Vegan Linzer cookies with jam sandwiched between 2 buttery vanilla almond shortbread cookies. Completely customizable from the fillings to the shape, they're the perfect vegan cookie for the holiday baking season.
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.