Spiced Hazelnut Linzer Cookies
Cozzzzyyyyyyyy. That’s what these hazelnut linzer cookies are. They bring a few small twists to the classic recipe for a delicious marriage of warm, soft, crisp, butter, fruity, spiced perfection.
What are linzer cookies?
If you haven’t heard of this delicious category of desserts, they’re Austrian in origin. The linzertorte (tart) and linzer cookies feature a buttery nut-based (traditionally almond) shortbread pastry base, usually including warm baking spices and lemon zest, and are filled with jam.
They are absolutely delicious, and I’ve long been obsessed with my linzertorte recipe—a fan favorite! I’d had this cookie version bookmarked for a long time and it did not disappoint.
Why is this the best linzer cookie recipe?
I definitely plan to try out some other recipes, but to me it would be impossible to top this one. These hazelnut linzer cookies are mouthwateringly good and shockingly easy to make. The warmly spiced buttery cookies are filled with a tart jam for a perfect cozy treat.
That jam piece is important. You want to choose your jam carefully, we’re going for a mixture of tart and sweet, and a flavor that pairs well with the spice mixture. I love a morello cherry or tart cherry jam (definitely the winner) and an apricot. Stone fruit jams in general should go well here. Raspberry could work well too. I’d avoid overly sweet ones like grape or strawberry, and fig seems too sweet to me as well.
How to make these easy hazelnut linzer cookies
First we’ll whip up the dough, then it needs to chill for a bit. You can also do this the night before.
In your stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar, and lemon zest together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Then add the egg yolk and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
With your mixer on low speed, slowly add in the flours, spices, and salt, beating as little as possible but until no more white steaks remain. Remove the dough from the bowl and wrap in plastic wrap, flattening it to form a disk.
Place the disk in your refrigerator to completely chill the dough completely, at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
Now we roll, chill (briefly) and bake! Roll out the dough on a well-floured surface, to 1/4-inch thickness.
You can use whatever shape you want, but you’ll want to make half of them full cookies (e.g. circle, star) and then the other half the same shape but with a cutout in the middle.
Transfer the cookies to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. They won’t spread significantly, so you can space them close together on the baking sheet. Re-roll the scraps and continue to cut out cookies until the dough has been used up.
Place the baking sheets in your refrigerator to chill the cookie dough for 30 minutes.
Pre-heat your oven to 350 F. Transfer the baking sheets directly from your refrigerator to your pre-heated oven and bake the cookies for 9-10 minutes. They should be lightly browned around the edges but still soft.
Remove from your oven and let the cookies cool for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to continue cooling.
Once the cookies have completely cooled, place the cookies with the cutouts on a baking sheet. Generously dust the tops with powdered sugar.
Spread jam on the “full” cookie (the one without the cutout), and make sure not to overdo it or it will all squish out.
Then place these dusted cutout cookies on top of the cookies with the jam to create a cookie sandwich.
I literally could not stop taking picture of them, they were so pretty! The nutty buttery spiced crumbly cookie paired with a sweet-tart jam was absolute perfection.
These can be stored in an airtight container for 2-3 days. They’re definitely best in the first day or two from a texture standpoint though in my opinion.
Adapted from Floating Kitchen
Other favorite cookie recipes you’ll love:
- Sweet & Savory Rosemary Fig Jam Thumbprint Cookies
- Chai Spiced Shortbread Cookies
- Easy & Awesome Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies (Vegan & Nut-Free)
- Amazing Intense Dark Chocolate Sable Cookies
- Salted Peanut Butter Chocolate Shortbread
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Spiced Hazelnut Linzer Cookies
These spiced hazelnut linzer cookies are mouthwateringly good, and shockingly easy to make. The warmly spiced buttery cookies are filled with a tart jam for the perfect cozy snack! This is one cookie recipe you'll want to have in your arsenal any time of year, and especially in the holidays.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cups (12 tablespoons) of unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
- Zest from 1/2 lemon
- 1 egg yolk, room temp
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1 cup of all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup of hazelnut flour
- 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon of ground cardamom
- 1/8 teaspoon of ground cloves
- Powdered sugar, for dusting
- Jam (I prefer apricot and morello cherry)
Instructions
- Make the dough: In your stand mixer (with paddle attachment), cream the butter, sugar, and lemon zest together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Then add the egg yolk and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
- With your mixer on low speed, slowly add in the flours, spices, and salt, beating as little as possible but until no more white steaks remain. Remove the dough from the bowl and wrap in plastic wrap, flattening it to form a disk.
- Chill the dough: Place the disk in your refrigerator to completely chill the dough completely, at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
- Roll and bake: You can roll out the dough on a well-floured surface or on parchment paper. Roll it out to 1/4-inch thickness. You can use whatever shape you want, but you'll want to make half of them full cookies (e.g. circle, star) and then the other half with a cutout in the middle.
- Transfer the cookies to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. They won't spread significantly, so you can space them close together on the baking sheet. Re-roll the scraps and continue to cut out cookies until the dough has been used up.
- Place the baking sheets in your refrigerator to chill the cookie dough for 30 minutes.
- Pre-heat your oven to 350 F. Transfer the baking sheets directly from your refrigerator to your pre-heated oven and bake the cookies for 9-10 minutes. They should be lightly browned around the edges but still soft.
- Remove from your oven and let the cookies cool for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to continue cooling.
- Fill the cookies: Once the cookies have completely cooled, you can assemble them with the jam. Spread jam on the "full" cookie (the one without the cutout), and make sure not to overdo it or it will all squish out.
- Place the cookies with the cutouts on a baking sheet. Generously dust the tops with powdered sugar. Then place these dusted cookies on top of the cookies with the jam to create a cookie sandwich.
- These can be stored in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
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