Crispy almond cookies sandwiched together with a filling of raspberry preserves, lemon curd, or chocolate hazelnut spread. The filling shows through a hole in the top cookie that is also dusted with powdered sugar.
Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Spread almonds out on a baking sheet, and toast for 5-6 minutes, until golden brown.
Remove and pour nuts into the bowl of a food processor and let cool for at least 15 minutes.
Add ¼ cup of the sugar and pulse until the nuts become finely ground.
Whisk the flour, salt, lemon zest, and cinnamon (if using) together then set aside.
Cream the butter and the remaining ½ cup sugar together in a large mixing bowl just until it becomes pale yellow.
Beat in vanilla and the egg yolks until well combined.
Mix in the ground almonds.
Add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined.
Remove the dough from the bowl, divide it in half, then flatten it into two discs and place each half into a zip-top bag or wrap in plastic wrap.
Refrigerate the dough for about 15-20 minutes.
Dust a cutting board with flour or use a silicone mat.
Roll 1 disc of chilled cookie dough out to ⅛ inch thickness onto the cutting board or silicone mat.
Cut out as many shapes as you can using Linzer cutters or cookie cutters.
Remove excess dough, re-roll, and continue to cut out shapes.
Chill cut-outs in the freezer for 5-10 minutes.
Bake for 8-12 minutes until lightly golden brown. The time will depend on the size of the cookies.
Roll the remaining disc of dough and cut out the same number and same shapes as before re-rolling as needed using the Linzer cutter fitted with the small cutter (which will cut the hole at the same time) or using traditional cookie cutters.
If needed, cut a smaller hole in the center of each cookie using ½ inch to 1-inch cutters.
Remove excess dough re-roll and cut out more cookies.
Freeze the cut-out dough for 5-10 minutes then move to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
Bake for about 8-12 minutes until lightly golden brown.
Allow all the cookies to cool completely.
Dust the cookies with the holes in the middle with powdered sugar.
Spread preserves, jam, curd, or chocolate spread on the whole cookies.
Place one powdered sugar-dusted cut-out cookie on top of the jam and gently sandwich the cookies together.
Linzer Cookies are best if served the day they are filled.
See the tutorial for storage instructions.
You can swap out 4 ounces (108 grams) which is 1 cup of almond flour for the balanced almond slivers
Linzer Cookies https://hungryhappenings.com/linzer-cookies/