Linzer Sables

So my second Christmas cookies this year are Linzer Sables. I got a linzer cookie cutter a year or two ago, and this was my first time trying it out.


The recipe is Dorie Greenspan's, and I found it on Lottie + Doof's 12 days of Cookies. It calls for either ground almonds, hazelnuts, or walnuts, and I chose to use almonds since I had some almond meal in the cabinet. Other than that, I didn't make any changes to the recipe.


And I decided to use a heart instead of a plain circular cutout in the top cookie.


Dorie Greenspan's Linzer Sables
recipe from Dorie Greenspan via Lottie+Doof

1 1/2 cups finely ground almonds, hazelnuts, or walnuts
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
scant 1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 large egg
2 tsp water
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup raspberry jam or strained apricot jam plus 1 tsp water
confectioner's sugar, for dusting

In a medium bowl, whisk together the ground nuts, flour, cinnamon, salt, and cloves. In a small bowl, lightly beat together the egg and water.

In an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg mixture and beat until combined. On low speed, add the nut and flour mixture and beat only until just combined.

Divide the dough into two halves, and shape each half into a disk. Place each disk between two sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap, and with a rolling pin roll out until the dough is 1/4 inch thick. Place both pieces of wrapped dough on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for about 2 hours, or freeze for about 45 minutes, or until firm. If you don't want to bake right away, you can keep the dough refrigerated for up to 3 days, or frozen for up to 2 months.

After dough is firm, preheat oven to 375ºF and place rack in center of oven. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpats. Using a 2-inch round (or scalloped) cookie cutter, cut out, cut out as many cookies as possible. If you want a hole in the top cookie so you can see the jam inside, use a small cookie cutter to cut a small shape out of the center of half of the cookies.
Set the scraps aside, you can combine them with the scraps from the second sheet of dough.

Place cutout cookies on the cookie sheet, leaving space in between cookies. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool cookies on a wire rack.

Repeat with the second sheet of dough, and also roll the scraps out between two sheets of wax paper and repeat.

While cookies are cooling, combine the jam and teaspoon of water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over low heat. Remove from heat and let cool.

Spread half of the cookies with about 1/2 tsp of jam and sandwich together with another cookie. Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar before serving.

Makes about 25 sandwich cookies.