Orange Marmalade Linzer Tarts Recipes

ANNA'S ORANGE MARMALADE

Steps:

• Cut the oranges and lemons in half crosswise, then into very thin half-moon slices. (If you have a mandoline, this will be quite fast.) Discard any seeds. Place the sliced fruit and their juices into a stainless-steel pot. Add 8 cups water and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring often. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar until it dissolves. Cover and allow to stand overnight at room temperature.
• The next day, bring the mixture back to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for about 2 hours. Turn the heat up to medium and boil gently, stirring often, for another 30 minutes. Skim off any foam that forms on the top. Cook the marmalade until it reaches 220 degrees F on a candy thermometer. If you want to be doubly sure it's ready, place a small amount on a plate and refrigerate it until it's cool but not cold. If it's firm -- neither runny nor too hard -- it's done. It will be a golden orange color. (If the marmalade is runny, continue cooking it and if it's too hard, add more water.)
• Pour the marmalade into clean, hot Mason jars; wipe the rims thoroughly with a clean damp paper towel, and seal with the lids. Store in the pantry for up to a year.

ORANGE MARMALADE LINZER TARTS

Steps:

• In a food processor, combine 1/2 cup flour and almonds; cover and pulse until almonds are finely ground. Add baking powder, salt and remaining flour; cover and process just until combined., In a small bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks, extract and lemon zest. Gradually add almond mixture to creamed mixture and mix well., Divide dough in half. Shape each into a ball, then flatten into a disk. Wrap and refrigerate 1 hour., Preheat oven to 350°. On a floured surface, roll out one portion of dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-in. round cookie cutter. Using a floured 1-in. round cookie cutter, cut out the centers of half the cookies. Place solid and cutout cookies 1 in. apart on greased baking sheets., Bake 6-8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough., Spread 1 teaspoon marmalade on bottoms of solid cookies. Sprinkle cutout cookies with confectioners' sugar; place on top of marmalade. Store in an airtight container.

ORANGE MARMALADE

Steps:

• Wash the oranges and lemon thoroughly. Cut the oranges into 1/8-inch slices using a mandoline, removing the seeds as you go. Stack the orange slices and cut them into quarters. Place the oranges into an 8-quart stainless steel pot. Add the lemon zest and juice and the water to the pot, set over high heat and bring to a boil, approximately 10 minutes. Once boiling, reduce the heat to maintain a rapid simmer and cook, stirring frequently, for 40 minutes or until the fruit is very soft.
• While the fruit is cooking, fill a large pot (at least 12-quart) 3/4 full with water, set over high heat and bring to a boil. Place 10 (8-ounce) jars and rings, canning funnel, ladle, and tongs into the boiling water and make sure the water covers the jars by at least an inch. Boil for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the lids and leave everything in the pot until the marmalade is ready.
• Meanwhile, place a small plate in the freezer. Increase the heat under the orange mixture to return to full boil. Add the sugar and stir the mixture continually, until it reaches 222 to 223 degrees F on a deep-fry or candy thermometer, and darkens in color, approximately 15 to 20 minutes. You may need to adjust the heat in order to prevent boil over. Test the readiness of the marmalade by placing a teaspoon of the mixture onto the chilled plate and allowing it to sit for 30 seconds. Tilt the plate. The mixture should be a soft gel that moves slightly. If mixture is thin and runs easily, it is not ready.
• Remove jars from the water and drain on a clean towel. Place a canning funnel onto the top of 1 of the jars and ladle in the marmalade just to below the bottom of the threads of the jar. Repeat until all of the mixture has been used. The amount of marmalade may vary by 1 to 2 jars. Wipe the rims and threads of the jars with a moist paper towel and top each with a lid. Place a ring on each jar and tighten.
• Return the jars to the pot with boiling water, being certain that they don't touch the bottom of the pot or each other. (If you don't have a jar rack, try a round cake rack, or metal mesh basket. Even a folded kitchen towel on the pot bottom will do in a pinch.) Add additional water if necessary to cover the jars by at least an inch. Boil for 10 minutes. Using canning tongs, carefully remove the jars from the water, place in a cool dry place and allow to sit at room temperature for at least 24 hours before opening. Once open, store in the refrigerator. Unopened marmalade will last for up to 6 months.

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.

HONEY APPLE LINZER TART

Steps:

• Line tart pan with parchment paper.
• In a small saucepan, over medium heat, cook sugar, honey, marmalade and apple juice, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat and simmer until mixture begins to thicken, about 2 minutes; set aside.
• Peel and core the apples. Cut into thin wedges then sprinkle with lemon juice to prevent discoloration. Add apples to syrup in pot and toss to coat. Simmer, covered, 15 minutes. Uncover and simmer on low heat until apples are very soft, 10 to 15 minutes more. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
• Transfer apple mixture to a glass bowl and allow to cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator 2 hours.
• For the Tart: Combine flour and sugar in bowl of electric mixer. Add butter and, starting at low speed, stir until pieces of flour-covered butter are cut into tiny particles. Stop machine to check consistency. Add egg yolks and blend until particles are moistened, add water and blend until dough comes together. Don't over mix or dough will be tough. Wrap in waxed paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate 5 minutes.
• Remove one-fourth of dough and refrigerate. Flatten remaining dough into thin round disk and press into 11-inch tart pan with removable bottom. On a floured board, roll out remaining one-fourth dough into 12-inch square. Using a fluted pastry cutter or knife, cut into 16 to 18 (1/2-inch) strips. Chill 10 minutes.
• Spread Filling evenly in pastry-lined tart pan. Arrange 1/2 of dough strips across top of filling, spacing as evenly as possible. Arrange remaining strips in opposite direction, across first strips of dough, making a lattice pattern. Cut off strips even with edge of pan and press each strip with bottom pastry and pinch to seal.
• Place tart on baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees until golden brown, 1 hour. Remove from oven and set on rack to cool. Remove from tart pan by carefully loosing bottom from sides of pan.

MARMALADE LINZER SANDWICHES

Steps:

• Whisk together flour and baking powder in a bowl. Pulse pecans, confectioners' sugar, salt, nutmeg, and cardamom in a food processor until finely ground. With a mixer on medium speed, beat pecan mixture, butter, and granulated sugar until fluffy, about 6 minutes. Beat in vanilla and egg. Reduce speed to low and beat in flour mixture. Divide dough in half; shape into disks. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Let dough stand at room temperature until pliable. Working with one disk at a time, roll out dough between 2 pieces of lightly floured parchment to 1/8 inch thick. Refrigerate 20 minutes. Cut out rounds with a 2-inch cutter. Cut out centers of half of rounds with 1-inch cutters in different shapes, rerolling scraps once.
• Arrange cookies 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheets once, until pale golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely.
• Meanwhile, heat marmalade in a saucepan over medium heat until reduced to about 2/3 cup, about 10 minutes; let cool.
• Sift confectioners' sugar over rounds with cutout centers and shapes. Spread about 3/4 teaspoon jam on flat side of remaining rounds, then sandwich together. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container up to 1 week.