Eggless Linzer Cookies with Strawberry Jam Filling

Linzer Cookies: Today I am here with kids friendly cookies recipe that I specially made for my kids on Valentine’s day…Unlike the basic sugar cookie recipe, this Eggless Linzer Cookies with strawberry jam filling dough has almond meal, reduced sugar and no baking/raising agent used…Kids liked it much with the strawberry filling…You can make it for parties or on a special occasion, this recipe is a keeper for sure…Thanks Swathi for this wonderful (Baking Partners) challenge. Dear blogger Friends my laptop screen has broken so I won’t be active in FB, also I rarely visit your spaces for a few days…Now I am using the Television to connect my laptop…Hope you understand the situation, Thanks!!!

Yields :- Approx 16 – 2n3/4th inch Cookies

Ingredients

Unbleached APF/Maida – 1 cup 2 tablespoon (5.06 ounces)/145g
Ground Almonds and/or hazelnuts – 1/2 Cup
Unsalted Butter – 8 Tbsp (1 Stick)
Granulated Sugar – 1/4 cup (1.75 ounces)/50g
Salt – 1/8tsp
Ground Cinnamon and Cloves – 1/4tsp
Almond Or Vanilla Extract – 1/8tsp
Grated lemon zest or 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract – 1tsp
Grated orange zest or 1/4 teaspoon orange extract – 1tsp
Strained or pureed good quality preserves or fruit spread
1tsp + extra Powdered sugar for dusting

Equipment

Cookie sheets, lined with parchment paper or un-greased
Food processor
Large and small cookie cutters of the same or a different shape, I used 2n3/4th inch Circle (Condensed milk can) and1 inch Heart cookie cutter.

Directions

Blanch almond and make powder with 1 teaspoon of powdered sugar(Pic 1) or cornstarch for stepwise pictures click here.
In a wide bowl/kitchen aid stand mixer combine the flour,ground nuts(almond meal), granulated sugar, salt, cinnamon, cloves , almond extract and the lemon and orange zests or extracts (Pic 1).
Then add the butter (cut into several pieces if firm, Pic 2) mix well until mixture looks damp and crumbly (Pic 3).
Continue mixing until all the dough comes together (Pic 4).
Remove the dough, press it into a ball, and knead it a few times to be sure all of the dry ingredients are blended into the dough.
Form the dough into 1 flat patty (Pic 5).
Wrap and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours and preferably overnight or up to 3 days (Pic 5).
The dough may be frozen for up to 3 months.
When you are ready to bake. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.

How to Roll and Cut Linzer Cookies

Remove dough from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature until supple enough to roll but still quite firm.
It will continue to soften as you work.
Roll the dough to a thickness of 1/8 inch between sheets of parchment/wax paper or between heavy plastic sheets cut from a plastic bag.
While you are rolling check for deep wrinkles; if necessary, peel off and smooth the paper or plastic over the dough before continuing to roll it.
When the dough is thin enough, peel off the top sheet of paper or plastic and keep it in front of you.
Cut as many large shapes as possible. Dip the edges of the cookie cutters in flour as necessary to prevent sticking.
Cut a smaller shape from the center of half of the large shapes (Pic 6).
Use the point of a paring knife to lift and remove scraps as you transfer the cookies to the lined or ungreased pans.
Place large cookies at least 1 1/2 inches apart on the cookie sheets(Pic 7).
I used two pans, also I refrigerated after making shapes for a while before start baking
If the dough gets too soft at any time-while rolling, cutting, removing scraps between cookies, or transferring cookies-slide a cookie sheet underneath the paper or plastic and refrigerate/Freeze the dough for a few minutes, until firm.
Repeat with the second piece of dough.
Gently press all of the dough scraps together (don’t overwork them with too much kneading) and re-roll.

How to bake Linzer Cookies

Bake for 12 to 20 minutes , or until the cookies are just beginning to color at the edges.
Rotate the pans from top to bottom and from front to back halfway through the baking time to ensure even baking.
The small shapes may be baked for 8 to 10 minutes on a separate cookie sheet to make miniature cookies, or the dough may be combined with other dough scraps to be rerolled and cut.
Let the cookies firm up on the pan for 1 to 2 minutes.
For lined pans, set the pans or just the liners on racks to cool; for unlined pans, use a metal spatula to transfer the cookies to racks (Pic 8).
Cool the cookies completely before stacking or storing. The cookies are delicious fresh but even better the next day.
May be kept in an airtight container for a month or more.
To assemble, shortly before serving, spread each solid cookie with a thin layer of preserves/Fruit Jam (Pic 9).

Sift powdered sugar over the cookies with cutouts.
Place a sugared cutout cookie on top of each preserve-covered cookie.
Leftover cookies can be stored in an airtight container, but the moisture from the preserves will soften them.