We Be Jammin’

I am so happy to be back blogging. I have such a great week coming up! I’m teaching my first cooking class demo, attending a ‘foodie’ wine and food show, and TRYING to finish up my brochure which includes a menu and calendar of my cooking classes.

This past week I also made these awesome linzer tart cookies. I usually like to make desserts when I have free time and then put them in freezer so I can always grab them at a moment’s notice. These cookies will not be going to anyone’s house for dessert for two reasons…

1) These are a tad laborious and for 30 cookies it takes about a hour.

2) They disappear at a fast rate from my freezer by a certain “someone” who happens to love linzer cookies.

I mentioned these cookies a while back in another post mentioning that I had tasted the best linzer cookies at a food show from My Most Favorite restaurant. When I had the motivation to make these cookies, their restaurants cookbook is the first place I looked. Well, with a few adjustments to my own liking, these were a first time hit!

If you know of a linzer tart lover, I highly recommend making these cookies. The almost shortbread like cookie, tart, and slight nuttiness, makes these delicate cookies really special.

Linzer Tart Cookies

1 C. All Purpose Flour

1 tsp. Cinnamon

8 TBS. Earth Balance

1/4 C. Sugar

1/2 C. Almonds, finely ground

1/2 C. Hazelnuts, finely ground

Fruit Preserve (I recommend Raspberry, but I used Sarabeth’s Plum and Cherry Jam)

Powdered Sugar, for dusting

In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the margarine and granulated sugar on medium speed until fluffy. Gradually add the flour and cinnamon and beat on low speed until dough comes together in a ball. Add the ground nuts, scraping the sides of the bowl until incorporated. May take a few times scraping the sides until fully incorporated. Roll in the shape of small disk and wrap in plastic wrap for a few hours until firm.

Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough 1/4 inch thick and cut out shapes with a cookie cutter. Hint: use the wide end of a pastry bag tip to cut the middles out of half the cookies. Bake for 12 minutes or until just set. Remove from baking sheet and cool on wire rack. Sprinkle the cut out tops with powdered sugar. Place a teaspoon of preserves on each bottom cookie and place a sugared cutout on top. Can be stored in the fridge for 1 week or a month in the freezer….if they last that long.