Shortbread Linzer Cookies with Raspberry Jam

So far, 2020 has brought me three of the best things in the whole world. 1. A finally-perfected recipe for linzers. 2. The announcement of a new Tame Impala album. And 3. The future title of Mrs. Hunt-Broka. (Or does Broka-Hunt sound better? Ahhhh so many things to decide!)
So yeah, I’m pretty much stoked out of my damn mind! I’ve been looking down at my ring finger every few seconds since it was slipped on my finger late Saturday night. It’s so pretty!!!
The night of our engagement included perfect Bolognese, lots of laughs, a parking lot engagement, celebration bourbon shots, a first rough draft of our ultimate wedding playlist, and of course, Marc asking, “You said yes, right?” approximately one hundred times before we went to sleep that night. I can’t wait to get all crotchety and senile with this dude.
And now that we’ve officially called/texted/social media-ed every person we know to tell them the news, I’m ready to create the *official* Hunt-Broka (Broka-Hunt?) Wedding Pinterest board. Marc, you’re the ketchup to my french fries, and I love you! 😛
Anyways, the day after the aforementioned engagement situation, I made these cookies! I originally learned how to make them when I was in pastry school, but Marc’s grandma used to make them all the time and they’re his favorite. They’d also make a cute little V-Day dessert along with mini red velvet cupcakes or lemony mini strawberry cheesecakes!
Powdered sugar vs. granulated
The key to melt-in-your-mouth shortbread is powdered sugar which gives the cookies a softer, smoother texture. If you like a snappier shortbread, granulated would work. Otherwise, stock up on unsalted butter, vanilla extract, lemon zest, flour, Kosher salt, and seedless raspberry jam.
Since butter is a main flavor here, I would really recommend springing for a higher-quality brand. But, any unsalted butter will do!
Step-by-step directions
Store in the fridge or freezer
After the cookies are completely cooled, place them in a single layer in an airtight container. Store them in the fridge for up to 1 week. Or, you can freeze the cookies in a parchment-lined airtight container for up to 3 months!
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Shortbread Linzer Cookies with Raspberry Jam
Ingredients
- 420 grams all purpose flour, plus more for rolling (3 1/2 cups)
- 3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 342 grams unsalted butter, softened (3 sticks/1 1/2 cups)
- 120 grams powdered sugar, plus more for decorating (1 cup)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest (about 1 large lemon)
- 206 grams seedless raspberry jam (2/3 cup)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and powdered sugar until the mixture is fluffy and pale yellow, 3-4 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and lemon zest until it's thoroughly mixed. Then, add the flour a cup at a time, until you have a crumbly dough that's starting to come together.
- Turn the dough onto a pastry or cutting board. Press the dough together with clean hands until you have a smooth ball of dough. Cut the dough into two, and flatten each portion into a 1/2-inch disc. Wrap with plastic wrap or parchment paper, and freeze for about 15 minutes. Alternatively, refrigerate until you're ready to use the dough.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll each disc of dough until it's about 1/4-inch thick. Cut out an even number of 3-inch circles with a cookie cutter. Use a small cookie cutter to cut out a shape from half of the cookies. Place the cookies 1-inch apart on the prepared sheets, and bake for 8-10 minutes, until the bottoms and edges are lightly browned. (Refrigerate the unbaked cookies while the others are baking.) Let the cookies cool on the sheet pan for about 5 minutes and then move them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once the cookies are cooled, spread about 1 teaspoon of jam onto the bottom cookies, and then sandwich the cut-out cookies on top. Dust with powdered sugar, and store in an airtight container for up to a week.
These are amazing! So delicious and also gorgeous!!!
Wow, thank you so much, Heidi! I’m so glad you liked them. 🙂
They came out so amazing! Got compliments from my family saying they are the best cookies 🙂
Such a easy recipe to follow and loved the pictures that I can refer back to while making to make sure I’m doing everything right!
Thank you so much, Sofia!! I’m so glad you liked the recipe and that the photos are helpful. 🙂
These are so cute!!! They were fun to make and they taste lovely ☺️ they are a bit softer the next day. Because there are 2 cookies in 1, you get a good bite of shortbread, I loved them and will make again for sure ❤️
Thank you, Jenica! I’m so glad you liked the cookies. 🙂
I made the dough yesterday and refrigerated it with the intent of using it today. My dough is rock hard today. Is that normal? Will it soften out correctly once brought to room temp?
Hi Jordyn, yes it just needs to come back to room temperature for 30 mintues or so and then it’ll be ready. Cutting the dough in half will help speed things up!
I didnt know how to edit my initial review. The cookies are delicious but are better cut than to use cookie cutters. They are great all alone. I did have to increase the temp tp 375f because of my conventional oven. I do not have a convection oven just yet. However, I did manage to use them for my fresh raspberry jam by putting the dough in a bag and rolling it into a long cylinder then cutting into slices. It worked out better. Thanks for the recipe.
Thanks for the feedback, JM! I bet the fresh raspberry jam was delicious in these cookies. 🙂
These were the first time I’ve ever made my husband Linzer cookies (Traditional from my home country of Czech Republic) and he was blown away! I did a half and half batch of Raspberry jelly and Nutella- and honestly I was so surprised by how fast and easy this recipe was! Can’t wait to make our next batch!
Definitely trying with Nutella next time, it sounds amazing! Thanks so much, Addie!
Sorry to hear that! The dough needs to be refrigerated so that it doesn’t stick to the cookie cutters. It helps to let the dough warm up a bit to rolling temperature, typically 20-30 minutes.
I followed the recipe and the dough kept breaking on me :(! I used my hands too
Hey Larissa, sorry to hear that! It could be that the flour was too compacted. I typically “fluff” the flour with a fork, spoon it into a measuring cup, and level it off. With the current dough, you can try adding water or whole milk 1 teaspoon at a time just until the dough comes together. Also be careful not to overmix or the cookies will come out tough. Hope that helps!
At this point, I have been making these on a nearly-weekly basis! The recipe is easy to follow. The biggest love out of these was the extra circles created by the middle hole. Bite-sized deliciousness!
I have only made these with orange zest so far as opposed to lemon zest. I also had to bake them a little longer (14 minutes) in order to get to that little bit of brown.
Ahhh you’re so sweet! I’m so glad you like them. 🙂 Orange zest sounds amazing, definitely trying that next time!
Thanks so much for this recipe the lemon flavour was great!
Thank you, Katie! I’m so glad you liked them. 🙂
These are absolutely amazing! So buttery and fresh! Also, they turn out gorgeous! Honestly the shortbread just by itself is delicious! Taking them to a Super Bowl party today since Valentine’s Day is 2 days away and they’re also KC Chiefs colors which is our team. ❤️
Yay, thank you, Heidi! I hope everyone at the party loved them! Thanks so much for trying my recipe. <3