Hazelnut Raspberry Linzer Squares Recipes

HAZELNUT LINZER BARS

Steps:

• Make Classic Shortbread dough with just 1 cup flour. Add 1 cup ground oats and 3/4 cup finely ground hazelnuts with the flour. Mix one-third of the dough with 1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts; freeze tablespoonfuls in clumps for 30 minutes. Press the remaining dough into a buttered 8-inch square pan. Spread with raspberry preserves and top with the frozen clumps. Bake about 50 minutes at 350 degrees.

LINZER BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Position the rack in the middle of the oven.
• Spread hazelnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven until golden, about 10 minutes. Turn oven off since you will not need it on again for at least 45 minutes. Empty nuts onto a folded towel, enclosing them between the folds, and rub them to remove their skins. Transfer the nuts to a strainer and carefully discard the skins. Allow nuts to cool to room temperature.
• Put the hazelnuts in a food processor fitted with the stainless-steel blade and pulse a few times. Add cake flour and process until the nuts are finely ground. Set aside.
• In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and lemon zest on medium speed until light and creamy. Turn the mixer off and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Over medium speed, add the egg and continue mixing for 1 more minute. Reduce the speed to low, add the hazelnut-flour mixture, and continue mixing until well blended into a smooth dough.
• Divide the dough into 2 portions, with 1 portion about 8 ounces or 1/3 of the dough. Transfer to a medium pastry bag fitted with a number 1 plain tip and set aside. With the remaining 2/3 of the dough (about 20 ounces), form into a 1-inch flat disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• With a marking pen, trace a 16 by 13-inch rectangle shape on parchment paper. Place paper, marked side down, onto a baking sheet. With the reserved dough in the pastry bag, pipe straight parallel lines, about 1-inch apart, inside the marked rectangle. Then pipe a second set of parallel lines at a 45 degree angle to the first set of lines to make a trellis shape. Refrigerate until needed (dough should be well chilled before using).
• With more cake flour, lightly dust a pastry board or work surface with flour. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough to a rectangular shape, about 15 by 12 inches by 1/4-inch thick. Transfer dough to a parchment lined baking sheet and trim any excess dough to make an even rectangle. Bake for 20 minutes, or until dough starts to color. Remove baking sheet from the oven and transfer to a rack. Leave oven on. Allow dough to cool for at least 10 minutes.
• Spread raspberry jam over the entire surface of the cooled dough. Carefully place the refrigerated trellis-shaped dough over the jam. Return to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until crust is golden in color. Allow to cool completely before cutting. Trim edges and then cut into 3 by 1-inch bars. Lightly dust bars with powdered sugar.

LINZER SANDWICHES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place hazelnuts on a baking sheet, and toast in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and immediately transfer nuts to a clean towel. Vigorously rub the nuts in the towel to remove as much of the skins as possible. Set nuts aside until completely cool. Place nuts in a food processor, and process until finely ground. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg, and beat until smooth, about 3 minutes. Beat in vanilla.
• Whisk together reserved hazelnuts, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add to butter mixture; beat on low until combined, about 2 minutes. Form dough into 2 flattened disks, wrap each with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Have ready 2 baking sheets lined with Silpats (French baking mats; see sources) or parchment paper. Also have ready one 2 1/2-inch round fluted cookie cutter and one 3/4-inch cookie cutter. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out half the dough to a scant 1/4-inch thickness. Using the 3-inch fluted cutter, cut out cookies. With a wide spatula, transfer cookies to the prepared baking sheets. Using the smaller cutter, cut the centers out of half of the cookies. Repeat rolling and cutting with the other half of the dough. Combine the scraps from both batches, reroll and cut.
• Bake until the edges are golden, 12 to 16 minutes, rotating halfway through. Remove from oven; place on wire racks until completely cool.
• Lightly sift confectioners' sugar over the decorative tops; set aside. Spread a scant tablespoon of jam on the bottoms of each cookie, and sandwich with the sugar-dusted tops.

HAZELNUT TORTE WITH RASPBERRY JAM

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F. Butter a 13- by 9-inch metal baking pan and line bottom with wax paper or parchment, then butter paper.
• Finely grind nuts with flour, salt, and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar in a food processor.
• Beat together butter and remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating until just incorporated. Fold in nut mixture gently but thoroughly.
• Spread batter evenly in baking pan and bake until torte is lightly browned around edges and firm but springy to the touch, about 15 minutes.
• Run a small knife around edges of cake, then invert a rack over pan and flip cake onto rack. Remove paper, turn cake right side up, and cool 10 minutes. Transfer cake to a cutting board and halve crosswise. Spread jam on top of 1 half, then place second half on top, right side up. Cut torte into 4 squares, then cut each square diagonally into triangles.
• Dust triangles with confectioners sugar and serve with additional jam if desired.

