Gluten-Free Linzer Cookies

A fun and festive gluten-free cookie made with raspberry jam sandwiched between two almond-flavored shortbread cookies. Super easy recipe is perfect for the holidays, Valentine's Day or any time you want a pretty and really yummy cookie!

Gluten-Free Linzer Tart Cookies easy recipe www.healthygffamily.com
Gluten-Free Linzer Cookies

Easy, Festive, Fun and YUMMY!

So excited for you to try these Gluten-Free Linzer Cookies!

They are easy and fun to make, super pretty and festive and beyond YUMMY!

In fact, they may be my new favorite cookie!

So if you know me, I’ll be making them for Valentines Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, Christmas and every occasion in between!

Gluten-Free Linzer Tart Cookies easy recipe www.healthygffamily.com

So what is a Linzer Cookie?

It is a simple cookie with raspberry jam (or your choice of jam) sandwiched between two almond-flavored shortbread cookies and topped with a dusting of powdered sugar.

A little google research quickly informed me that the Linzer cookie is based on the Linzer Torte which is one of the world’s oldest cakes, dating back to 1653 and Austrian city of Linz.

The torte/tart consists of a crust made flour and ground nuts (traditionally almonds) and filled with fruit preserves and topped with a lattice crust. 

The Linzer cookie is based on the torte and is a similar recipe but in a cookie form.

The shortbread cookie actually reminds me of my Grandmother’s Viennese Crescents that we make around the holidays, not surprisingly as they both originate from Austria and have similar almond flavor and a dusting of powdered sugar.

Gluten-Free Linzer Tart Cookies easy recipe www.healthygffamily.com

So let’s make them!

Before we get to the ingredients, I want to point out that there is a cooking video on this page so you can see how easy it is to make these Gluten-Free Linzer Cookies!

And as with all our recipes, there is a printable recipe with exact measurements and directions at the bottom of the page.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Just 9 simple, pantry ingredients for the cookie + raspberry jam (or jam of choice) and powdered sugar.

butter or dairy-free butter

granulated sugar

eggs

vanilla extract

gluten-free all purpose flour with xanthan gum (we use GFJules, affiliate link)

almonds

baking powder

cinnamon

salt

Gluten-Free Linzer Tart Cookies easy recipe www.healthygffamily.com

A few notes before we make them:

1. First, you may have noticed that we are affiliate for GFJules To learn more about why we love GFJules flour and why we have used it for 10 years, click here.

Bonus: at the bottom of that post is a one-time use affiliate Discount Code.

And importantly, purchasing through an affiliate link does not change your cost at all. It generates a small percentage of the sale for me, and purchasing through an affiliate link helps me fund this website and all the recipes I share, so thank you!

2. As best I can tell, the original Linzer cookie recipes used almonds which are then ground, and I opted to make ours this way as well because they reminded me of the holiday cookies we make like my grandmother’s Viennese Crescent Cookies.

Many recipes call for almond flour in place of  the ground almonds. While almond flour may work in this recipe, I have not tried that and cannot say for certain.

Gluten-Free Linzer Tart Cookies easy recipe www.healthygffamily.com

3. Cookie cutters/ Linzer Cookie Cutter Set.  You could make these with any cookie cutter you love and even cut out the center yourself, but to make it easy to get the pretty cut out center, I purchased  Linzer Cookie Cutter Set (amazon affiliate link)

It comes with 6 interchangeable centers so you can choose the center shape you want.

Gluten-Free Linzer Tart Cookies easy recipe www.healthygffamily.com

4. The recipe as written makes 48 cookies but I have repeatedly cut the recipe in half and made 24 cookies. You can easily do the same but clicking the “1/2 button” next to servings on the recipe.

Remember 24 cookies equals making 24 tops and 24 bottoms!

So let’s make the dough!

The dough will need to chill for an hour. But there is a lot of flexibility with the dough and it can be made and chilled for a day or two ahead!

The dough comes together in 3 simple steps:

  1. Cream butter and sugar.
  2. Add in egg and vanilla.
  3. Separately, combine flour, ground almonds, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add to the wet ingredients and mix until dough forms.

Take the dough out of the mixing bowl and form into a ball, then wrap in wax paper and chill minimum 1 hour, overnight or even longer.

It is a very flexible dough and I’ve even rolled it 2 days later!

When you’re ready to roll the dough, remove from the refrigerator, let sit for about 5 minutes, then work with part of the dough at a time, keeping the other part wrapped so it doesn’t dry out.

Roll the dough into a circle (any shape will do!) about 1/4 inch thick, the cut out both the circle base shape and the top cut out shape.

A few rolling tips:

  • I used a silicone mat and rolling pin (amazon affiliate links) but a wooden
  • Generously spread flour on the mat and rolling pin. If the dough seems too sticky to roll, add more flour to the mat or top of flour.
  • It helps to lift and turn the dough frequently as you roll to avoid sticking.
  • If you don’t have a rolling pin, this dough could actually be pressed flat and cut out shapes that way.

Then bake them!

They only bake for about 9-10 minutes, until set and just starting to turn golden.

You can fill them as soon as they cool or you can store the cookies and fill them before serving.

Gluten-Free Linzer Tart Cookies easy recipe www.healthygffamily.com

The cookies will get softer after filling them, so if creating for an event, they will be freshest the first day, but I find they stay fresh for a few days after filling them.

