Linzer Cookies

These have become one of my favorite holiday cookies as I've become older. Perhaps it's because these are a bit more sophisticated than your usual sugar or peanut butter Christmas cookie. The dough is a tender hazelnut shortbread sandwiched between raspberry preserves. New for me this year was an actual Linzer Cookie Cutter Set from Wilton. Gotta love Wilton :) These were the best looking one's I've ever made!

Linzer Cookies

1 C. butter (2 sticks), softened at room temperature for 30-60 minutes

2/3 C. sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 C. AP flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/4 C. ground hazelnuts (aka filberts), toasted, skinned as best as you can

1 jar seedless raspberry jam (I recommend Santa Cruz brand, but Smucker's is just fine too)

Flour

Powdered sugar

In a food processor or stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Add flour mixture to the wet ingredients and until combined. Add the ground hazelnuts. Once the dough is mixed thoroughly, form it into a flat disc and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate 1 hour. You can refrigerate overnight or up to 3 days, but make sure that you let the dough sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before rolling out if kept in the fridge for longer than 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured work surface to 1/8" thickness. Remember you will be sandwiching two cookies together, so you want to get them as thin as possible. Use your Linzer cookie cutter to make equal solid circle "bases" and equal "O-shaped" top cookies. Bake each shape separately on a parchment lined baking sheet. The tops will take 4-6 minutes and the bases will take 5-7 minutes. Try not to let them get too crisp - I like mine soft, not too dry. Allow to cool.

To assemble the cookies, spoon a small teaspoon of preserves on the base cookie, and then lightly push a top cookie onto the preserves. The preserves will spread out as you push the cookies together. Once assembled, lightly dust the cookies with powdered sugar.