Squares, circles, hearts and diamonds, whatever the shape, these rich, crumbly cookies are a treat with coffee, tea or cocoa. Kids love to help by sprinkling the tops with powdered sugar and then placing them on the jam-filled bottoms, pressing just hard enough to squish the jam up through the hole. Try raspberry, red currant or apricot jam.
Jammy Linzer Sandwich Cookies
Cookie of the Day
Leading up to Christmas, we’ll be featuring one standout cookie recipe every day. Let the holiday cookie exchanges begin!
1/2 cup finely ground toasted almonds
1/4 cup finely ground toasted hazelnuts
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup finely ground semolina flour
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
16 Tbs. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus more for dusting
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups seedless jam
In a bowl, mix together the ground nuts, flour, semolina flour, salt and cinnamon. In the bowl of a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter for 2 to 3 minutes until creamy. Add the 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar and the vanilla and beat until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the flour mixture until uniform.
Turn the dough out of the bowl onto a floured workspace. Knead it a few times to incorporate the ingredients. Pat the dough into a disk. Divide the round in half. Roll each dough half between two pieces of parchment paper to a 1/8 inch thickness. Place on a baking sheet and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
Preheat an oven to 350°F. Remove the dough from the refrigerator 1 sheet at a time to prevent the dough from getting too soft. Peel off the top sheet of parchment and use it to line a baking sheet. Using a 3-inch cookie cutter, cut out the cookies and transfer to the prepared baking sheet with a metal spatula. When all of the cookies are cut out, use a small, round 1/2-inch cutter to cut a hole in the center of half of the cookies for the tops. Gather dough scraps and re-roll between the parchment, refrigerate and repeat the process.
Bake the cookies for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden on the edges. Let cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. Transfer the tops to a rack. Turn the bottoms over and spread each with about 1 Tbs. jam. Dust the tops with powdered sugar and sandwich with the bottoms. Layer the cookies with parchment paper in an airtight container and store for up to 1 week. Makes about 18 cookies.
