A traditional Austrian and German cookie for Christmas time, linzer cookies are a special winter treat. This version uses hazelnut meal and orange zest.
A traditional cookie with a bit of a twist! Hazelnut and orange is a great combination, and these bright-tasting linzer cookies are no exception to the rule.
Much like peppermint, orange is a very winter-y, holiday kind of flavour for us. Plain linzer cookies can be a bit blah – sweet and buttery, certainly, but very much in need of the tart raspberry jam filling. This version is excellent with every bite, with pops of orange zest adding just a little kick.
Slightly earthy hazelnut meal is a bit stronger than almond, and adds a bit of extra texture here. It’s an all around delicious cookie and just right for this time of year!
Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.
Ingredients
Method
Add the sugar and butter to a large mixing bowl (or use a standing mixer). Use an electric mixer to beat on high speed until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes.
Add the egg and vanilla and beat again for a minute, or until very fluffy and with a slightly stiffer consistency.
Add the flour, hazelnut meal, orange zest, and salt. Mix on low speed until a crumbly dough forms. It looks dry but isn’t.
Separate the dough into two equal halves. Use your hands to press one half into a rough disc and place it onto a large sheet of parchment paper.
Place another sheet of paper over the dough, and roll out to about 25×35 cm (10×14 in.). Repeat with the second half of dough, then slide them onto baking sheets and chill for about half an hour in the refrigerator.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Once the dough has chilled, cut the cookies into small rounds (or fluted rounds as pictured), about 4cm (1.5 in.) across.
For the second half of the cookie dough, cut the cookies in the same shape, then use the large end of a piping tip to cut small circles in the middle of each.
Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before removing carefully and cooling fully on a rack.
Once the cookies are cool, add the jam filling. Place about a half teaspoon of jam onto each full cookie base, then top with the cookies that have holes cut into them, to allow the jam to peek through.
Top the cookies with a generous dusting of icing sugar. The sugar will dissolve where it hits the jam. Store the cookies for up to a week in an airtight container, or freeze up to a month.
Tips and Notes
Rolling the dough out between two sheets of parchment makes it easier to work with since it’s being rolled quite thin. If you want to make these as individual cookies rather than sandwich cookies, you can roll them to double the thickness on a floured surface instead.
Chilling the dough can’t be skipped. It’s too hard to cut cleanly with room temperature dough since the butter content is high, and just makes a mess. Chilling after it’s rolled out makes things a bit easier.
If you don’t have the refrigerator space to chill the dough after rolling, then chill as you usually would for something like shortbread. Press the dough into a disc, wrap, and chill for half an hour before rolling and cutting.
These can be frozen, even after filling. It’s nice to sprinkle some more icing sugar over them after thawing as the sugar disappears after freezing.
Substitutions
Substitute almond flour or meal for the hazelnut. This will make a more traditional linzer cookie. For a nut free option, use very finely ground sunflower seeds.
Use a good vegan butter to make these dairy free.
A gluten-free flour blend may work to make these GF, but we haven’t tried this.
Use any kind of jam filling you like. Pictured is plum jam (more often sold as plum butter in North America) but raspberry jam is more traditional. We like both with the orange hazelnut combo – chocolate would be nice too.
More Holiday Cookies
Sour Cherry Chocolate Chunk Biscotti
Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies
Pecan Shortbread Cookies
Chocolate Shortbread Sandwich Cookies
Snickerdoodles Without Cream of Tartar
If you make this recipe, let us know by tagging @baked_theblog + #bakedtheblog on Instagram! We love to feel like we’re in the kitchen with you.
Recipe
Hazelnut Orange Linzer Cookies
Description
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Hand or stand mixer
- Parchment paper
- Rolling Pin
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Large piping tip optional
- Wire rack
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup hazelnut meal
- Zest of an orange
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- Jam, for filling
- Powdered sugar, for topping
Instructions
- Add the sugar and butter to a large mixing bowl (or use a standing mixer). Use an electric mixer to beat on high speed until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes.
- Add the egg and vanilla and beat again for a minute, or until very fluffy and with a slightly stiffer consistency.
- Add the flour, hazelnut meal, orange zest, and salt. Mix on low speed until a crumbly dough forms. It looks dry but isn’t.
- Separate the dough into two equal halves. Use your hands to press one half into a rough disc and place it onto a large sheet of parchment paper.
- Place another sheet of paper over the dough, and roll out to about 25×35 cm (10×14 inches). Repeat with the second half of dough, then slide them onto baking sheets and chill for about half an hour in the refrigerator.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Once the dough has chilled, cut the cookies into small rounds (or fluted rounds as pictured), about 4 cm (1.5 inches) across.
- For the second half of the cookie dough, cut the cookies in the same shape, then use the large end of a piping tip to cut small circles in the middle of each.
- Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before removing carefully and cooling fully on a wire rack.
- Once the cookies are cool, add the jam filling. Place about a half teaspoon of jam onto each full cookie base, then top with the cookies that have holes cut into them, to allow the jam to peek through.
- Top the cookies with a generous dusting of icing sugar. The sugar will dissolve where it hits the jam. Store the cookies for up to a week in an airtight container, or freeze up to a month.
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