Description
Delight in these festive Gluten-Free Linzer Cookies featuring almond-flavored shortbread sandwiched with raspberry jam. Perfectly crumbly with a hint of cinnamon, these charming cookies are ideal for holidays, Valentine's Day, or any special occasion. The recipe uses gluten-free flour and offers a simple, easy-to-follow process that yields 48 delicious cookies.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- 1 cup butter or dairy-free butter (room temperature)
- 2 large eggs (room temperature)
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups gluten free all purpose flour with xanathan gum (we used GFJules)
- 1 cup finely chopped almonds
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Filling & Topping
- 1 cup raspberry jam or jam of choice
- ½ cup powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Prepare the Dough: In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then mix in the vanilla extract thoroughly.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together gluten-free flour, finely chopped almonds, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon to distribute ingredients evenly.
- Mix Dough: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring until a soft dough forms. Avoid overmixing to keep the cookies tender.
- Chill the Dough: Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to firm up, which makes rolling easier and results in better cookie shape.
- Preheat Oven: Set your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius) and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Roll and Cut: On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled dough to about ⅛ inch thickness. Use a round cookie cutter to cut out whole cookies and a smaller round cutter or decorative shape to cut out centers of half of the cookies for the jam window.
- Bake Cookies: Place cookies on prepared baking sheets and bake for 10 minutes or until edges are lightly golden. Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.
- Assemble Cookies: Spread raspberry jam evenly on the flat side of whole cookies. Carefully top each with a cookie that has a cut-out center to create the sandwich.
- Dust with Powdered Sugar: Lightly dust the assembled cookies with powdered sugar for a classic Linzer cookie finish.
Notes
- This recipe is perfect for holidays or any special occasion and can be halved easily to make about 24 cookies.
- Use dairy-free butter to make the recipe vegan-friendly.
- Make sure the eggs and butter are at room temperature to ensure smooth dough mixing.
- Chilling the dough is essential for easy handling and preventing spreading while baking.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
- Feel free to substitute raspberry jam with apricot or strawberry for different flavors.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 150 kcal
- Sugar: 10 g
- Sodium: 80 mg
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 18 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 30 mg
