The Linzer cookies recipe, which I would like to introduce today, deviates a little from the traditional recipe. I use an advocaat egg liqueur ganache as a filling, and the dough is nut-free.
The nut-free dough makes these cookies ideal for those with allergies. If you have leftover egg yolks from other recipes, you can use them up nicely with this Linzer cookies recipe!
You can also make a homemade egg liqueur to fill these wonderful Linzer cookies if you fancy that!
Why I love Egg Liqueur Linzer Cookies so much
They look so pretty, can be created in various shapes, and thanks to the wide range of filling opportunities (be it with any type of jam, advocaat egg liqueur cream, lemon pie filling, or even chocolate), they are just pure eye-catcher!
A small cookie plate topped with the different variations of Linzer cookies also makes a beautiful little gift! (Just a little tip, if you should still be looking for Christmas gifts or Valentine's treats)!
These cookies also work beautifully for garnishing other desserts, such as an egg liqueur parfait!
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🥘 Ingredients
For the cookie dough
- Cake flour
- Powdered sugar
- Cold unsalted butter pieces
- Egg yolk
For the advocaat egg liqueur ganache
- Egg liqueur - store bought or homemade
- White couverture (minced)
- Flour for the work surface, and powdered sugar to sprinkle.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Authentic Linzer Cookies
Linzer cookies are circular pastries made of Linzer dough with a diameter of 3.15 to 3.94 inches in diameter (8 to 10 centimeters). In Austria, Linzer cookies belong to the tea cookies and Christmas cookies.
Brown Linzer dough is a shortbread dough and consists of flour, sugar, butter, egg, and almonds or nuts. The dough is flavored with cinnamon and cloves. Linzer dough is often referred to as almond or nut shortbread.
White Linzer dough is a common type of Linzer dough in Austria made from flour, sugar, butter, egg yolk, and grated lemon zest. The white dough is made with peeled almonds, brown with unpeeled.
A thin layer of currant jam (redcurrant jam) is spread on the lower circular base, and another layer of dough is placed on top, with circular holes, the "eyes" cut out.
Optionally, Linzer cookies have one hole (in the center), or three holes, arranged in a triangular constellation. After baking, the bottom and top are joined together and sprinkled with powdered sugar.
(Source: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linzer_Auge)
🔪 Instructions
Since the advocaat ganache needs to chill in the refrigerator for 8 hours, you should start making it first. I preferred to make the cream and the cookies as well in the evening.
This way, both the filling (and the cookies, too) have time to chill and cool down overnight, and I could finish them the next day.
Should you opt for a jam filling, you can get started at any time. Just allow a little extra time, as the cookie dough has to rest one hour and the cookies need to cool a bit after baking before you spread them with strawberry, currant, apricot, or raspberry jam.
Do you like my tableware? Snag it from Villeroy & Boch, too!
Preparing the Egg Liqueur ganache
Place the chopped couverture in a mixing bowl. Heat up the advocaat egg liqueur in a small saucepan (do not boil!) and pour over the chopped white couverture.
Break white chocolate couverture into pieces.
Heat up the egg liqueur.
Let the mixture steep for about two minutes, and then whisk until smooth. Afterward, cover the mixing bowl tightly with cling film.
Pour the hot eggnog over the white couverture.
Whisk until Smooth.
Chill the egg liqueur white chocolate ganache in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours (preferably overnight).
How to make Linzer Cookie Dough?
For the dough, rub the flour, powdered sugar, and butter together with your fingertips until you get a crumbly mass (about 10 minutes).
Then add the yolk and knead the whole mass with the food processor into a smooth dough (about 3 minutes). Wrap the unbaked dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour.
Add the egg yolk.
Place the dough on a plastic wrap.
Preheat the oven to 356 °F / 180 °C. Cover two baking sheets with baking paper. Roll out the dough on a floured work surface (about 0.12 inch in thickness) and cut out cookies. Use the Linzer eye cookie cutters for this.
Make sure that you have the same number of solid cookies (without a hole) as cookies with holes. Place the cut-out cookies on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
The excess dough that you have left after cutting knead again and roll out. Cut out more cookies until there is no more dough left.
Bake the cookie-filled baking sheets one at a time in the oven on the center rack until golden brown (about ten minutes).
Roll out the dough and cut out the Linzer cookies.
Place the dough on a plastic wrap.
Since my oven is already a little old and "stubborn," I had to leave the cookies in the oven for 12 minutes. After baking, remove the baked cookies from the baking sheet and let them cool.
Assembling the Cookies - The Grand Finale
After the cookies have cooled, place the cookie bottoms (the ones without the hole) on a sheet of baking paper.
Now take the well-chilled egg liqueur ganache from the refrigerator and whip it briefly with the mixer until it becomes spreadable.
Important: Whip only briefly! If it is whipped too long with the mixer, it will flocculate!
Whip the ganache again for a short time.
Place the dough on a plastic wrap.
Fill the cream into a piping bag and pipe small dots onto the cookie bases. If you don't have a pastry bag or don't want to use one, use a teaspoon instead. Place the upper part of the cookie on top and press down lightly.
After you have filled and assembled all the cookies, sprinkle the cookie sandwiches with powdered sugar and place your gorgeous cookies in a storage container for safekeeping.
Store the finished cookies in a cool place. Wonderful! Your beautiful Linz cookies 🍪 with advocaat egg liqueur filling are ready!
