Christmas cookies are one of my favorite things to bake. I love the smell of them baking in the oven and sharing them with family and friends. This year, I wanted to try a vegan version of my favorite Christmas cookie recipe. And let me tell you, these Vegan Linzer Cookies turned out amazing! So, if you're looking for a delicious and vegan-friendly Christmas cookie recipe, look no further than this one!
These hazelnut and almond Vegan Linzer Cookies are a classic cut-out cookie during the holiday season. These jam-filled cookies are filled with apricot preserves and a touch of Amaretto.
These buttery and nutty sandwich cookies are always a favorite and make the best vegan Christmas cookies. They're perfect to make for a cookie exchange. Set aside a few hours to make these, they are well worth it and so much fun to make!
Plus, these cookies are delicious with a mug of Vin Chaud!
For more elegant and delicious desserts with fruit, try my Vegan Plum Cake, Poached Pears in Red Wine, Vegan Quince Tarte Tatin, or Vegan Blood Orange Chocolate Cake.
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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 Austrian city of Linz. 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
Here are the ingredients you nee to make this holiday cookie:
- Ground flaxseed and water - mix and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes to make a flax egg. Since this recipe is vegan, these are egg-free Linzer cookies.
- Organic all-purpose flour or plain flour, almond flour (blanched almond flour is preferred) or almond meal, and hazelnut flour. I measure flour by stirring the flour in the bag, spooning the flour into a measuring cup, and leveling off with a knife.
- Vegan butter sticks at room temperature (if it spreads easily, it's too warm)
- Apricot preserves or apricot fruit spread - it goes so well with Amaretto.
- 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 - also known as powdered confectioner's sugar.
How to make Linzer cookies
I'm going to show you how to make delicious vegan Christmas cookies! They're easy to make, and they taste amazing. Plus, they're perfect for celebrations like Christmas, Valentine's Day, or Easter.
Making vegan Linzer cookies is easier than you might think. The important thing to keep in mind is that the dough needs to be chilled for a couple of hours so it’s easy to work with.
Once you have the dough made, it’s just a matter of assembling and baking the cookies. They’ll come out crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, and they’ll be sure to impress everyone who tries them!
Make the dough
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flaxseed with warm water and vanilla extract.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and spices.
- in a large mixing bowl, beat the vegan butter and cane sugar with a hand mixer for approximately 3 to 4 minutes, until fluffy and light.
- Add the flaxseed mixture and beat until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients and continue to mix, making sure not to overbeat. The dough should come together.
- Note: You may need to add an extra tablespoon or two of water until you achieve the desired consistency in the cookie dough. A dry house with low humidity makes a difference in the amount of water you need. If you are making the cookies on a rainy day, you likely would not need to add extra water.
- After you mix the dough, separate it into two halves. Shape each half into a flattened round shape using plastic wrap. You will have two discs of dough. 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 baking tray and place in the fridge for 2 hours to chill.
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 will 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 the cookies
- Bake at 375°F for 7 to 9 minutes in a preheated oven on the baking sheets until they turn a light golden brown.
- After the cookies are baked, sift the 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 on the top cookie.
- Adding liquid to the preserves helps them spread easier on the cookie.
Substitutions
Gluten-free: You can use a gluten-free flour blend to make gluten-free Linzer cookies.
Variations
Amaretto: you can use water or fruit juice instead to thin the jam out a little. You can try a little raspberry liqueur, rum, or triple sec.
Apricot preserves: Try a different fruit jam or your favorite fruit jam, like strawberry, blueberry, or sweet raspberry jam. Add lemon or lime zest for a little zip!
Vanilla extract - Add almond extract instead.
Expert tips
- Roll out the cookie dough before chilling it on a baking tray. Chill the dough for a couple of hours.
- Flour your cookie dough and cookie cutters or biscuit cutter.
- Sift the powdered sugar on all the tops before placing it on top of the jam.
Equipment
- mixing bowls
- mini strainer
- spatula
- measuring spoons
- hand mixer
- non-stick silicone mats
- two baking trays
- rolling pin
- Linzer cookie cutters
- offset spatula
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 with 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 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
Vegan Linzer Cookies
Equipment
- mixing bowls
- mini strainer
- Spatula
- Measuring spoons
- hand mixer
- non-stick silicone baking mats
- rolling pin
- Linzer cookie cutters
- offset spatula
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 2 tablespoons warm water keep another two tablespoons of water on hand
- 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. If needed, add a tablespoon of water at a time to bring the dough together.
- 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. Or, 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
These hazelnut and almond linzer cookies were so delicious and I loved how fun they were to make with my family!
Emily
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
I am all for these vegan linzer cookies! They turned out so beautiful and the apricot filling was perfect in it.
Emily
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!
Ricky
These have become one of my favorite cookies, making multiple batches over the last couple holiday seasons. However, I've not been able to make them successfully without adding at least a couple tablespoons of extra water. Maybe it's being in New England during winter and dealing with a dry house. Fortunately once I add the extra water, it comes together nicely and produces some delicious cookies!
Emily
Thanks for trying out these cookies, Ricky, and for your honest feedback. A dry house would definitely make a difference in the amount of water you need, versus making the cookies on a rainy day. As you noted, feel free to add an extra tablespoon or two of water until you achieve the desired consistency. Thanks again for giving our cookies a try! I'm so happy you enjoyed them!
Andrea
These cookies are the best and are so cute! Love the flavor combo also!
Emily
Thank you, Andrea! I'm so glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Maiko
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
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with my recipe, Maiko! I'm glad to hear that the cookies turned out well!
Marinela
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
Marinela, thank you for the feedback! I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe and found it easy to follow.
Choclette
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
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!