These Hazelnut and Almond Vegan Linzer Cookies are a classic holiday cookie. These jam filled cookies are filled with apricot preserves and a touch of Amaretto.
These buttery and nutty cookies are always a favorite, especially around the holidays. Set aside a few hours to make these, they are well worth it!
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These vegan Linzer Cookies can be enjoyed all-year-round. The cute heart shapes make them perfect for Christmas with a mug of mulled wine or mulled cider, Valentine's Day, or any time in between.
What are Linzer cookies?
You may be wondering, where do Linzer cookies originate? Linzer cookies got their name from the Linzer tart, which originated in the City of Linz, Austria. The tart's crust is traditionally made from flour and ground almonds. The filling is usually made up of black currant preserves and is then topped with a lattice crust.
Linzer cookies are similar to the torte with their almond flour dough and fruit jam filling. I made these cookies with one of my favorite jams - apricot preserves with a dash of Amaretto.
Ingredients
- Ground flaxseed and water - mix and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Since this recipe is vegan, these are no egg Linzer cookies.
- Organic all-purpose flour, almond flour (blanched almond flour is preferred), and hazelnuts flour.
- Plant-based butter sticks at room temperature (if it spreads easily, it's too warm)
- Apricot preserves - feel free to substitute with other fruit preserves.
- Amaretto - I love how it compliments the apricot preserves. If you don't have it, try another liqueur or omit it and use a teaspoon of water to thin the preserves. If you choose preserves with seeds and chunks of fruit in them, the cookies will not have the stained glass appearance.
- Icing sugar which is also known as powdered confectioner's sugar
Instructions to make the dough
- Start by getting a small bowl, and whisk together the flaxseed with warm water and vanilla extract.
- Whisk together the flours, salt, and spices in a medium bowl.
- Beat the plant-based butter and cane sugar with a hand mixer for approximately 3 to 4 minutes, until fluffy and light, in a large bowl.
- Add the flaxseed and beat until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients and continue to mix, making sure not to overbeat.
- After you mix the dough, separate it into two halves. Shape each half into a flattened round shape using plastic wrap. Remove the plastic wrap and place each flat round between two sheets of parchment paper.
- Roll the dough: To avoid any cracking, I prefer to roll the cookie dough immediately to ⅛-inch thickness. A rolling pin is essential for this. You want a smooth dough that is not too thick. Place each rolled out dough with the parchment onto a rimmed baking sheet and place in the fridge for 2 hours to chill.
Instructions to make the cookies
- When you take your dough out of the fridge after 2 hours, pull off the top parchment paper. Dip the end of your Linzer cookie cutter in flour, and lightly flour your dough before cutting out the cookies.
- Make sure you have an even number of cookies and use the small insert to make cutouts in the middle of half of the cookies. If the dough tears a bit, press it back together. It may help to have an offset spatula to help remove the little cutout shapes.
- You can bake the little cutouts or gather them into a flattened disc, refrigerate them for 30 minutes, and roll them out to make more cookies.
- You can keep the cookie cutouts on the parchment paper, or gently transfer them with an offset spatula to a silicone baking mat. Bake at 375 F for 7 to 9 minutes until they turn a light golden brown.
- After the cookies are baked, sift confectioner's sugar on top of the cookies with cutouts. Spoon the gently heated preserves mixed with Amaretto on top of the cookie rounds, and then sandwich the tops, gently pressing them on. Adding liquid to the preserves helps them spread easier on the cookie.
Variations
Instead of Amaretto, you can use water or fruit juice instead to thin the jam out a little. Of you can try a little raspberry liqueur, rum, or triple sec.
Substitutions
Gluten-free: You can use a gluten-free flour blend to make these heart Linzer cookies.
Try a different fruit jam, like strawberry, blueberry, or raspberry. Add lemon or lime zest for a little zip!
Top tips
- Roll out the cookie dough before chilling it.
- Flour your cookie dough and cookie cutters.
- Sift the powdered sugar on all the tops before placing on top of the jam.
Storage
For crispness, these cookies are best eaten the day that they are made. Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container, separating each layer by a sheet of parchment paper so that they do not stick together.
Assembled cookies can be stored at room temperature or in the fridge for up to 3 days. These cookies will become softer as they absorb moisture from the jam. Storing them in the fridge may make them dry out and go stale faster.
For crisp cookies, do not apply the jam until just before you plan to eat them; store the jam separately. Cookies without jam will keep for up to 7 days at room temperature.
You can freeze the dough for up to one month. Thaw it in the fridge the night before.
FAQ
Store the Linzer Cookies in an airtight container like a cookie tin, or a glass or plastic container. You can also just store the un-filled cookies at room temperature for up to a week then fill them a few hours before serving.
Place them in a box or tin with parchment between the layers of cookies, ensuring that the cookies have some space between them. Then, add bubble wrap and make sure that the box is just big enough for the cookies.
To avoid any cracking, I prefer to roll the cookie dough immediately to ⅛-inch thickness. A rolling pin is essential for this. You want a smooth dough that is not too thick. Once the rolled out dough has been chilled, you can make the cookies.
Make sure your dough is not thicker than ⅛-inch, if it is, roll your dough thinner. Your cookie dough may be too soft. Place the cookies (on the baking sheet) in the fridge for 10 to 15 minutes before baking them. Also, double check the oven temperature. If the oven is not hot enough, the cookies will spread because the butter started melting.
Related recipes
If you make these Vegan Linzer Cookies, let me know what you think by ★ star rating it and leaving a comment below. You can follow me on Instagram and share your creation with me! Just tag me @resplendentkitchen and hashtag #resplendentkitchenrecipes.
📖 Recipe
Hazelnut and Almond Vegan Linzer Cookies
Equipment
- hand mixer
- two baking trays
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 2 tablespoons warm water
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups organic all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup almond flour
- ¾ cup hazelnut flour
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ cup plant-based butter 1 stick, softened, I used Earth Balance soy-free buttery sticks
- ½ cup granulated organic cane sugar
- ½ cup apricot preserves
- 1 teaspoon Amaretto
- 1 tablespoon organic powdered confectioner's sugar or icing sugar
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together flaxseed with warm water. Add vanilla extract. Set aside to thicken.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, almond flour, hazelnut flour, salt, cinnamon, and cloves.
- In a large bowl, beat the plant-based butter and cane sugar with a hand mixer for approximately 3 to 4 minutes, until fluffy and light. Add the flaxseed mixture. Beat until combined. Add dry ingredients and continue to beat until mixed. Do not overbeat.
- Separate the dough into two halves. Shape each half into a flattened round shape, using plastic wrap. Remove the plastic wrap, and place each flattened round between 2 sheets of parchment paper. Roll the dough with a rolling pin to approximately ⅛-inch thickness. Place each rolled out dough with the parchment onto a rimmed baking sheet and place in the fridge for 2 hours to chill.
- While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 375 F. Line 2 baking sheets with non-stick silicone baking mats or parchment paper. When the dough is ready, peel away the top sheet of parchment paper and use a floured Linzer cookie cutter to cut out the shapes. Use the smaller cookie press with the design of your choice to make cutouts in the middle of half of the cookies.
- Place cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone mat approximately 1-inch apart. Bake 7 to 9 minutes, until starting to change to a golden color. Remove from oven and let cool.
- In a small microwaveable safe bowl, stir the Amaretto into the apricot preserves and microwave on low for approximately 30 seconds. Spread approximately 1 teaspoon of preserves in the middle of the cookies. For the cookies with cutouts, sprinkle the icing sugar on first with a small sieve. Then place them on top of the cookies with preserves, making a cookie sandwich. Serve.
Notes
- Chill any leftover dough in plastic wrap for 30 minutes before rolling it out to make more cookies.
- You can experiment with different flavors of jam; instead of Amaretto, you can try rum or raspberry liqueur. If you prefer not to use Amaretto, use water or fruit juice instead.
- Storage:
These cookies are best eaten the day that they are made. Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container, separating each layer by a sheet of parchment paper so that they do not stick together.
Assembled cookies can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days These cookies will become softer as they absorb moisture from the jam.
Unfilled cookies can be stored at room temperature for up to 7 days.
Nutrition
Resplendent Kitchen offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site as a courtesy. Although resplendentkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information from online calculators, these figures are estimates.
Kayla DiMaggio says
These hazelnut and almond linzer cookies were so delicious and I loved how fun they were to make with my family!
Emily says
Thank you, Kayla, for the review. I'm so glad to hear that your family enjoyed making these hazelnut and almond Linzer cookies together!
Anaiah says
I am all for these vegan linzer cookies! They turned out so beautiful and the apricot filling was perfect in it.
Emily says
Thank you, Anaiah, for this lovely review. We're so happy to hear that these vegan Linzer cookies turned out beautifully and the apricot filling was a hit!
Andrea White says
These cookies are the best and are so cute! Love the flavor combo also!
Emily says
Thank you, Andrea! I'm so glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Maiko says
The cookies were SO GOOD. I only had strawberry jam in my cupboard so I just used that instead of apricot preserve and amaretto, still tasted amazing!
Emily says
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with my recipe, Maiko! I'm glad to hear that the cookies turned out well!
Marinela says
These vegan Linzer cookies are so cute and incredibly delicious! They are super rich and flavorful, simply gorgeous! Thank you for the detailed recipe instructions.
Emily says
Marinela, thank you for the feedback! I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe and found it easy to follow.
Choclette says
You got me at " a touch of Amaretto". Can't resist the stuff. Your cookies look so pretty and I love your use of both ground almonds and hazelnuts. Delicious.
Emily says
Thanks so much for your review, Choclette! I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe. Amaretto is a favorite of mine too--it's hard to resist mixed with apricot preserves!