Raspberry Linzer cookies are fancy without being fussy. Making these Austrian sandwich cookies, with their peek-a-boo jam centers and snowy dusting of powdered sugar, is a classic Christmas tradition. You get buttery, tender cookies with jewel-like raspberry centers that look like they came from a fancy bakery, but you made them in your own kitchen without breaking a sweat.
Linzer cookies are basically foolproof shortbread dressed up for a party. The almond flour in the dough gives them substance without making them heavy. And that powdered sugar dusting covers any imperfections while making them look like something from a European bakery window.
Despite how fancy they look, it turns out the most complicated part is remembering where you put the little cookie cutters for cutting out the centers! The dough comes together in ten minutes, and the hardest decision you’ll make is whether to use seedless or seeded jam.
And Christmas feels like the right time to raid Austria’s cookie jar. While American kitchens are churning out chocolate crinkles and gingerbread, Austrian bakers have been perfecting linzer cookies since the 1600s. There’s something satisfying about making a cookie that’s older than our country!
I’ll walk you through my foolproof dough recipe and give you my best tips on how to make these beauties ahead of time without sacrificing that crisp, melt-in-your-mouth texture. Whether you’re making them for a cookie exchange or you just want something sweet, you will love this classic Christmas treat.
Looking for more classic European cookies? Try speculoos, ricotta cookies, or Swedish ginger cookies.
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Ingredient Notes
For exact amounts needed see the recipe card below
- Flour
- Finely ground almonds: You can buy almond flour or meal at the store or make your own by pulsing whole almonds in a food processor until they’re finely ground.
- Ground cinnamon
- Salt
- Butter: Make sure it’s softened to room temperature so it creams properly with the sugar.
- Granulated sugar
- Egg yolk
- Vanilla extract
- Raspberry jam: Seedless works best for spreading, but if you don’t mind a few seeds, regular raspberry jam is fine too.
- Powdered sugar: This is for dusting the tops of the cookies.
How to Make Raspberry Linzer Cookies
- Grind the almonds in a food processor to make almond meals.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ground almonds, cinnamon, and salt until the ingredients are evenly distributed. Set this bowl aside while you work on the butter mixture.
- In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar together until the mixture is light and fluffy, which should take about 2 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract, then mix until everything is smooth and well combined.
- Add your flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix just until everything comes together. Don’t overmix here; stop as soon as you no longer see any dry flour.
- Divide your dough into two equal portions, flatten each into a disc about an inch thick, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- When you’re ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Working with one disc at a time (keep the other one in the fridge), roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to about ⅛ to ¼ inch thick.
- Use a round cookie cutter to cut out your cookies. For half of them, use a smaller cutter to cut a shape out of the center: hearts, stars, and circles are all classic choices. These will be your tops. The solid rounds will be your bottoms. Count your cutouts so that you end up with an equal number of tops and bottoms.
- Place the cookies on your prepared baking sheets and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the edges are just lightly golden. Let them cool completely on wire racks before assembling.
- Once the cookies with the cutouts are completely cool, dust the top cookies generously with powdered sugar.
- Spread about one teaspoon of raspberry jam on each solid base cookie. You want enough to taste it, but not so much that it squishes out the sides when you sandwich them together. Gently place a powdered sugar-dusted top on each jam-covered bottom, pressing down just slightly.
Serving Ideas
I love bringing these cookies to holiday gatherings because they look so fabulous. The powdered sugar dusting and that peek of raspberry jam through the cutout window? People assume you’re some baking expert.
Serve them on a pretty platter alongside coffee or tea for an elegant afternoon treat. They pair beautifully with hot cocoa on chilly mornings. Since they’re not overly sweet, they work well at the end of a meal when you want something sweet, but not heavy.
I’ve also packaged them in small boxes tied with ribbon as gifts. Homemade cookies always beat anything you can buy, and these Linzer cookies feel special enough to be worth it. Stack them in a clear container so the jam filling shows through!
How to Store
These cookies actually taste better after a day or two. The almond flavor deepens, and the jam filling combines with the buttery cookie in a way that makes you wonder why you didn’t make them sooner.
Store your assembled cookies in an airtight container and refrigerate them for up to one week. I use a flat container with parchment paper between layers to prevent sticking and breaking, because these are too pretty to arrive at the table in pieces.
Don’t store them at room temperature, especially if your kitchen runs warm. The jam can become too soft, and the butter in the dough can become greasy.
Don’t freeze these after assembly. The jam doesn’t freeze well, and the texture gets weird. However, you can freeze the unbaked dough discs for up to three months. Just thaw the dough in the fridge overnight before rolling and cutting.