RASPBERRY LINZER BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and lemon zest. In another bowl, mix flour, ground almonds and cinnamon; gradually beat into creamed mixture., Press 2 cups dough onto bottom of a greased 13x9-in. baking pan. Spread with preserves to within 1/2 in. of edges. Crumble remaining dough over preserves., Bake until lightly browned, 35-40 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. If desired, sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Cut into bars.

RASPBERRY LINZER COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream butter, gradually adding 2/3 cup sugar; beat until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine flour and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Shape dough into a ball; cover and refrigerate until firm, 30-45 minutes., Preheat oven to 350°. On a surface dusted with confectioners' sugar, roll dough to 1/8-in. thickness; cut with a floured 2-1/2-in. round cookie cutter. Using a floured 1-in. cookie cutter, cut out centers of half of the cookies., Beat egg whites until frothy. Mix almonds and remaining sugar. Brush cookies with egg whites; sprinkle with almond mixture. Bake solid and window cookies 1 in. apart on greased baking sheets until lightly browned, 6-8 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. , Spread 2 teaspoons raspberry preserves over the bottoms of solid cookies. Top with window cookies, almond side up., Editor's Note: For variety, substitute your favorite preserves in place of raspberry or apricot.

LINZER TORTE BARS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F. Mix all ingredients except preserves with spoon until crumbly. Press two-thirds of crumbly mixture on bottom of ungreased square pan, 9x9x2 inches. Spread with preserves. Sprinkle with remaining crumbly mixture; press gently into preserves.
• Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely, about 1 hour. For 48 bars, cut into 8 rows by 6 rows bars. Or cut into squares or triangles.

RASPBERRY LINZER PIE SQUARES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• In medium bowl, mix flour, 2 tablespoons sugar and the salt. Cut in margarine, using pastry blender or crisscrossing 2 knives, until particles are size of small peas. Add 1/2 cup milk and the egg yolks; mix gently with fork until well blended, adding additional milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until all flour is moistened and pastry almost cleans side of bowl.
• Gather pastry into a ball; cut in half. Shape each half into flattened round on lightly floured cloth-covered surface. Roll 1 round into rectangle, 18x13 inches, with floured cloth-covered rolling pin. Fold pastry into fourths; unfold and ease into ungreased jelly roll pan, 15 1/2x10 1/2x1 inch.
• Stir lemon peel into pie filling. Carefully spoon pie filling over pastry; spread evenly. Sprinkle with hazelnuts.
• Roll other round of pastry into rectangle, 15 1/2x10 inches. Fold into fourths; cut slits so steam can escape. Place over filling and unfold. Beat reserved egg whites from Pastry recipe and the water; brush over top crust. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.
• Bake pie squares about 1 hour or until golden brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust. Cool 1 hour. For servings, cut into 5 rows by 3 rows.

CHOCOLATE LINZERTORTE

Steps:

• In a small saucepan boil the jam, stirring, for 3 minutes and let it cool. In a bowl with an electric mixer cream the butter with the granulated sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, beat in the egg yolks, the cinnamon, the zest, and the salt, and beat the mixture until it is smooth. Add the flour and beat the dough until it is just combined. Beat in the hazelnuts and the chocolate.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Press lightly more than half the dough onto the bottom and up the side of an 11-inch tart pan with a removable fluted rim. Roll out the remaining dough between 2 sheets of wax paper into a round slightly thicker than 1/8 inch and freeze the round in the paper on a baking sheet for 15 minutes. Spread the jam evenly on the tart shell to within 1/4 inch of the edge. Remove the top sheet of wax paper from the round of dough, with a pastry wheel or sharp knife cut the round into 1/2-inch-wide strips, and, using a long metal spatula, arrange the strips in a lattice pattern over the jam. Trim the ends of the strips at the edge of the pan and with the remaining dough press a 1/4-inch-thick rim over the ends of the strips. Bake the Linzertorte in the middle of the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until it is browned lightly, and let it cool in the pan on a rack. The Linzertorte may be made 3 days in advance and kept covered loosely and chilled. Remove the rim of the pan, dust the edge of the Linzertorte with the confectioners' sugar, and serve the Linzertorte with the whipped cream.