Raspberry Almond Linzer Cookies.
Crisp buttery almond biscuits are sandwiched together with buttercream and topped with raspberry jam for a decadent treat.
Are you looking for a make ahead Valentine treat or perhaps a thank you gift?
My husband's favourite biscuits as a child was a British 'Jammy dodger' or a 'Custard Cream'. The first one is a round shortcake sandwich biscuit with a jam centre that is quite chewy. The other is a rectangular sandwich biscuit with a vanilla buttercream filling. I thought I could make him a combination of these for Valentine's Day. They are similar in appearance to Austrian Linzer cookies. So here's my version of buttercream filled Raspberry Almond Linzer Cookies.
These biscuits are easy to make as they are made in the food mixer or you can mix by hand. Cream together butter and sugar then add eggs and vanilla essence. Mix together ground almonds, cornflour and flour with a pinch of salt then combine with the mixture to form a dough. You may need to add more flour if the mixture is too sticky.
I've learned that there are a few tricks to making biscuits that don't puff up, spread or generally misbehave! This is particularly important if you are looking for a nice flat biscuit that you might want to decorate or one where you want the biscuit to keep its cut-out shape and be the same as all of the rest. This mixture is enough to make 16 biscuits so you will cut out 16 plain heart shapes and 16 heart shapes with a smaller heart cut out. 
TIPS
Divide the dough into 2 or 3 batches, flatten and place in the fridge, wrapped for at least an hour.
Make sure to preheat the oven to 180 C before putting the biscuits in to cook each time.
Roll out the dough from one batch to 3 mm, cut out the biscuits and place on a baking sheet.
To speed up the process and keep mess to a minimum, roll out the dough between pieces of clingfilm or baking parchment.
Put the baking sheet in the fridge while you carry on rolling and cutting.
When you have done the second sheet put the first one in the oven for about 10 minutes then remove and add the next sheet and so on.
It's helpful to have a stack of clean baking sheets as if you use one from the oven it will be too hot and the biscuits really benefit from going back into the fridge before cooking.
When the biscuits come out of the oven leave them for a minute before transferring to a cooling rack. When all the biscuits are cooked and totally cool they are ready for decorating.
Cream butter and icing sugar together with vanilla essence and a couple of drops of red food colouring. Spread the butter icing onto a heart base, top with a heart with a cut -out. Sprinkle over some icing sugar and then carefully add a teaspoonful of raspberry jam to fill the cut-out shape.
If you are not keen on jam what about using melted chocolate instead?
Can I freeze these?
I often freeze dough. Wrap it well in plastic wrap and then into a plastic bag. Leave to defrost then roll out and cook as per the instructions.
How long will these biscuits last?
In the unlikely event of having leftovers they will last up to a week in an airtight tin and won't go soft.
Let me know what you think of these Raspberry Almond Linzer Cookies with buttercream or should I say 'Jammy Creams' or 'Custard Dodgers'?
Here's another idea for Valentine's Day. Try these Raspberry and White Chocolate Mini Loaves.
Don't forget to PIN these Raspberry Almond Linzer Cookies or Custard Dodgers for later!
Raspberry Almond Linzer Cookies
Ingredients
For the biscuits
- 230 g butter
- 200 g caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- 100 g cornflour
- 100 g ground almonds
- 400 g plain flour
- pinch salt
For the filling
- 300 g butter
- 600 g icing sugar extra for dusting
- 100 g raspberry jam
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- few drops red food colouring
Instructions
- Cream together the butter and sugar then beat in the eggs.
- Mix together the flours, almonds and salt and mix with the butter to make a dough.
- Chill the dough mixture for at least an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 180 C.
- Roll out the dough to 3 mm and cut out 16 plain heart bases cookies and 16 heart cut-out cookies for the top.
- Chill each batch of cookies before cooking for 10 minutes.
- Cool the cookies on a wire rack while preparing the filling.
- To make the buttercream icing cream the butter together with the icing sugar and a few drops of red food colouring.
- Spread icing on a bottom cookie then add a top cut-out cookie. Sprinkle over some icing sugar and carefully fill the cut-out with a teaspoonful of jam.
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Like!! Really appreciate you sharing this blog post.Really thank you! Keep writing.
Thanks Brian. It's great to try something new.
Thanks Caroline. I thought that the buttercream would go well with the raspberry and almonds.
Thanks Mimi. that's really kind.
Thanks Karen!
Love your tips and your cookies turned out beautifully. I hope your day was as lovely as the cookies are.
Thanks Megala. I hope you had a nice Valentine's day too! I've had so many baking disasters so I do go a bit over the top to stop things spreading!
Lovely linzer cookies, perfect for Valentine's day! Hope you had a very happy Valentine's day.
Thanks much for sharing such a wonderful post with all useful tips, I never knew that refrigerating the baking sheet before cooking would help.
These are so pretty. You're so talented!
Thanks Lizet. When I was baking as a child no one put the biscuits in the fridge and we wondered why everything was wonky!
Thanks Patty. My neighbour's children demolished a few of these before Valentine's!
Thanks Susan. I'm really pleased with this recipe.
Thanks Sheryl. They went down really well.
What a wonderful Valentine's Day treat! They look beautiful.
These look delicious! I love linzer tarts but have never attempted to make them myself. Definitely going to make this recipe, thanks for sharing!
These Linzers are so pretty and perfect for Valentine's day or any day of the years, I have never made Linzers so I'm happy to finally have found a recipe, thanks, can't wait to try it!
I love this kind of cookies. Layers of goodness ? I'm going to use your tips for keeping the cookies from spreading while baking. I hate when that happens. It ruins all the hard work.
They look superb, Linzer cookies are so popular here in Central Europe, but for some reason I have never made them, I must try this recipe!
These look so cute and like the sound of the flavors.
Thanks Danielle. I gave some to the neighbour's children and they disappeared pretty quick!
Thanks Jill. My problem is that I'm an impatient cook and I've learned the hard way that some things can't be rushed!
Thanks Emmeline. They are cute, aren't they? I'm thinking about a few chocolate variations now.
Thanks Emma. They were fun to make too.
Thanks Karen. They are really good but one is enough as mine are huge!
Thanks Claudia. Sandwich cookies are my favourite.
These are so pretty I just love the idea of cookies and jams together and these are perfect for my Valentines Day brunch
These are so pretty and I am sure the flavor is crazy good. I am not much of a baker so I know mine would not turn out as perfect as yours. What a treat for Valentine's Day for that someone special!
These are so pretty! The perfect cookie to give to a loved one!
Oh my god, these cookies are so cute! I'll have to make them for Valentine's Day!
I have never tried making cookies like these so I really appreciate all the tips. They are so lovely and I'm sure they taste delicious.
These look delicious! They would be the perfect treat for a Valentine's Day party (or any other time of year).