Enjoy them with hot chocolate, coffee, or tee! ☕
Fancy more recipes with homemade egg liqueur? Then check out the following recipes: Egg liqueur parfait, Homemade Eggnog Truffles, Egg liqueur Coffee, Egg liqueur Cake, or Advocaat Bites!
🍽 Equipment
- Electric handheld mixer
- Food processor
- Two big mixing bowls
- Two saucepans
- Egg beater
- Rolling pin
- Wooden spoons
- Cling film
- Pasty bag (piping bag)
- If you don't like using a pastry bag or don't have one, you can use a teaspoon instead. 😉
- Linzer cookie cutter
- Parchment Paper
- Baking sheet
🌡 Storage
It is essential to store the Linzer cookies in an airtight container, in a cool place (NOT in the icebox). If you put them in the fridge, they become soggy and no longer taste so good.
🙋🏻 FAQ
To make Linzer cookies, you need a special cookie cutter for them. Its construction works like this: You can either cut out cookies with a hole (or a unique shape) in the center of the cookie, or (if you only use ONLY the outer ring for cutting), you get solid cookies without a hole. Always make sure to cut out an equal number of both versions, so you won't have any trouble assembling them afterward! The original shape of Linzer cookies has three holes arranged in a triangular constellation.
Of course! There exists a variety of cookie cutter sets that offer more than just this three-hole shape. They vary in size, from mini cookie cutters to 3-inch round cookie cutters, with the form of a heart, star, bell, a hole, and countless more in the middle. I find it most fun when baking Linzer cookies to offer a variation in shape and filling. Thus, there is something for everyone. It also looks much prettier, in my opinion, if you put them on a plate in this diversity.
Very well goes cocoa, coffee, or tea with these cookies. But, if you like it alcoholic, a mulled wine or punch fits just as well as a glass of sparkling wine. Try our hot chocolate with rum to it!
More gorgeous cookie recipes for you to try:
📖 Recipe
Linzer Cookies with Egg Liqueur
Equipment
- Rolling Pin
- Cling film
Ingredients
For the cookie dough
- 200 g Cake Flour
- 100 g Powdered Sugar
- 150 g Cold unsalted butter
- 1 Egg yolk
For the advocaat egg liqueur ganache
- 200 ml Egg liqueur
- 200 g White couverture
Instructions
Preparing the Egg Liqueur Ganache
- Place chopped couverture in a mixing bowl or saucepan.200 g White couverture
- Heat the advocaat in a small saucepan (do not boil!)200 ml Egg liqueur
- Pour the hot advocaat egg liqueur over the couverture.
- Let the mixture steep for 2 minutes and then whisk until smooth. Cover the bowl with cling film and chill in the fridge for about 8 hours.
Making the Linzer cookie dough
- Rub the flour, powdered sugar, and butter together with your fingertips until you get a crumbly mass (about 10 minutes).200 g Cake Flour, 100 g Powdered Sugar, 150 g Cold unsalted butter
- Add the yolk and knead the whole mass with the kitchen machine into a smooth dough (about 3 minutes).1 Egg yolk
- Wrap the unbaked dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 356 °F / 180 °C and cover two baking sheets with baking paper.
- Roll out the dough on a floured work surface (about 0.12 inch in thickness) and cut out cookies. Make sure that you have the same number of solid cookies (without a hole) as cookies with holes.
- Place the cut-out cookies on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Knead the excess dough that you have left again, roll it out, and make more cookies until there is no more dough left.
- Bake the cookie-filled baking sheets one at a time in the oven on the center rack until golden brown (about ten minutes). After baking, remove the baked cookies from the baking sheet and let them cool.
Assembling the Cookies
- Place the cookie bottoms on a sheet of baking paper.
- Take the well-chilled egg liqueur ganache from the fridge and whip it birefly until it becomes spreadable! Important: Whip only briefly! If it is whipped too long with the mixer, it will flocculate!
- Fill the cream into a piping bag and pipe small dots onto the cookie bases. Place the upper part of the cookie on top and press down lightly.
- Sprinkle the cookie sandwiches with powdered sugar and place them in a storage container in a cool place.
Please note that all my recipes are developed and tested in metric grams. I recommend using digital scales for more accurate results. I provided a conversion to US customary in the recipe, but please note that I haven't tested it using this method.
Notes
Linzer Cookies with Jam
If you fancy filling your gorgeous cookies with jam, you have a wide range of filling opportunities. One of the best jams for Linz cookies is raspberry jam. The slightly tart flavor combines wonderfully with the sweet cookies. This also applies to apricot or currant jam. If you prefer it sweeter, you should choose strawberry jam. For those who like it exotic, I recommend trying these cookies with orange, quince, or mango jam! As you can see, there's no limit to the different combinations you can make here! Have fun experimenting!Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
⛑️ Food Safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
Kayla DiMaggio
Wow! I had never made linzer cookies before this or even heard of them! I tried them out this weekend and they were so delicious! I am going to add them to my normal Christmas cookie rotation!
Lexa
My stepmom makes Linzer Cookies every year for Christmas. She ships them to us every year from Germany to Canada. I made these and they tasted just like her's. I am used to the jam filling but totally enjoyed the egg liquor version!
Melinda
What a beautiful cookie!! Your step by step instructions give me confidence that I could do this. I’m going to add this recipe to my holiday baking!
Shilpa
How pretty are these! Thank you for the detailed instructions and recipe