges if necessary.

22. Add confectioners sugar to a fine mesh sieve and gently tap the side, letting the sugar lightly powder the top of each cookie.

Check out the recipe card for Easy Linzer Tart Cookies with Raspberry Filling below for printable, step-by-step directions.

Storage

Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days.

Tips & Tricks

Be sure to sift the almond flour. It tends to have lumps and you want to be sure it gets smoothly incorporated into the dough.

Roll your dough out evenly from the center without letting the rolling pin press downwards at the edges. You don’t want to find that you have cookies that are thick from cuts in the middle dough and thin from cuts at the edges. I also like to use my ruler to measure the 1/4 inch in several places. 

Don’t skip the chill time. The dough is difficult to work with when it is too warm and it won’t hold its shape in the oven.

Make sure to clean out the corners of the cookie cutters after each use. I use a toothpick for this. Likewise, I use a toothpick to clean out the piping tip as I cut the circles.

Almond flour is a great ingredient that works like flour but adds taste an texture like this Lemon Olive Oil Ricotta Cake.