Linzer Strips Recipes

LINZER COOKIES

Steps:

• Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon until light and fluffy. Beat in the lemon zest, egg and vanilla. Mix in 1 cup of chopped almonds, then stir in the sifted ingredients. Press 2/3 of the dough into the bottom of a greased or parchment lined 8x8 inch baking pan. Roll the remaining portion between two pieces of waxed paper, out to an 8 inch square. Refrigerate all of the dough for at least 2 hours.
• While the dough is chilling, place the apricots into a small saucepan with water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook for three minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Drain the excess liquid from the apricots and mix in the preserves and lemon juice.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spread the apricot filling evenly over the chilled crust, leaving a 1/4 inch border on edges. Cut the chilled square of dough into 1/2 inch strips. Place the strips over the filling in a lattice design. Trim edges to fit and press the edges into the border. Brush the top with egg white then sprinkle with remaining chopped almonds and coarse sugar.
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until filling is bubbly and the crust is golden brown. Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares.

LINZERTORTE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread hazelnuts in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet; toast, stirring occasionally, until skins begin to split, about 15 minutes. Immediately rub hazelnuts vigorously in a clean kitchen towel to remove skins (as much as will come off easily). Let cool.
• In a food processor, pulse hazelnuts and almonds until finely ground. (Be careful not to overprocess; you don't want the mixture to become a paste.) In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nut mixture; set aside.
• In bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg yolk and beat 1 minute to combine. With mixer on low speed, add ground nuts and flour mixture all at once.
• Divide dough in half. Set a 10-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Using your fingers, press 1 dough half into tart pan. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, roll remaining dough half between 2 sheets of parchment paper lightly dusted with flour to a 12-inch round; place on a baking sheet and chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Using an offset spatula, spread jam evenly over chilled dough in tart pan; set aside. Using a fluted pastry wheel, cut 3/4-inch-wide strips from chilled round of dough. Arrange strips on top of jam in a lattice pattern. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until torte is golden brown all over, about 40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool 20 minutes. Remove ring and cool torte completely. Torte can be kept at room temperature, loosely covered in plastic wrap, for up to 3 days. When ready to serve, dust with confectioners' sugar, if using.

LINZERTORTE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add eggs and lemon zest; stir until mixture forms a ball. Divide into fourths. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours or until chilled. , Remove two portions of dough from refrigerator; press each into an ungreased 9-in. fluted tart pan with removable bottom. Spread 2/3 cup jam over each., Between two sheets of lightly floured waxed paper, roll one portion of remaining dough into a 10x6-in. rectangle. Cut six 1-in.-wide strips; arrange in a lattice design over jam. Repeat with remaining dough (return dough to the refrigerator if needed). , Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until bubbly and crust is browned. Cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar if desired.

AUSTRIAN LINZER TORTE

Steps:

• Place flour, ground almonds, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and cloves on a clean work surface. Add butter and 2 egg yolks; knead quickly to form a smooth dough. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 10-inch springform pan with remaining 1 tablespoon butter.
• Press 2/3 of the dough evenly in the pan so that the entire bottom is covered. Spread red currant jam on top. Divide remaining dough into several pieces and roll into 1/3-inch strands between your fingertips. Arrange the strips over the jam in a neat lattice pattern. Place the last strip along the sides of the pan to form a rim.
• Beat remaining 2 egg yolks and brush over the lattice and rim, taking care not to splash onto the jam.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 45 minutes. Watch carefully towards the end of the baking time to make sure the torte does not turn too dark. Let cool and remove gently from the pan. Store for at least 3 days in a cool place before serving.

EASY LINZERTORTE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, combine flour, almonds, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in egg. Gradually add flour mixture, beating on low speed just until the mixture comes together to form a dough.
• Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Remove one-third dough, and set aside. Roll out remaining dough to 1/8 inch thick. Fit into a 9-inch square or round tart pan, pressing into corners and sides. Using a paring knife, trim the dough flush with edges of pan, and patch any holes or tears with extra dough.
• Roll out reserved dough into a rectangle at least 13 inches long and 1/8 inch thick. Cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch-wide strips. Transfer to a baking sheet; refrigerate, along with shell in pan, 30 minutes.
• Over medium heat, melt the raspberry jam in a small saucepan, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat, strain through a fine sieve, and let the jam cool slightly.
• Remove tart pan from refrigerator, and pour jam into shell. Remove dough strips from refrigerator, and arrange over the top in a lattice pattern. Trim the excess dough, and press ends into edge of shell to adhere. Bake until pastry is golden brown and jam is bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Dust top with confectioners' sugar, and serve.

