Lemon Poppy Seed Linzer Cookies

40 mins Prep Time

12 mins Cook Time

Written By

Nadia Boachie

Yet another Christmas cookie recipe to add to your list. These are a take on the classic Austrian Linzer cookies. There is poppy seed added to the almond cookie dough as well as two filling options; a lemon curd or a strawberry jam! These Linzer cookies are buttery, lemony and beautiful. You can dust them with powdered sugar to look more like the traditional classic Austrian Linzer cookie. I prefer to leave them without sugar so eaters can admire the beautifully speckled dough the poppy seeds create. I made 7 rather large cookies but using a smaller cookie cutter, you can get about 14-16 cookies from this recipe. Additionally I find the dough of this recipe a bit soft so really don't skip the refrigeration step.

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 cup almond flour
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus 2 tablespoons, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Pinch of kosher salt
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons poppy seeds (optional)
1 large egg

Lemon Curd

4 large egg yolks
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter

Jam Filling

Store bought raspberry jam

Directions

Lemon Poppy Seed Linzer Cookies

14 Steps

Step 1

In a bowl, mix together your flours, all-purpose flour and almond flour.
Step 2

Using a stand mixer or in a bowl, cream your butter, sugar, salt, lemon zest and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Step 3

Add your poppy seeds to creamed butter and mix for 1 minute until incorporated. You may need to scrape sides to make sure everything is mixed well.
Step 4

Add in your egg and beat on low for 1 minute.
Step 5

Add your flour mixture to your wet ingredients and mix until just combined. If using a stand mixer, remove your bowl and use wooden spoon to manually make sure everything is mixed properly.
Step 6

Place your dough in plastic wrap and form a disc, and place in fridge for at least 1 hour. I let mine rest for at least 2 hours, the dough can be soft and hard to cut out.
Step 7

After your dough has chilled, preheat your oven to 350°F.
Step 8

On a floured surface, roll out your dough to about 1/4 of an inch thick.
Step 9

Using a large and a small cookie cutter, cut out your cookies. Remember to use your smaller cookie cutter to cut out holes in your cookies for only half of them. For the cookie sandwich, the bottom cookie is whole and the top cookie is the only one with a window cut out.
Step 10

The cookies pictured here are quite large, I used a cocktail mixer and its top to cut out these cookies and typically will get 7-8 cookie sandwiches or 14-16 cut out cookies. If using a regular sized cookie cutter (a 2 1/2-inch cookie cutter) you can get as many as 24-30 cookies cut out.
Step 11

If you find your dough too soft, place back in fridge between cutting out your cookies. The key is to make sure your counter top and rolling pin are floured enough so that cookies won't stick. Another trick to help with cutting out the cookies is to roll the dough between two pieces of parchment so it does not stick to the counter.
Step 12

Bake your cookies in the oven for 12 minutes, the edges will be lightly brown.
Step 13

Let them cool completely and take a teaspoon of jam or homemade lemon curd onto the whole cookie and place the cookie with the cutout on top. You may need more than a teaspoon of jam if you make larger cookies.
Step 14

Enjoy!

Lemon Curd

4 Steps

Step 1

Using the double-boiler method, add egg yolks, granulated sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt into the top pot of your double boiler.
Step 2

Using a whisk, keep whisking constantly until the mixture thickens. It will take about 10 minutes.
Step 3

Remove your curd from the heat, add your butter and whisk to incorporate. Cover with plastic wrap, placing the plastic wrap directly onto the curd to prevent skin from forming and let cool completely.
Step 4

After you have filled your cookies, you can store in airtight container for up to 10 days.