When the frost starts hitting the windows, my oven needs to be working overtime! There’s just nothing cozier than smelling vanilla and butter baking, and these delicate beauties are my go-to every single year. Forget those big, clunky holiday cookies; these are pure elegance on a tiny plate. We’re talking about making Irresistible Snowflake Linzer Cookies With Raspberry Filling. The key here is really working that butter until it’s just right, which gives you a cookie that melts instantly in your mouth, contrasting beautifully with that bright, slightly tart jam center peeking through the snowy top. Trust me, once you master the chill time, these are simple, but the payoff in looks and flavor is just incredible!
Why You Will Create Irresistible Snowflake Linzer Cookies With Raspberry Filling
Seriously, these cookies are showstoppers without being tricky. Once you try the first one—the melt-in-your-mouth texture combined with that fruity punch—you’ll be hooked. Here’s why these are going straight into your permanent holiday rotation:
- Pure Butter Bliss: The dough is rich and buttery, achieving that delicate shortbread crumb that just disappears on your tongue.
- Stunning Visuals: That perfect snowflake shape dusted heavily with powdered sugar looks exactly like fresh snowfall. It’s so festive!
- Flavor Pop: The bright, slightly acidic raspberry jam cuts through the richness of the butter cookie beautifully. It’s the perfect balance of sweet and tart.
- Easy Assembly: While they look fancy, once the dough is chilled and cut, putting them together is fast and fun.
Essential Ingredients for Irresistible Snowflake Linzer Cookies With Raspberry Filling
For these delicate butter cookies, the quality of your ingredients really shines through since there aren’t a million things masking the flavor. You only need a few pantry staples, but you have to treat them right! I’m listing everything out here super clearly so you don’t guess a thing.
We need:
- 2 and 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour—nothing fancy required here.
- 1 cup of unsalted butter. Now, this is important: it absolutely must be softened! If it’s too cold, the creaming won’t work. If it’s melted, the cookies spread into puddles. We want soft, pliable butter.
- 3/4 cup of granulated sugar.
- 1 large egg yolk—just the yolk adds richness without too much liquid.
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract. Don’t skip the almond! It’s what makes Linzer cookies taste authentic!
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt to keep things balanced.
- And of course, 1/2 cup of bright raspberry jam to fill those snowy windows.
- Finally, 1/2 cup of powdered sugar for the big reveal!
Remember what I always say about the butter—it has to be room temperature! This helps incorporate air when you cream it, giving you that beautiful, tender texture in the final Linzer cookie.
Expert Tips for Perfect Irresistible Snowflake Linzer Cookies With Raspberry Filling
These Linzer cookies look like they belong in a fancy bakery window, but I promise they are totally doable at home! The success hinges entirely on how you treat the dough before it even sees the oven. If you follow these little secrets, you won’t have any sad, crumbled cookies on your hands when you go to assemble them. Seriously, chilling is your best friend here!
Achieving the Ideal Dough Consistency
Remember that creaming step—butter and sugar beating until it looks fluffy? That’s where you build structure! Don’t rush it. Once you add the flour, you mix only until it *just* starts to come together, maybe you see a few wisps of flour left. Stop mixing right there, even if it looks a little shaggy. Then, wrap it tight and chill it for at least an hour. That chilling time is non-negotiable if you want clean cuts!
Mastering the Snowflake Cookie Cutouts
Working with chilled dough is tough, so you need to be prepared. Lightly flour your surface, but don’t go overboard. When you press your snowflake cutter in, press down firmly and wiggle just a tiny bit before lifting straight up. If you have trouble getting the center windows out cleanly, try dipping the small cutter in flour first. If you notice the dough softening while you’re cutting, pop the whole sheet back into the fridge for 10 minutes. It makes all the difference for getting those perfect little snowy holes to show off the jam later!
Step-by-Step Instructions for Irresistible Snowflake Linzer Cookies With Raspberry Filling
Okay, let’s get baking! After you’ve chilled that dough—and yes, I mean you really waited the full hour because I can tell if you didn’t—it’s time to make some magic happen. Remember, don’t try to rush the oven or the cookie sheets; patience is the main ingredient in these Linzer cookies!
