Linzer Tart Cookie Recipe

directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. In a large bowl combine flour and almonds.
3. In an electric stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract then beat well until creamy.
4. Add the flour mixture and mix until incorporated.
5. Divide the dough into two. Form into two discs about one inch thick. Wrap each section separately in plastic wrap and freeze for 20 minutes or until firm enough to roll.
6. On a floured surface, roll out one section of the dough to a thickness of ⅛ inch.
7. Cut out half of the rolled dough using the larger round cookie cutter. Cut a hole in the center of each cookie with a smaller cookie cutter. These will be the top cookies.
8. Roll out the second batch of dough to a thickness of ⅛ inch. Cut out an equal number of cookies using the same round cutter without the interior cut-out shapes. These will be the bottom cookies.
9. Transfer all the cookies to baking sheets with parchment paper. (Dough scraps can be formed into a new disk, chilled for at least 30 minutes.)
10. Bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes then remove from the cookie sheet onto a wire rack to cool completely.
11. Now fill and assemble cookies. Flip the bottom cookies and spread a teaspoon of jam on each.
12. Dust the top cookies with confectioners’ sugar. This step is best done before the sandwiching so the powdered sugar doesn’t get on the jam.
13. Gently sandwich the flat sides of cookies together, with the dusted cookie on top and the jam-spread cookie on the bottom. Serve.