Linzer cookies

Instructions

1. Step 1

   Beat 225 g softened butter with 100 g powdered sugar on low speed, gradually increasing to medium, for about two minutes, then add 36 g egg yolks, 5 g vanilla extract and 4 g grated lemon zest. Powdered sugar dissolves quickly into the butter and gives the cookies a fine, melt-in-your-mouth texture. The mixture is ready when it's as smooth as cream and an even pale yellow.

   Suggested time: about 2 minutes.

   Mark step 1 as done

2. Step 2

   Whisk together 280 g all-purpose flour, 100 g almond flour, 2 g ground cinnamon and 2 g salt, add to the butter and mix on the lowest speed just until the dough comes together. Almond flour makes the cookies nutty and fragrant but also makes the dough soft and fragile, so mix as little as possible. The dough is ready when it's soft and smooth with no dry streaks of flour.

   Mark step 2 as done

3. Step 3

   Divide the dough in half, roll each portion between two sheets of parchment paper to about four millimeters thick, then lay them flat in the fridge for about an hour. Linzer dough is very rich in butter, so it only cuts neatly once it's cold and firm. The sheets are ready when they're evenly firm and no longer sag when lifted.

   Suggested time: about 60 minutes.

   Mark step 3 as done

4. Step 4

   Preheat the oven to 170°C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper while the dough chills. A slightly low temperature bakes the cookies evenly while keeping them an elegant pale gold. The oven is ready once it has preheated for about fifteen minutes.

   Mark step 4 as done

5. Step 5

   Use a round or fluted cutter to cut out the cookies, then use a small cutter to cut a window in the center of half of them for the tops. You need the same number of solid and windowed cookies to pair them up. Your cutting is right when you have two equal stacks with clean, sharp edges.

   Mark step 5 as done

6. Step 6

   Place the cookies two centimeters apart and bake at 170°C for 10 to 12 minutes; the windowed ones may be done a little sooner. A light bake preserves the sweet, fragrant butter-almond flavor. They're done when the edges are just turning pale golden and the tops look dry.

   Bake at 170°C for about 10 to 12 minutes.

   Mark step 6 as done

7. Step 7

   Let the cookies rest on the sheet for a few minutes, then move them to a rack and let them cool completely, about thirty minutes. Freshly baked butter-almond cookies are very delicate and only firm up once fully cool. They're ready when you can pick them up without them bending or breaking.

   Suggested time: about 30 minutes.

   Mark step 7 as done

8. Step 8

   Sift 20 g powdered sugar over the windowed cookies, spread about a teaspoon of the 180 g fruit jam, ideally raspberry, on the underside of each solid cookie, then set a windowed cookie on top and press gently. Dusting the sugar before assembling keeps the red jam from being covered in white. They're finished when the jam fills the window right to the edge without spilling out.

   Mark step 8 as done