- First things first, find your biggest bowl. You’re going to cream together that softened butter and the granulated sugar. You want this mixture to look light and airy, almost like whipped frosting. If it still looks grainy, just keep going a little longer!
- Next, beat in that single egg yolk, the vanilla, and especially that powerful almond extract until everything is smooth and well-mixed.
- Now, tackle the dry stuff. Whisk your flour and salt together in a separate bowl quickly. Gradually start adding this dry mixture into your wet ingredients. Mix it on low—we are stopping the second it just comes together into a dough. Don’t overwork it! You’ll end up with tough cookies, and nobody wants a tough snowflake!
- Divide that lovely dough right in half. Flatten each piece into a disk—it helps it chill faster, believe me—wrap them up tight in plastic wrap, and stick them in the fridge for at least one hour. This chilling is everything for sharp cuts!
- Once that hour is up and you’re ready to bake these Irresistible Snowflake Linzer Cookies With Raspberry Filling, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line your baking sheets with parchment paper; this stops any sticking, which is a lifesaver when you move them.
- Now for the fun part! On a surface dusted very lightly with flour, roll out one dough disk until it’s about 1/8 inch thick. Use your snowflake cutter to make the shapes. Cut half of these into full cookies, and the other half you’ll cut a smaller window out of the center. If you need ideas for what to do with leftover flour, check out this tip on substituting cake flour!
- Place all those shapes gently onto your prepared sheets. Reroll the scraps—there’s always dough left over!—and repeat the chilling and cutting process. They don’t need to be packed tight on the sheet.
- Bake them for about 10 to 12 minutes. You’re looking for edges that are just barely golden. When they come out, do not touch them! Let them cool right there on the hot sheet for about five minutes so they firm up before you transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
Assembly and Finishing Touches for Your Irresistible Snowflake Linzer Cookies With Raspberry Filling
This is the part I wait for! All that chilling and rolling finally pays off when you get to see the raspberry jam peek through those snowy cutouts. Make sure your cookies are completely, totally cool; otherwise, the jam gets soupy and the powdered sugar melts right away. No one wants a sad puddle cookie!
Take your bottom cookies—the full ones—and grab a small spoon or even a tiny offset spatula. Spread a nice, even layer of that bright raspberry jam on top. Not too much, or it squishes out the sides when you top it, but enough to get a good fruity burst! If you’re feeling extra fancy, you could totally swap in some homemade pastry cream instead.
Next, grab the snowflake tops. The easiest way I’ve found to dust these little gems is by putting the powdered sugar into a fine-mesh sieve or sifter. Hold it over the cookie top and tap the side gently. A light, even blanket of white looks so much better than a big clumpy dusting. Then, very carefully, press that sugared top onto the jam layer. That’s it! You’ve made perfection!
Storage and Make-Ahead Options for Linzer Cookies
I always bake these cookies weeks before a big event because they hold up so well, which is a lifesaver during the holiday rush! You absolutely must store the plain cookie bottoms and the dusted tops separately until you are ready to finally fill and assemble them. Keep the un-filled cookies in a sturdy, airtight container at room temperature; they stay perfect like this for almost a week!
Now, once you sandwich them with the jam, the game changes slightly. The assembled Irresistible Snowflake Linzer Cookies With Raspberry Filling are best eaten within 3 days because the moisture from the jam starts making their delicate, buttery texture a little too soft. If you need to freeze them, only freeze the plain, un-dusted cookie halves. Wrap those tightly in plastic wrap and then foil. They freeze beautifully for about two months, just let them thaw on the counter before you dust and fill them!
Flavor Variations for Linzer Cookies
While raspberry is my absolute favorite—that bright zing is so pretty against the white snow dusting—these cookies beg for experimentation! You can totally mix up the fillings and keep the gorgeous snowflake shape. Apricot preserves work amazingly well and have a lovely chewiness when they set.