All you need to make them into sandwich cookies is your favorite raspberry or fruit jam and some powdered or confectioner’s sugar.

Place jam on the circle base and then dip the top of the cookie into the powdered sugar and place on top of the jammy sandwich cookie base.

That’s it!

They look fancy and impressive but are super simple!

A few tips on storing and freezing:

  • Like I mentioned above, cookies will get softer after a few days of being filled so to keep extra fresh, fill cookies the day of serving. That said, I eat them for dayssss after filling — they are not too soft and taste great!
  • Cookies can be baked and stored separately in a sealed container at room temperature for several days before assembling with jam.
  • To freeze, freeze cookies, before assembling with jam.

Hope you love them as much as we do!

Gluten-Free Linzer Tart Cookies easy recipe www.healthygffamily.com

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Scroll down for recipe and leave a comment / rating if you love them!

Recipe

 

Gluten-Free Linzer Tart Cookies easy recipe www.healthygffamily.com
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5 from 1 vote

Gluten-Free Linzer Tarts

A fun and festive gluten-free cookie made with raspberry jam (or your choice of jam) sandwiched between two almond-flavored shortbread cookies. Super easy recipe is perfect for the holidays, Valentine's Day or any time you want a pretty and really yummy cookie. Recipe halves well. I generally make 24 cookies at a time. It is a simple recipe but directions look long because I give lots of tips!
Course: Holiday Baking, Cookies, Desserts
Cuisine: Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Optional, Nut-Free optional
Keyword: gluten free, easy recipe, Linzer cookies, holiday baking
Servings: 48 cookies
Author: Healthy Gluten-free Family

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter or dairy-free butter room temperature
  • cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 cups gluten free all purpose flour with xanathan gum we used GFJules, affiliate link
  • 1 cup finely chopped almonds
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 cup raspberry jam or jam or choice
  • ½ cup powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

Make the dough

  • In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes, scraping down sides as needed.
  • Add in eggs and vanilla, and mix to combine. At this point, the batter may look a little clumpy. NOTE: when I halve the recipe I add in egg and vanilla together. When making full recipe, I either add in eggs one at a time or lightly whisk them first, then add in both eggs with vanilla. Both ways work.
  • In a separate bowl, combine flour, ground almonds, baking powder, salt and cinnamon, and combine using a whisk, fork or pastry cutter. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix to combine. Batter will form fairly quickly, continue to mix about 1 minute in total until forms a cookie dough that you can take out and form into a ball.
  • Using your hands, form dough into a ball, wrap in wax paper and chill for minimum 1 hour. You can chill overnight, up to 2 days, before rolling. If chilling overnight or longer, I like to place ball in wax paper also in a plastic bag to prevent drying out.

Roll out Cookies

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Removed dough from refrigerator and let sit for 5 minutes. Cut dough in half if you've halved the recipe, or in 3 or 4 pieces if you made the full recipe, and work with part of the dough at a time. Keep other part of dough wrapped in wax paper to keep from drying out.
  • Using a rolling pin and silicone mat or wooden board, spread gluten free all purpose flour on the mat and on the rolling pin, roll dough approximately 1/4 inch thick. A few tips: It helps to lift and turn the dough frequently as you roll to avoid sticking. If dough seems sticky at all, add extra flour to the mat or even lightly dust the top of the dough. Dough rolls best when cool so if dough getting too warm, place in refrigerator for a few minutes.
  • Using a Linzer Cookie Cutter (Amazon affiliate link) or cookie cutter of choice, cut out an equal amount 2 inch circles and 2 inch cut outs. (top and bottom of sandwich cookie) Place on prepared baking sheet so that cookies do not touch. Repeat using scraps of dough by forming scraps into a ball and re-rolling. If the scraps won't roll well, you can actually press them down gently using your hands, it is a very forgiving dough! Tip: If you don't have a Linzer cookie cutter, you could either make them as sandwich cookies without the cut out or carefully make a circle cut out yourself.
  • Cookies will not spread when they bake, so when your sheets are full, bake 9-10 minutes or until just set and staring to get golden on edges.
  • Repeat with remaining dough.
  • Let baked cookies cool on baking sheet. Then when fully cooled place in a sealed container until ready to assemble. This will keep the cookie crisp.

Assemble Cookies

  • Spread approximately 1 teaspoon jam onto the full circle cookies.
  • Meanwhile, lightly dust the cut out side of the cookie with powdered sugar. I like to place the sugar in a bowl and dip the top of the cookie into the sugar but any way will work! Place on top of the jam. And enjoy!

Storing, Freezing, Making Ahead

  • Store in a sealed container at room temperature for up to a week. See notes below for freshest cookies.
  • Cookies will get softer after a few days of being filled so to keep extra fresh and have powdered sugar look freshest, fill cookies the day of serving. That said, they don't get too soft and still taste great days later!
  • Cookies can be baked and stored separately in a sealed container at room temperature for several days before assembling with jam.
  • To freeze, freeze cookies without the jam.
Tried this recipe?Mention @HealthyGFFamily or tag #HealthyGFFamily!

2 thoughts on “Gluten-Free Linzer Cookies

  1. 5 stars
    These were exactly what I was looking for. I used half of the dough for classic Linzer cookies. The other half I cut out using a acorn cutter. After they were baked and cooled, I used melted chocolate to create the acorn caps. Both versions were a huge hit with folks who’d weren’t gluten-free, but raved all the same.

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