On the last day of Christmas my true love baked for me…
….the one…

…the only…

…Linzer cookie..”

Chocolate Linzer Cookies

Austria is a holiday wonderland. Home to superb Christmas markets, New Year’s Eve Viennese balls (on my bucket list), The Sound of Music (my favourite movie) and the Linzer Torte. The Linzer cookie was borne from the Linzer Torte, which originated from Linz, Austria in the 17th century, and is said to be the oldest cake in the world. Linzer Tortes are holiday classics in Austrian, German, Swiss and Hungarian tradition. The Linzer Torte is a crumbly pastry filled with jam and covered in a lattice of dough strips. Linzer cookies are merely bite size portions of the torte. Typically Linzer Tortes and Linzer cookies are made with ground nuts, however having a child with a nut allergy, I made some substitutions and made a totally nut free version which is absolutely heavenly!

Ingredients

3/4 cup unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2-1/3 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla extract*

1 cup semi sweet chocolate, melted

Confectioners sugar

Seedless raspberry jam

*usually this would be almond extract, not vanilla, but I modified it to accommodate nut allergy

In a bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix well. Stir in flour mixture and mix until well incorporated. Refrigerate dough for about an hour.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough in batches. Cut out shapes with a cookie cutter. In half the cookies cut out a centre shape as well. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges start to brown. Cool completely on wire racks.

Spread the melted chocolate on the bottom of the solid cookies. Place cookies with cutouts on top. Spoon a small dollop of raspberry jam in the cutout. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar.