Every Christmas my mom would fill the kitchen (and sitting room!) with freshly baked cookies. These vegan Linzer cookies are my take on her Linzer Plaetzchen (German name) - one of my favorite Christmas cookies growing up.
Linzer cookies are the biscuit form of the Linzer tart or "Linzer torte" which is an Austrian lattice pie filled with raspberries. They consist of raspberry or strawberry jam sandwiched between almond flour shortbread cookies and are very popular around the Christmas holidays.
📖 Recipe Overview
- Minimal Ingredients - I'll bet that you may already have most of the ingredients lying around in your pantry. Even though these cookies are eggless and dairy-free, you don't need any fancy egg replacers to make them.
- Incredible Texture - With a soft, tender, and super buttery texture that melts in your mouth.
- Perfect For Gifting - They're perfect for the holidays. Growing up, my mother would keep several tins of these cookies to hand to give to friends, family, and neighbors!
These festive cookies would be amazing in a Christmas cookie box alongside some vegan mince pies, vanillekipferl, gingerbread cookies, and some chocolate truffles
🧾 Ingredients Needed
Here's what to grab to make homemade vegan jam cookies:
Ingredient Notes
- Ground Almonds- Adds flavor and moisture to the recipe, please do not use almond flour as this can tend to be on the drier side.
- Vegan Butter - You’ll need vegan block butter, not margarine or spread. I use flora unsalted plant butter.
- Jam - I love using raspberry or strawberry jam for these cookies. But you can also fill them with marmalade, apricot jam, blackberry jam. or pretty much any flavor that tickles your fancy.
- Vanilla Extract - This adds a delicious flavor to the shortbread cookies.
- Sea Salt - A must for these cookies, the salt enhances the flavors as well as helps to balance the sweetness.
🥣 How To Make Vegan Linzer Cookies
Find the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Step 1: Whisk the softened butter in a large mixing bowl until light and airy. Add in the sugar and vanilla extract and whisk for another minute or two until creamed together.
Step 2: Add the dry ingredients (flour, ground almonds, and sea salt). Fold the ingredients together using a rubber spatula.
Step 3: Knead and shape the dough into a ball. Flatten it down into a disc shape and wrap it with cling film. Place in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.
Step 4: Use a 2.5" linzer cookie cutter to cut out 19 cookies and 19 lids and place them on 2 separate baking trays.
Step 5: Bake the cookies until golden and allow then cool them completely before adding the filling and topping.
Step 6: Dust the cutout cookies (which will be on top) with icing sugar.
Step 7: Brush the base cookies with some jam.
Step 8: Add a teaspoon of jam to the center of each cookie and sandwich a sugar-dusted cutout cookie on top of them.
🍓 Variations
While classic raspberry linzer cookies are probably the most popular, there are lots of ways you can put your own twist on this recipe. Here are some ideas:
- Chocolate Linzer Cookies - Try this chocolate ganache recipe for a chocolate twist on your vegan Linzer cookies.
- Lemon Curd Linzer Cookies - These cookies are also incredible when filled with vegan lemon curd.
- Caramel Linzer Cookies - Stuff the cookies with vegan caramel sauce for an extra sweet kick.
- Nutella Linzer Cookies - Swap out the jam for some homemade vegan nutella.
📝 Recipe Tips
Use an offset spatula. Lift the cookies onto the baking sheet with an offset spatula, this helps them hold their shape in the process.
Bake top and bottom cookies separately. The top cookies will take less time to bake, so make sure you don't mix them on the same cookie sheet.
Bake in batches. If your baking trays are small, you will need to bake them in batches. I recommend getting all your cookies cut out, then place them in a container and refrigerate until ready to bake. You can stack them on top of each other separated with sheets of parchment paper.
Melt the jam. Gently warming the jam makes it much easier to spread and brush over the cookies.
Brush the cookies with jam. Coating the entire cookie surface area with some jam helps the cookies stay in place once sandwiched together.
💬 FAQs
Keep these vegan Linzer cookies in an airtight container and store them at room temperature. They will easily keep for a couple of weeks but are tastiest when enjoyed fresh within the first 3-4 days.
Yes, you can freeze them for up to a month in an airtight container. Make sure your cookies have cooled completely, then stack them between sheets of parchment paper before freezing.
To defrost, simply place them on a plate in the fridge overnight.
🎄 More Vegan Christmas Cookie Recipes
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Description
Equipment
Ingredients
- 150 g (5.3 oz) vegan butter (block-style), softened *see note 1
- 100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, or vanilla bean paste
- 180 g (1 ½ cups) all-purpose flour, sifted
- 125 g (1 ⅛ cups) ground almonds
- ½ teaspoon (½ teaspoon) sea salt
- 150 g (½ cup) raspberry jam, or strawberry jam *see note 2
- 150 g (½ cup) apricot jam, or marmalade
- 25 g (¼ cup) powdered sugar
Instructions
- Cream the butter and sugar: Add the softened butter to a large mixing bowl and use an electric whisk (or paddle attachment if using a mixer) to beat the butter for 2-3 minutes until light and airy.Add in the sugar and vanilla extract and whisk for another minute or two until creamed together.
- Add the flour, ground almonds, and sea salt. Fold the ingredients together using a rubber spatula. Then knead and shape the dough into a ball. Flatten it down into a disc shape and wrap it with cling film. Place in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Prepare: Preheat the oven to 180°C/356°F fan (200°C/392°F conventional).Line cookie trays with parchment paper and set aside.
- Roll the dough: Lightly dust your work surface and rolling pin with flour and carefully roll out the chilled dough to approximately 1cm in height.
- Cut out the cookies: Use a 2.5" linzer cookie cutter to cut out 19 cookies and 19 lids and use an offset spatula to lift them onto 2 separate baking trays (they both have different baking times). Leave around 2 inches between each cookie. If your baking trays are small, you will need to bake them in batches. I recommend cutting out all your cookies at once, and then place them in a container and refrigerate until ready to bake. You can stack them on top of each other separated with sheets of parchment paper.
- Bake: Bake the bottom cookies for 10 minutes and the lid cookies for 8 minutes, then remove them from the oven and allow the cookies to sit on the baking tray to cool for about 5 minutes. Carefully slide the sheet of parchment paper with the cookies off of the tray and onto a cooling rack. Cool for another 15-20 minutes.
- Assemble: Dust the cutout cookies (which will be on top) with icing sugar. If your jam is thick, gently warm the jam in saucepans or in the microwave to make it easier to work with.Brush the base cookies with some jam and then add 1-2 teaspoons of jam to the center of each one and sandwich a sugar-dusted cutout cookie on top of them.
- Storage: Keep them in an airtight container and store them at room temperature for 2-3 days or refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- Vegan Butter: Take this out of the fridge 1-2 hours ahead of time.
- Jam: Swap for vegan nutella, ganache, lemon curd, or another jam of choice.
Nutrition
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*This recipe was originally published in November 2021. The recipe has since been improved and updated to simplify the instructions.
