Cranberry Linzer Cookies
Soft and crumbly almond cookies flecked with dried cranberries with cranberry jam sandwiched in the middle
Equipment
Ingredients
Cranberry Jam
- 300 g cranberries, fresh or frozen
- 150 g granulated sugar
- 150 g water
Cookies
- 380 g all-purpose flour
- 100 g almond flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 230 g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 50 g brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 100 g dried cranberries, finely chopped
- powdered sugar, for sprinkling
Instructions
Cranberry Jam
- Boil: In a small pot, stir together cranberries, sugar, and water. Cover and bring it to a boil on the stovetop at medium heat.
- Thicken: Uncover and let most of the water cook off, about 10-15 minutes, stirring often. Lower the heat as the water cooks off to prevent burning. It's ready when it becomes a thick and jammy consistency. Transfer the cranberry jam to a small bowl to cool completely before using.
Cookies
- Flour mixture: In a large bowl, stir together the flour, almond flour, and salt. Set aside.
- Butter mixture: In a large mixing bowl, use an electric hand mixer to beat the softened butter until it becomes very creamy. Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat together until creamy and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed in between each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract with the last egg.
- Combine flour and butter mixtures: Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until halfway combined with some flour patches left.
- Mix in cranberries: Add the chopped dried cranberries and mix on low speed until just combined. Switch to a spatula to finish mixing if the dough gets too thick to mix.
- Chill dough: Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Use your hands to press it together. Cut the dough in half. Shape and press each half into a flattened disc shape. Wrap both discs of dough in plastic wrap and let them chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours until firm.
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Roll out dough: On a floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll the first disc of dough to about ⅛" thick, lifting and turning the dough occasionally to prevent it from sticking to the surface.
- Cut out bottom cookies: Use a 2" round cookie cutter to cut out the cookies from the dough. Transfer the cookies to your lined baking sheet. Re-roll the scraps and repeat. These will be your "bottom" cookies.
- Bake bottom cookies: Bake the bottom cookies for about 10-11 minutes or until the bottom edges just barely begin to lightly brown. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.
- Cut out top cookies: Repeat rolling out the second disc of dough and cutting out cookies from it. These will be your "top" cookies. Transfer the cookies to your lined baking sheet. Use a smaller cookie cutter shape to cut out the middle of each cookie. You can either add the shapes to your scrap dough to be re-rolled or bake them separately later for snacks :)
- Bake top cookies: Bake the top cookies for about 9-10 minutes (less time than the bottom cookies due to the cut-out). Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.
Assemble the cookies
- Sprinkle: Use a fine mesh sieve to sprinkle powdered sugar on the top cookies (optional, see notes).
- Fill cookies: Transfer the cranberry jam to a piping bag and cut the tip of the bag off. Pipe the cranberry jam onto each bottom cookie. Press a matching top cookie on top.
Notes
- Chilling the cookies: If the dough feels like it has become too soft from working on it for too long, pop it back in the fridge for 10 minutes to firm up. This will make it easier to work with and easier to cut out the cookies without it sticking. Chilling the cookies before baking (i.e. while another batch is baking) will also help them retain their shape during baking.
- Powdered sugar dusting: The jam will eventually moisten the cookies (especially around the cut-out area) and cause the powdered sugar in that area to dissolve. If you're planning on storing the cookies for several days, I'd recommend skipping the powdered sugar dusting to prevent the cookies from looking a little patchy on the following days.
Nutrition
Calories: 213kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 54mg | Potassium: 38mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 256IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1mg
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