LINZER CUTOUTS

Steps:

• Pulse the hazelnuts and 1/8 cup granulated sugar in a food processor until finely ground. Transfer to a bowl and whisk in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and cloves.
• Beat the butter and the remaining 1/8 cup granulated sugar in a large bowl with a mixer until fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla and lemon zest. Gradually add the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Divide the dough in half, flatten each half into a 5-inch disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.
• Roll out each disk of dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper to 1/8 inch thick. Refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Cut out stars or trees using a 2-inch cookie cutter and place them 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Cut out the centers of half of the cookies using smaller cutters. Refrigerate 10 minutes. Reroll the scraps just once and repeat. (Refrigerate the dough if it gets too soft.)
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake until the cookies are golden brown around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool 2 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to a rack.
• Dust the cutout cookies generously with confectioners' sugar. Spread about 1 teaspoon preserves on the underside of each whole cookie, then sandwich with the cutout cookies. Store in an airtight container up to 3 days.

LINZER BAR

Steps:

• In a large bowl stir together flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
• With a pastry blender or two knives use scissor style, cut in butter or margarine until coarse crumbs form.
• With a fork stir in corn syrup and egg just until mixed.
• Reserve 1/2 cup batter.
• Press remaining batter into a 9x9x2-inch baking pan.
• spread with jam.
• Stir 2 tablespoons flour into the reserved batter.
• If preparing a lattice add a couple tablespoons of water - one at a time - to make the dough easy to roll out. If you are dropping the dough by spoonfulls then just evenly scatter the top "crust" over the jam for a "spotty" look and bake.
• On a floured surface roll out to 1/4-inch thickness.
• Cut into 1/4-inch wide strips.
• Lattice strips over jam.
• Bake in 375-degree oven 30 minutes, or until set. Cool.
• Cut into bars. Serving size is really up to you - cut into as many bars as you want.

LINZER TARTS

Steps:

• Beat butter and sugar together until the mixture is light and fluffy. Stir in 1/2 cup flour, the ground almonds, and cinnamon. Mix in remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time until the mixture becomes a slightly stiff dough.
• Shape the dough into a ball; divide it in half. Wrap both halves in wax paper or plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about one hour.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough into a sheet 1/8 inch thick. With a 2 1/2-inch cookie cutter, cut as many circles from the sheet as you can. Knead the leftover scraps of dough into a ball and roll it out again into a 1/8 inch sheet. Cut out more circles. You should now have about 12 circles.
• Arrange cookies on prepared baking sheet, leaving about 1 inch of space between them. Refrigerate while working with remaining dough.
• Repeat the rolling and cutting process with the other half of the dough, but after placing the second batch on the baking sheet, cut out the center of each circle with a 1/2 inch cookie cutter.
• Bake cookies in preheated oven until light brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack for 20 minutes.
• Spread a thin coating of jam on each of the cookie rounds. Set a cutout cookie on top of each, pressing the two together so they make a sandwich. Spoon a dab of jam into the opening of each tart and sprinkle the tops with confectioners' sugar before serving.

LINZER COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine flour, cocoa, salt and spices; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in almonds. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle., Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-1/2-in. round or cookie cutter. From the center of half the cookies, cut out a 1-1/2-in. shape., Place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool completely., Spread bottom of each solid cookie with 1/2 teaspoon jam. Sprinkle cutout cookies with confectioners' sugar; carefully place over jam.

LINZER STRIPS

Steps:

• Combine butter and sugar in a large mixer bowl.
• Add eggs and almond extract until well mixed.
• Reduce speed to low when adding flour and ground nuts.
• Divide dough into 8 equal parts.
• Roll each part into an 8-inch log on a lightly floured surface.
• Wrap in plastic food wrap; refrigerate until firm about 2 hours.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Place logs on cookie sheets.
• Pat each log into 2-inch wide logs.
• Press a 1-inch wide indentation lengthwise down the center of each strip using the back of a spoon.
• Bake for 17-19 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.
• Spoon 2 tablespoons fruit spread into the indentation of each log; sprinkle with almond slices.
• Cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces while cookies are still warm.
• Cool completely on cookie sheet.