Hi Everyone! I can’t believe that Christmas is less than two weeks away now! How fast is this month flying by?! This time of year is my favorite time for baking, and as I take out my favorite family holiday recipes, unpack the box of Christmas cookie cutters that my grandmother used to use and fill my kitchen with those warm, familiar scents of Christmas memories, something magical happens. You see, I’m pretty sure that baking is sort of like entering your very own time travel machine, right there in your kitchen. Because as you re-create your favorite family recipes and put together the same ingredients and follow the same instructions as generations before you have, it’s like stepping back into time and into your favorite memories, one bite at a time! Every time I make these Linzer Cookies, I think of baking Christmas cookies with my mom and grandmother in my grandparents’ kitchen as a little girl. We used to make hundreds of cookies, lots of gingerbread ones that my mom then decorated beautifully and we used as ornaments on our tree, and lots of these Linzer Cookies, that are still one of my favorites!
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LINZER HEART COOKIES
(My Grandmother’s Recipe)
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YOU WILL NEED
2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 sticks (1 cup) plus 2 tbs unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 egg yolks
1/4 tsp salt
Optional: Add 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract or lemon zest to the dough
Optional: Add 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract or lemon zest to the dough
Jam for filling (seedless raspberry, red currant or seedless strawberry)
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DIRECTIONS
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1. First, cream together the butter and sugar in your mixer. Once you have a smooth mixture, add in the salt and the egg yolks and mix again, until creamy and yellow. Then, add in the flour in three portions, and mix until a soft dough forms. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate (I usually let my dough chill overnight, but if you don’t have time to do that, refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes to an hour).
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2. Once you are ready to use the dough, take it out of the fridge, and let it warm up a little bit until you are able to roll it out. On a floured surface, roll the dough out to about a 1/4 inch thickness, and cut out your heart shapes. (You want to cut out half of the shapes with the small heart hole in the middle, and half of them without it.) Preheat your oven to 350 deg F and place your hearts on parchment paper lined baking sheets. Bake for about 8 – 10 minutes, or until the cookies are just very lightly golden.
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3. Let the cookies cool completely. Once they have cooled, dust the top cookies with confectioners’ sugar, spread the jam on the bottom cookies, and then put your little sandwiches together and you are done! Store the cookies in an air-tight container, they actually get better and softer as they sit for a day or two. (*Note: I converted the recipe from the metric measurements. The original measurements are: 350g all-purpose flour, 250g unsalted butter, 130g granulated sugar, 2 egg yolks.)
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Happy Baking, Everyone!
These are gorgeous. I am pinning.
Sorry, I forgot to say I love, love, love metric measurements. Once you start using metric your life gets easier.
Thank you so much! 🙂 For some reason I find cup measurements to be so much easier, even though being from Europe I grew up using metric measurements! Have a wonderful rest of your week 🙂
Oh these look so good Maria! My grandma use to make these when I was younger. I may have to whip up a batch soon! Pinning for later 😉
Thanks so much, Kelley! This was always one of my favorite things that my grandma made 🙂 Hope you have a great weekend!
I think I would get the jam all over the cookies! Yours look beautiful, and delicious and I am usually a chocolate lover!
Beth – The First Year Blog
Thanks, Beth! Hope you have a good weekend 🙂
Those are so pretty. They look a little tricky to make, but they are gorgeous. I love old family recipes.
Thanks, Grace! They are actually very easy to make, just take a little bit of time, but it’s all worth it 🙂 Hope you have a great weekend, thanks for stopping by! 🙂
These are the most lovely cookies I have ever seen! I bet they taste just as wonderful. Please stop by our Link it or Lump it party and share with us all.
http://www.delineateyourdwelling.com/2013/12/link-it-or-lump-it-party-17.html
Thanks so much, Amy! 🙂
Wow these cookies look AMAZING!!! Old family recipes are always the best!
Thank you so much, Julie! And I agree 🙂 Have a great weekend!
wow these look so beautiful! I pinned right away!
Thank you so much!
Maria, your cookies are spectacular. I’ve wanted to make Linzer Cookies forever, but just never attempted them. With your instructions, I think I could tackle them. And of course you know I adore that you used your Grandmother’s recipe. Very special! ♥
Thank you so much, Joy! They are very easy to make, and just taste like Christmas to me! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by, hope you have a wonderful weekend!
My favorite cookie of all time – these are beautiful. Thanks for sharing your Grandmother’s recipe. (Found you on Link Party)
Thank you so much! One of my favorite cookies too 🙂 Have a great weekend!
This pretty looking cookies is calling my name, I want it…
They’ve been calling my name every since I baked them! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by, have a great weekend! 🙂
These are beautiful Maria! I love them! I’m going to keep them in mind for Valentine’s Day too – just perfect!
Thank you so much, Lindsay!
So beautiful. Definitely makes me think of Christmas
Thanks so much, Leigh!
Your Linzer heart cookies are just beautiful a very nice holiday cookies presentation. Thanks so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and enjoy your weekend!
Miz Helen
Thanks so much! 🙂 Hope you have a great weekend too!
These are so pretty – almost too pretty to eat! Visiting you from the Saturday Night Link party. Have a great Sunday. V@Sprout’s House xox
Thank you so much!
Maria – you’ve done a perfect job!
These linzer cookies look fantastic 🙂
Thank you so much!!!
These are one of the prettiest cookies I’ve seen! I featured them on my blog today as one of my faves from the Christmas Extravaganza Party! 🙂
Thank you so much, glad you liked them! 🙂
Wow, Maria! These cookies are absolutely stunning! That red jam is just gorgeous. What a work of art!
Thank you so much, Allie! That’s so sweet of you!
These look delicious!!!
Thank you so much!
These are beautiful!~
Thank you so much, Sherry!
Those Look Amazing!!
Thanks so much!
Wow, these are SO pretty!
these look amazing,so pretty. pinned them
Natasha @ Serenity You
Oh wow, these look too pretty to eat. I would love them. Thanks tons for linking to Inspire Me. Hugs, Marty
Wow! These look absolutely beautiful Maria! Seriously so impressed. Totally pinning these and can’t wait to try them out! 🙂 Hope they are as easy as you make them look.
Krista @ Joyful Healthy Eats
Hi Maria, I just tried making this recipe exactly as written. They did not turn out at all….the dough is extremely soft. Is 2 C plus 2 T butter the correct conversion? It seems double the amount of butter of most other recipes. Thanks,
Patti
Hi Patti, I just went back to look at the recipe, I meant to write 2 sticks, not to 2 cups!! I’m so so sorry, I feel so bad that your cookies didn’t turn out!! Thank you so much for letting me know, I went back and corrected the recipe! I really appreciate it, and I’m so so sorry!
These cookies look so pretty ! Thank you for sharing them at Tasty Tuesday. I am featuring them today. Hope you’ll drop by this week to share more recipes with us.
Wish you a Merry Christmas and happy holidays !
Oh, your cookies are pretty! The heart shapes are lovely. I’ve just learned how to make these, and how tasty they are!
Not only do your cookies look beautiful, I made them and they taste just as good as they look. I was wondering if i can make the dough a couple days before?
Hi Paula! I’m so glad that you liked the Linzer cookies! Sorry for the late response – yes, you can make them a night in advance and let the dough sit in the fridge overnight, then take it out an hour or two before rolling it out the next day, so it has time to soften again. Glad you liked the cookies! 🙂