Linzer Biscuits

...The 6-12 year old cooks LOVED making these "jammie dodgers"...Austrian style Christmas biscuits last year in our classes.

The toasted hazelnuts give them a rich flavour and cutting out the dough shapes is great fun.

You can cut them into any shape...a star or circle (for a Christmas bauble) or a Christmas tree or a snowman or angel shape!

The little cut out on the top biscuit which shows the jam can be any shape too; - a piece of holly, a star or a mini Christmas tree. 

Thanks to Nigella for introducing us to these amazing cookies through her 'Cook, Eat, Repeat' book and T.V. series that got us through the lockdown of December 2020, I have adapted her recipe below;

Austrian Christmas Biscuits - Linzer Cookies

Makes 22 cookies (sandwiches)

125g sugar

200g unsalted butter (soft)

100g skinned toasted hazelnuts or ground almonds (at whatever ratio suits – 60% ground almonds/40% ground hazelnuts works well)

300g plain flour

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp fine sea sat

1 large egg (room temp)

1 large egg yoke at room temp

Icing sugar

Redcurrant Jelly (60ml)

Raspberry Jam (60ml)

1. Grind the toasted hazelnuts in a food processor until you have fine sand.

2. Cream butter and sugar together

3. Add the nuts, sieved flour, cinnamon and salt

4. Separately, whisk together the whole egg and egg yolk

5. Then gradually add to the butter mixture

6. Cover with clingfilm and rest for an hour in the fridge

7. Take out and allow to stand for 15 minutes

8. Roll out with not too much flour and fairly quickly and use a 6 cm cookie cutter

9. Cut out a shape in the middle of half of them using a small cookie cutter, bottle top or knife

10. Bake for 9-10 minutes at 180/160 F until they are just lightly golden at the edges (but they will still be pale)

11. When cool make the sandwiched biscuits by mixing the jelly and jam spreading it in the middle and then once sandwiched together sprinkle with icing sugar.

Any jam can be used; - cranberry/blackcurrant/cherry/strawberry

Add some orange zest to the mixture to add a Christmassy orange flavour, it goes particularly well with the hazelnuts (and cranberry jam)