Raspberry Almond Linzer Cookies – Perfectly tart raspberry jam sandwiched between two buttery almond shortbread cookies
December is finally here! My favorite month of the year – when holiday tunes are on blast, I spend ridiculous amounts of time cooking & baking, and diets go out the window. Hooray!
And with this new month, you know what that means…a new cookie recipe!
Today’s recipe features two of my favorite flavors in the world, which I’ve yet to feature together: raspberry and almond.
I’ve always loved the flavor of almond, hence my obsession with almond croissants. And you guys know I love my berries. Just see this chocolate raspberry mousse or this berry french toast or the million other berry recipes I posted this past spring.
But it wasn’t until I tried raspberry almond thumbprint cookies for the first time (which was only last year – yes, I am late to the party), that I found out how killer of a combo these two flavors were together.
So for this month’s recipe, I wanted to showcase another classic cookie that highlights this dynamic duo in a sophisticated way. Let me tell ya, these cookies are not short on the pizzazz, that’s for sure.
Without further ado, I present to you Raspberry Almond Linzer Cookies!
As soon as you bite into one of these cookies, a rush of flavor overcomes your mouth and all you can manage to do is say “Yummm!” And not only that, the texture is incredible. Buttery and crisp, yet with the perfect moisture from the jam. How could you not love these cookies?!
So what are Linzer cookies? If you’ve never heard of them before, all you need to know is that they’re Austrian cookies that are known for having a little window of jam in the center. Sometimes you’ll see raspberry jam or apricot jam. This recipe uses raspberry jam because it’s an incredible pairing with almond. But you can use whatever tickles your fancy!
Now, how does the recipe look? I would say it ranks Medium on the level of difficulty. This recipe isn’t particularly hard – it just takes a little patience. After all, these aren’t your typical scoop-and-bake cookies.
Don’t worry though! As always, I’ll give you my list of tips and tricks are the bottom of this post to make sure you feel confident to handle it!
To make this recipe, it’s just like any other cut-out cookie recipe. You make the dough, chill it, roll the dough out, cut the shapes, and bake. The biggest difference is that the cut-outs will be sandwiched in-between jam and the top cookie will have a little window so you can see what’s in the center.
Sometimes the window is a heart or a Christmas tree or a star. I didn’t want to make you buy any special tools that would only be used for this recipe so I just kept them circles.
As promised, here are your tips and tricks for this recipe:
- At its core, this cookie is a shortbread. So it’s super important that the cookie dough stays cool or else they could spread into flat pancakes. So when I say you need to chill the dough, it’s non-negotiable.
- Speaking of the dough, if you work with it for too long, it will begin to get sticky. That’s why you need to use parchment paper to roll it out. Otherwise, your rolling pin will stick to the dough. Once you’ve rolled out the rough, lift the top sheet of parchment paper off. If it’s not gliding off easily, the dough is too warm. Pop in the freezer for a few minutes to firm it out. You’ll thank me once you start cutting out the cookies.
- If at any time, the dough is too sticky, pop it in the freezer. I have to do this constantly because it’s usually hot in my kitchen. This will add time to the prep for sure. So I do not recommend making these cookies in a rush. They are a labor of love, for sure.
- To keep the dough from sticking to your cookie cutter, dip it into flour and shake it off to release the extra. The flour will help the cutter smoothly slide off the dough after each cut.
- For this recipe, I use almond flour because I usually have that around. If you don’t and you rather process your own almonds, check out the recipe at The Kitchn to learn how.
- Because there is no baking soda in this recipe, the cookies barely spread. So you only need to place them about 1/2 inch apart on your baking sheet. But this only works if the dough is cold!! Make sure you chill it for 30 minutes after cutting and before baking.
You are gonna love these cookies, guys. Butter and jam – what’s there not to love?! They’re the perfect holiday cookie so make sure to make a batch of these for your holiday parties this year!
Here are all the kitchen tools and serveware that I used in today’s recipe. For each item sold below, I make a small commission. I only recommend items that I own and love so you can trust that each recommendation is tried and true. Thank you for supporting CPA!
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Raspberry Almond Linzer Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks butter unsalted, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
- powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Add almond flour, flour, and salt together in a medium bowl. Whisk together to combined. Set aside.
- Add softened butter and granulated sugar to bowl of a stand mixer and beat together on medium until fluffy, about 3 minutes. On low, add 1 egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Mix until combined, about 1 minute. Add all of the flour and mix until dough forms.
- Cut two pieces of plastic wrap and place on the countertop. Split dough into two equal halves and place each half of piece of plastic wrap. Cover each dough with plastic to seal and then form into a 5x7 rectangle. Chill in refrigerator for 2 hours.
