Christmas Linzer Cookies
These adorable Christmas Linzer cookies are a festive treat with buttery cookie dough inlaid with vibrant mini shapes like hearts, trees and stars. Filled with raspberry jam or chocolate spread, they’re a fun and delicious addition to any holiday spread!
Ingredients :
- 340g salted butter, softened
- 300g granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 egg white
- 2 tsp vanilla paste
- 560g all-purpose flour
- 3 tsp baking powder
- Gel food coloring - red, green and cocoa powder 2 tbsp
- 200g raspberry jam or your favorite jam (or chocolate spread)
Yields 24 cookies
Instructions :
1. Preheat the oven to 175°C
2. Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and egg white and vanilla paste, mixing well. Gradually mix in flour and baking powder until the dough forms. If crumbly, add 1 to 2 tsp of water and knead until smooth.
3. Divide the dough according to how many pattern cookies you will be making. Roll the 3/4 plain dough on a sheet of parchment paper and set aside. Colour the remaining 1/4 dough with the chosen colour and knead into the dough. (this is for one pattern)
4. Roll out the plain dough on a floured parchment paper to about 3mm thick. Use mini cookie cutters (hearts, stars, trees, etc.) to cut shapes all over the dough sheet.
5. Roll out the colored dough and use the same mini cutters to cut out contrasting shapes. Inlay the colored shapes into the gaps on the plain dough sheet, pressing gently and roll over with rolling pin.
6. Chill the decorated dough in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.
7. After chilling, cut the dough into round cookie shapes using a larger round cutter. For half of the cookies, use a smaller cutter to cut out a mini shape in the center (for the Linzer effect).
8. Place the cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden. Let the cookies cool completely on a rack.
9. Once cooled, spread jam or chocolate spread on the solid cookies. Top with the cut-out cookies to form the sandwich.
Enjoy your beautifully decorated Linzer cookies!