Lovely Linzer Cookies
vegan sugar cookie with jam filling
Equipment
- 1 small sifter to add confectioner (powdered) sugar to the tops of cookies
- 2 cookie cutters One 2-inch cutter and one small cutter for the opening on the top cookie
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup vegan butter 170 grams
- 1/2 cup sugar 100 grams
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seed mixed with 3 tablespoons water set aside to gel for about 5 minutes
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour 200 grams
- 3/4 cup almond flour 80 grams
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest (from about 1/2 lemon)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup raspberry jam 95 grams
- 1-2 tablespoons confectioners sugar to sift onto cookie tops
Instructions
- Beat butter and sugar together until light.
- Add flax mixture and vanilla and continue beating until light and well mixed.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together both flours, salt, cinnamon and lemon zest.
- Add flour mix to wet mix and blend together, but don't overmix.
- Divide dough into two parts, wrap in cling wrap and chill for at least an hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Remove one of the chilled doughs from the fridge and sprinkle a bit of flour on a sheet of parchment paper. Add dough to the center of the parchment then top with the second sheet of parchment paper. Roll to 1/8- 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out round or heart shapes with floured cookie cutters and then, using a floured spatula, gently move the cutouts to the prepared pan. Reroll scraps until all dough is used. (*1)
- Bake for approximately 10-14 minutes. They should be lightly brown just around the edges.
- Remove 2nd chilled dough and roll it out to 1/8- 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out with the same cutter and process used in step 7 above. I transfer them to a parchment-lined cookie sheet now. Then using a small cookie cutter, cut out a circle, heart, or another small shape from the center of each 2-inch cutout cookie. If the tiny cutout doesn't come out easily with the cookie cutter, just use the tip of a bread knife to gently lift the little cutout off the sheet and set it aside. This helps keep the shape without any distortion that can happen while moving to the cookie sheet. Reroll scraps until all dough is used, making sure there is an equal amount of cookie tops and cookie bottoms. Baking time may be slightly less for the top cookies than for the bottom cookies.
- Cool cookies on a wire rack. When completely cool, dust powdered sugar on only the tops of the cookies with the cutout centers.
- Stir jam until smooth. Flip the cookies without the cutout centers over to their bottom side. Spread about 1/2 -1 teaspoon on each bottom. Then top with the sugar-dusted cookies. (*2)
- Store in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to about 5 days.
Notes
*1- If the dough is very soft and hard to work with, rechill. Also, it helps to chill a bit just before putting them into the oven to help them hold their shape. Add a bit more flour if the dough is very sticky. Add a little at a time until the dough is workable, but not too much, to avoid a tough cookie.
*2- After filling the cookies with jam, the jam will start to soften up the cookies. For a crisper cookie, wait to assemble cookies shortly before serving. Soft cookies are fine though too!