- Once chilled, remove 1 rectangle from the fridge. Remove from plastic wrap and place dough between two pieces of parchment paper. Begin rolling dough out until it's 1/4 inch thick. Using a two-inch cookie/biscuit cutter, cut out sandwich bottoms. Try to pull one cookie up, using an offset spatula to help, if needed. If the dough is super sticky, place into freezer to firm up the dough again.
- Place cut out cookies onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Since these cookies don't have baking soda, they will barely spread. So you only need to place them 1/2 inch apart on your baking sheet. I was able to fit 20 cookies on each one of my half-sheet pans. Place cookies into fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
- Repeat process with second rectangle of dough. Once you have cookies on baking sheet, cut out centers using a star, heart, circle, whatever you want! I cut out circles by using the bottom of my large piping tip. Chill cookies for 30 minutes.
- Arrange oven racks so you can baking both cookie sheets at once. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove cookie sheets from freezer and place straight into the oven. Bake for 10-11 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooking rack. Cool completely before compiling sandwiches.
- Once cookies are cool, add a 1/2 teasoon to each bottom half and spread very slightly with the back of the spoon. Sandwich with top half. Serve immediately or store in storage container for up to 3 days.
Notes
Pin for later:
More cookies that you’ll love:
Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies
Cranberry Cookies with White Chocolate Drizzle
Funfetti Whoopie Pies
Linzer cookies are such a beautiful and delicious treat! The raspberry jam peeking through the window is so inviting. I recently started making food videos to share my baking adventures with family, and these would make such gorgeous content with the jam filling process. Your tip about chilling the dough before cutting is essential – I learned that the hard way my first time making these. The almond extract addition sounds like it would take these to the next level. Bookmarking this for sure!
These linzer cookies look absolutely stunning! I love how the raspberry filling peeks through the star cutout — such a beautiful presentation. I recently started using AI image tools to plan my baking layouts and they have been a game changer for visualizing cookie designs before I even start. Definitely bookmarking this recipe for the holidays!
My cooking jar is empty, so this recipe is so timely. Can’t wait to et to cooking now!
If I bake the linzer cookies but want to freeze them until ready to eat, should I freeze them with raspberry jam in them or fill them after freezing and ready to eat?
I made these for Christmas this year. Recipe was easy to follow and the cookies were a huge hit with my family! Everyone was asking what bakery I got them from. Would absolutely make again.
Hi can you freeze these
Oh lawd, you just had to do this… Almond shortbread is my most favorite cookie and now you just had to combine it with raspberry. And your pics look so good and zoomed in… There goes my weight loss plan. Well I suppose I’ll just add it to next year’s resolutions.
I LOVE panera’s raspberry shortbread cookies…Cant wait try this to see if it’s a good homemade version.
Yay! Let me know how they turn out!
These look amazing! Would it be okay to chill this dough overnight?
These are so pretty!! We are starting our cooking baking this week and I am adding these to the rotation 🙂
Not convinced mine would turn out as pretty as yours, but these look so good I’m going to have to try making them. Thanks for the recipe!
I’ve always thought Linzer cookies were so gorgeous! I bet the tart raspberry jam is perfect paired with the buttery cookie.
Raspberry and almond tray bake is up there as one of my all time favourite desserts, so to have that combination in a linzer cookie sounds (and looks) absolutely wonderful!
Those are pretty cookies and I am with you raspberry and almond is a brilliant flavor combination. We make the traditional Linzer with 3 “eyes” but the ones with one center window have popped up in Christmas markets in Salburg and Innsbruck. At times they are super expensive too. I think 100 grams was about 5-8 Euros if I am not mistaken.
Excited about this, I have never heard of Linzer cookies before and these look so pretty:)
These are so pretty! My shortbread adventures have been limited to slice and
bake cookies but I’m sure I’d enjoy making them.
Thanks so much! You’re gonna love making these babies!
These look perfect! It is the season for linzer cookies 🙂 Saving it.
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you!
These look just perfect! I love a good raspberry linzer cookie and am bookmarking this recipes for the holidays.
Thanks so much!
These look so good! I’m definitely going to have to see if I can attempt these!
You got this, girl!
These looks so festive! I’ve never heard of Linzer cookies before.
You’re gonna love them!
I love linzer cookies, I never made them though.. I see that it doesn’t look like a complicated recipe, I’m gonna give it a try!
Yay! Let me know how they turn out!
These all look amazing! Yum!!
Thanks!
Omg I need these in my life right now! Deffo will save this for a rainy day indoors
when I want to make a nice treat!
-Kiarna Jayne xo
http://kiarnajayne.com/
Such a great idea!