If you’re feeling really bold, try a lemon curd filling, or even a darker fruit like black cherry. For the cookie dough itself, a teaspoon of fresh orange or lemon zest mixed in with the flour gives everything a wonderful background fragrance. It makes these buttery shortbreads taste even brighter! If you’re feeling playful, you could even try making a strawberry version, perhaps check out this recipe for strawberry delight sometime for inspiration!
Serving Suggestions for Your Irresistible Snowflake Linzer Cookies With Raspberry Filling
These aren’t cookies you hide away; they are meant to be shown off! The rich butteriness and the sweet jam make them sing alongside almost any warm beverage. I always serve them in little stacks on a silver platter during holiday parties because they look so utterly elegant.
They pair perfectly with a strong cup of coffee—the bitterness is a great match for the sweetness. Or, if it’s a cozy afternoon, a simple mug of milk or a warm cup of spiced tea is just the ticket. You simply must toss a few of these onto your cookie exchange platter; people will ask for the recipe immediately! If you need a cozy drink to go with them, you should try making my ultimate fall spice latte!
Frequently Asked Questions About Linzer Cookies
I get so many messages about these beauties once people start baking them! Don’t worry if your first batch isn’t perfect; the basics of handling butter cookies can be tricky sometimes. Here are the things I hear most often when folks are trying to achieve that picture-perfect look.
Can I make these Irresistible Snowflake Linzer Cookies With Raspberry Filling ahead of time?
Yes, you absolutely can, and I really recommend it! Bake your snowflake halves—both the window tops and the bottoms—and store them separately in airtight tins. They stay crisp for days! I wait until the very day I plan to serve them, or maybe the day before, to fill them. Assemble them only when you are ready to go, because once that raspberry jam is in there, the moisture starts migrating into your lovely butter cookies, and they lose that initial melt-in-your-mouth snap after about 72 hours.
What if I don’t have a snowflake cutter?
Oh, don’t you worry about that! A Linzer cookie is a Linzer cookie, no matter the shape! If you don’t have the snowflake cutter, just grab whatever festive shape you have on hand—a heart, a star, or a simple circle works just as wonderfully. The key is using two cutters, one larger and one small. Use the big one for the bottom cookie, and use the small one right in the center of the top cookie to create that little peek-a-boo window for the jam! If you’re making a different batch of treats, perhaps you’d like to see my pistachio cake recipe!
Why do my Linzer cookies spread too much?
This always comes down to temperature control, honey! If your cookies spread out into sad, flat puddles, you almost certainly didn’t chill the dough long enough, or your butter was too warm when you started creaming it. You need that dough ice-cold so the butter stays solid when it hits the heat. If you roll your dough out and it starts feeling soft under your hands while cutting, just slide the whole tray back into the fridge for 15 minutes before baking. That chill time keeps your edges crisp!
Print
Snowflake Linzer Cookies With Raspberry Filling
- Total Time: 92 min
- Yield: 24 cookies 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Make delicate, buttery Linzer cookies shaped like snowflakes and filled with bright raspberry jam.
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup raspberry jam
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the egg yolk, vanilla extract, and almond extract until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined into a dough.
- Divide the dough in half, flatten each half into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out one disk of dough to about 1/8 inch thickness.
- Use a snowflake cookie cutter to cut out shapes. Cut half of these shapes with a smaller cutter in the center to create the window.
- Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets. Reroll scraps and repeat until all dough is used.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden. Let cool completely on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Once cool, spread raspberry jam on the bottom half of the solid cookies. Dust the cutout tops with powdered sugar.
- Gently press the dusted top cookie onto the jam-covered bottom cookie to form a sandwich.
Notes
- For cleaner cuts, chill the rolled-out dough for 10 minutes before cutting the shapes.
- You can substitute other fruit preserves for the raspberry jam if desired.
- Store assembled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.
- Prep Time: 30 min
- Cook Time: 12 min
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: European
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 150
- Sugar: 12
- Sodium: 50
- Fat: 9
- Saturated Fat: 5
- Unsaturated Fat: 4
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 16
- Fiber: 0
- Protein: 2
- Cholesterol: 30
Keywords: Linzer cookies, snowflake cookies, raspberry filling, butter cookies, holiday cookies, shortbread