Eggless Linzer Cookies with Strawberry Jam Filling

Linzer Cookies: Today I am here with kids friendly cookies recipe that I specially made for my kids on Valentine’s day…Unlike the basic sugar cookie recipe, this Eggless Linzer Cookies with strawberry jam filling dough has almond meal, reduced sugar and no baking/raising agent used…Kids liked it much with the strawberry filling…You can make it for parties or on a special occasion, this recipe is a keeper for sure…Thanks Swathi for this wonderful (Baking Partners) challenge. Dear blogger Friends my laptop screen has broken so I won’t be active in FB, also I rarely visit your spaces for a few days…Now I am using the Television to connect my laptop…Hope you understand the situation, Thanks!!!

Yields :- Approx  16 – 2n3/4th inch Cookies

Ingredients

Unbleached APF/Maida – 1  cup 2 tablespoon  (5.06 ounces)/145g
Ground Almonds and/or hazelnuts – 1/2 Cup
Unsalted Butter – 8 Tbsp (1 Stick)
Granulated Sugar – 1/4 cup (1.75 ounces)/50g
Salt – 1/8tsp
Ground Cinnamon and Cloves – 1/4tsp
Almond Or Vanilla Extract – 1/8tsp
Grated lemon zest or 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract – 1tsp
Grated orange zest or 1/4 teaspoon orange extract – 1tsp
Strained or pureed good quality preserves or fruit spread
1tsp + extra Powdered sugar for dusting

Equipment

• Cookie sheets, lined with parchment paper or un-greased
• Food processor
• Large and small cookie cutters of the same or a different shape, I used 2n3/4th inch Circle (Condensed milk can) and1 inch Heart cookie cutter.

Directions

• Blanch almond and make powder with 1 teaspoon of powdered sugar(Pic 1) or cornstarch for stepwise pictures click here.
• In a wide bowl/kitchen aid stand mixer combine the flour,ground nuts(almond meal), granulated sugar, salt, cinnamon, cloves , almond extract and the lemon and orange zests or extracts (Pic 1).
• Then add the butter (cut into several pieces if firm, Pic 2) mix well until mixture looks damp and crumbly (Pic 3).
• Continue mixing until all the dough comes together (Pic 4).
• Remove the dough, press it into a ball, and knead it a few times to be sure all of the dry ingredients are blended into the dough.
• Form the dough into 1 flat patty (Pic 5).
• Wrap and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours and preferably overnight or up to 3 days (Pic 5).
• The dough may be frozen for up to 3 months.
• When you are ready  to bake. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.

How to Roll and Cut Linzer Cookies

• Remove dough from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature until supple enough to roll but still quite firm.
• It will continue to soften as you work.
• Roll the dough to a thickness of 1/8 inch between sheets of parchment/wax paper or between heavy plastic sheets cut from a plastic bag.
• While you are rolling check for deep wrinkles; if necessary, peel off and smooth the paper or plastic over the dough before continuing to roll it.
• When the dough is thin enough, peel off the top sheet of paper or plastic and keep it in front of you.
• Cut as many large shapes as possible. Dip the edges of the cookie cutters in flour as necessary to prevent sticking.
• Cut a smaller shape from the center of half of the large shapes (Pic 6).
• Use the point of a paring knife to lift and remove scraps as you transfer the cookies to the lined or ungreased pans.
• Place large cookies at least 1 1/2 inches apart on the cookie sheets(Pic 7).
• I used two pans, also I refrigerated after making shapes for a while before start baking
• If the dough gets too soft at any time-while rolling, cutting, removing scraps between cookies, or transferring cookies-slide a cookie sheet underneath the paper or plastic and refrigerate/Freeze the dough for a few minutes, until firm.
• Repeat with the second piece of dough.
• Gently press all of the dough scraps together (don’t overwork them with too much kneading) and re-roll.

How to bake Linzer Cookies

• Bake for 12  to 20 minutes , or until the cookies are just beginning to color at the edges.
• Rotate the pans from top to bottom and from front to back halfway through the baking time to ensure even baking.
• The small shapes may be baked for 8 to 10 minutes on a separate cookie sheet to make miniature cookies, or the dough may be combined with other dough scraps to be rerolled and cut.
• Let the cookies firm up on the pan for 1 to 2 minutes.
• For lined pans, set the pans or just the liners on racks to cool; for unlined pans, use a metal spatula to transfer the cookies to racks (Pic 8).
• Cool the cookies completely before stacking or storing. The cookies are delicious fresh but even better the next day.
• May be kept in an airtight container for a month or more.
• To assemble, shortly before serving, spread each solid cookie with a thin layer of preserves/Fruit Jam (Pic 9).

• Sift powdered sugar over the cookies with cutouts.
• Place a sugared cutout cookie on top of each preserve-covered cookie.
• Leftover cookies can be stored in an airtight container, but the moisture from the preserves will soften them.