Tips & Tricks
Be sure to check out the step by step instructions
- Chilling the dough is essential. The dough needs at least an hour in the fridge, though I usually keep mine in there overnight when I’m planning.
- When I say finely ground almonds, I mean finely ground. You want something with a texture similar to almond flour, not chunky bits that’ll make your dough lumpy. I usually pulse whole almonds in my food processor until they’re powdery, but watch carefully because they can turn into almond butter.
- Aim for a thickness of somewhere between ⅛ and ¼ inch when rolling out your dough. Too thin, and your cookies will be fragile and prone to breaking; too thick, and they won’t have that delicate, crisp texture that makes Linzer cookies special.
- If your raspberry jam is hard to spread, warm it in the microwave for about 10-15 seconds.
- Make sure you count the number of tops and bottoms you are making. It is easy to lose track and end up with too many of one type.
- You can buy a specifically designed Linzer cookie cutter set, or just use the cookie cutters you already have. Small fondant cookie cutters work great for cutting out the centers, and you can pair them with any round cookie cutter.
- When cutting out the centers of your top cookies, don’t make the shape too large. A small heart, star, or circle (about ½ to ¾ inch) is perfect. It showcases the jam without compromising the cookie’s structural integrity.
Reader Questions
Of course. While raspberry is traditional, use whatever you like. Just stick with something that has a bit of tartness to balance the sweetness of the buttery cookie. Grape jelly, for instance, would probably be too one-note sweet.
Nope. The ground almonds already give these cookies plenty of nutty flavor, and almond extract can sometimes be overpowering. I left it out of this recipe entirely, but if you’re a big fan of almond extract, you could add ¼ teaspoon along with the vanilla. Just don’t overdo it.
Yes, and this is my preferred method. You can prepare the dough up to three days in advance and store it wrapped in the fridge, or freeze it for up to three months. If you’re freezing it, let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight before rolling it out.
Cookie spreading usually means your dough wasn’t cold enough when it was placed in the oven. Make sure to chill it for the full hour (or overnight). If your kitchen is warm, you can also chill the cut cookies on the baking sheet for 10-15 minutes before baking.
Make sure your cookie cutters are sharp and that you’re pressing straight down without twisting. Dip your cutters in flour between cuts to prevent sticking.
Yes, store-bought almond flour works perfectly fine. Just make sure it’s finely ground.
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Raspberry Linzer Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup finely ground almonds lightly toasted for more flavor
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup raspberry jam
- powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk together flour, ground almonds, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.1 cup flour, 1 cup finely ground almonds, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon salt
- In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla. Mix until smooth.½ cup butter, ½ cup granulated sugar, 1 large egg yolk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add the dry ingredients and mix just until they are combined. The dough will be soft but not sticky.
- Divide the dough into two portions, flatten into discs, wrap them in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (or overnight).
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Roll the dough to about ⅛ to ¼ inch thick on a lightly floured surface.
- Cut flat, round cookies. For half the cookies, cut out a small shape (such as a heart, star, or circle) in the center. These will be used to make the tops of your sandwich cookies.
- Place the cookies on the sheets and bake for 8–10 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden. Cool completely on wire racks.
- Dust cutout tops with powdered sugar.powdered sugar
- Spread about one teaspoon of raspberry jam on each solid base cookie. Then gently sandwich with a sugar-dusted top.½ cup raspberry jam
Notes
- Chilling the dough is non-negotiable. The dough needs at least an hour in the fridge, though I usually keep mine in there overnight when I’m planning.
- When I say finely ground almonds, I mean finely ground. You want something with a texture similar to almond flour, not chunky bits that’ll make your dough lumpy. I usually pulse whole almonds in my food processor until they’re powdery, but watch carefully because they can turn into almond butter. And definitely toast them first if you have five extra minutes. It makes the nutty flavor so much more pronounced.
- Aim for a thickness of somewhere between ⅛ and ¼ inch when rolling out your dough. Too thin, and your cookies will be fragile and prone to breaking; too thick, and they won’t have that delicate, crisp texture that makes Linzer cookies special.
- If your raspberry jam is hard to spread, warm it in the microwave for about 10-15 seconds.
- You can buy a specifically designed Linzer cookie cutter set, or just use the cookie cutters you already have. Small fondant cookie cutters work great for cutting out the centers, and you can pair them with any round cookie cutter.
- Make sure you count the number of tops and bottoms you are making. It is easy to lose track and end up with too many of one type.
- When cutting out the centers of your top cookies, don’t make the shape too large. A small heart, star, or circle (about ½ to ¾ inch) is perfect. It showcases the jam without compromising the cookie’s structural integrity.
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition facts are estimates.
