Linzer Cookies

Christmas cookies are an integral part of any Christmas season in Slovenia. One of the most popular are the Linzer cookies.

The history of the Linzer cookie is closely connected to the history of the ‘Linzer Torte'. The Linzer Torte consists of a buttery almond crust, filled with red or black currant preserve and topped with a latticework crust. The recipe for the Linzer Torte is considered to be the oldest in the world. It dates back to 1653 to a cookbook by Countess Ann Margarita Sagramosa, which Waltraud Faissner found in the Abbey Library as a part of her research for the Linz Capital of Culture 09 project.

There are many stories about the origin of the name of the Linzer Torte, with the likeliest being that it is named after the Austrian city of Linz. Linz is also considered to be the home of the famous Linzer cookies. The story goes that the pastry chefs from Linz would mix up a batch of dough for the Linzer Torte, but instead of making cakes, they cut out shapes such as stars, circles or hearts. Half of the shapes would get second cutouts in the center. Once baked, they would spread black or red currant jam over a whole cookie and then press a cutout cookie on top. The top cookies are usually dusted with powdered sugar.

Nowadays one can find these cookies all over the world in all shapes and sizes, made with different types of nuts and with various fillings (various jams, Nutella). Here is a traditional version of the recipe with red currant jam (that can easily be replaced by raspberry jam).

The History of Austrian Linzer Cookies: A Holiday Tradition

Original Linzer Torte Geschichte

Recipe

Dough

• 200 g butter, softened

• 100 g powdered sugar

• 15 vanilla sugar

• 2 egg yolks

• 100 g almond flour

• 230 g flour

• grated lemon rind of one lemon

• 100 g smooth red currant jam (or smooth raspberry jam)

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• powdered sugar (for decoration)

Instructions:

1. Sift the flour.

2. Beat the butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Add the two egg yolks, vanilla sugar, and grated lemon rind and beat until combined.

3. Mix the flour, almond flour, and a pinch of salt.

4. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and knead into a smooth dough.

5. Wrap the dough in cling wrap and put into the fridge for 2 hours.

Roll the dough about 3 mm thick and cut out cookies with a Linzer cookie cutter.

Cookies on a baking tray.

Baked cookies.

6. Preheat the oven to 180 C (360 F).
7. Prepare a baking tray and line it with parchment paper.
8. Take half the dough out of the fridge and wait for a few minutes. Roll it about 3mm thick on a floured surface or on parchment paper.
9. Cut out the cookies. It is possible to buy cookie cutters specifically for linzer cookies with a base cutter and different inserts to create top layers with decorative cutouts (for example, hearts, stars, etc). The dough is very soft and might stick if you use too little flour. I suggest removing the cookie with a very thin knife if the cookies stick.
10. Bake for about 10-12 minutes (the exact time will depend on the oven). The cookies should be pale yellow color like in the picture.

11. Mix the lemon juice and jam until smooth (add less if the jam is not that thick).
12. Turn the cookies without holes flat side up and spread about half a teaspoon of jam over each cookie.
13. Place the cookies with the holes in them on a cookie sheet and sift powdered sugar over the top.
14. Top with the sugar-dusted cookies. Alternatively, you can also top the jam cookies with cookies with holes and sift powdered sugar over the top at the end. If the sugar doesn't melt, dip your finger into water and gently press it on jam surface.
15. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.